and Time’s #8 Buzzword of the year 2008 is …

Top 10 Buzzwords
8. PUMA
By John Cloud

Louise Ma
An acronym for “party unity my ass,” this term was the rallying cry of Clinton supporters who backed her candidacy even after many party leaders called for consensus around Obama in order to ensure a unified Democratic front going into the general election. As Barrett of doubletongued.org points out, [...]

Really Bad Numbers = ?

I’ve tried to lay off my econ-based threads so all those that celebrate national crass consumerism day could stay off the window ledges instead, enjoying the yuletide fireplace.  This year, I’m earning my title as dismal scientist and this post is not full of seasonal cheer.
Employment: The level of continuing first time unemployment claims stands [...]

The Dakini’s Office Pool

 

It’s almost the New Year.  Having once dated a New Yorker for an extended period of time, I got used to William Safire (whose column I miss a lot) and his end of the year Office Pool.  He always had a list of predictions that challenged you to beat the pundit.  Some of my favorite [...]

The NY Times Joins the Pigou Club

A few weeks ago I opened a thread about a Pigouvian tax on gas.  I argued that it would accomplish several things.  The first is to discourage consumption of gas and oil.  The second to discourage consumption of gas and oil from foreign countries. The third was to discourage consumption of gas and oil that [...]

Yet another Russian Revolution

While many analysts in  foreign offices of various countries have been increasing;y worried that the global slow down would bring China’s economy closer to social unrest, the focus has now shifted to Russia.  The quick slide of petroleum prices plus the financial market crisis has left the former Soviet Union with restless workers demanding more.  
This [...]

Fear and Loathing in Algier’s Point

Algier’s Point has a history of racism.  It’s a small neighborhood and mostly white enclave located on the west bank of the Mississippi River in New Orleans.  It  started as the place in New Orleans where human beings were bought and sold.  The Slave Market was placed far across the river from the main part of the [...]

When Inclusion is Really Exclusion

When I heard that Rick Warren was invited by PE Obama to say a prayer at the inauguration,  my first thought was that Obama’s pandering to the religious right was more than just electioneering.  Obama seems intent on including them in his administration.  To me, this  bodes poorly for science, rational thought, and civil rights.   I was [...]

Chapter 3: In which Kat joins the Pigou Club

This thread is going to speak to solving several major problems we have in our Economy in a way that is not going to be highly popular with folks outside the Pigou Club.  If you slept during or avoided your microeconomics course, or blocked the bad memories the minute you finished the course, you undoubtedly [...]

A message from PEER

As a public employee, I found myself frequently in the position of watching higher-ups do things that were not ethical, responsible or mindful of the public welfare.  I have less problems with that now that I work for a University as a prof endowed with intellectual freedom.  Other agency employees don’t have that same protection.  I [...]

The Economic Downlook: Retro Numbers

I’ve actually been avoiding writing about the economic news these days because frankly I don’t want to harsh your  mellow this holiday season.  The Fed’s Open Market Committee is meeting the next few days and Dr. Bernanke’s study about Monetary Policy at the Zero Bound is  likely to be on the agenda.  We’re so close [...]