Earl Warren and John Roberts
President Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren to the Supreme Court thinking that Warren was a conservative. Of course,Warren turned out to be a very liberal Justice. Eisenhower later said that appointing Warren was the biggest mistake of his presidency. Is John Roberts the Earl Warren of this century?
Leonhardt on the Age Gap
In today’s New York Times David Leonhardt has a pretty amazing article. He tells us that “polls suggest that Mitt Romney will win a landslide among the over-65 crowd and that President Obama will do likewise among those under 40.” He links to the Gallup Poll for this evidence. ( I generally don’t follow polls; ... Leonhardt on the Age Gap
Mayor Bloomberg is 1 for 2
Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York is being justly criticized for his rather silly idea of banning sales of sugar drinks in sizes larger than 16 ounces in various public venues. Most of the critics focus on the paternalism (updated to be now called nannyism) of this ban. However, aside from being paternalistic, it is ... Mayor Bloomberg is 1 for 2
From the Thursday May 24 Wall Street Journal
In criticizing Governor Romney’s involvement with Bain Capital, President Obama commented both on private equity and on profit maximization. Most of the comments I have seen dealt with the private equity. I thought a comment on profit maximization was important as well. OPINION Updated May 23, 2012, 7:51 p.m. ET A Tutorial for the President ... From the Thursday May 24 Wall Street Journal
New Technology in Europe
Last week the New York Times ran an article, “Building the Next Facebook a Tough Task in Europe“, by Eric Pfanner, discussing the lack of major high tech innovation in Europe. Eric Pfanner discusses the importance of such investment, and then speculates on the reason for the lack of such innovation. The ultimate conclusion is ... New Technology in Europe
Hating Capitalism
One topic that has long interested me is the source of dislike or hatred of capitalism; my Southern Economics Journal article “Folk Economics” (ungated version) dealt in part with this topic. Today’s New York Times has an op-ed, “Capitalists and Other Psychopaths” by William Deresiewicz, who has taught English at Yale and Columbia, that both ... Hating Capitalism
Richard Thaler on “Slippery Slopes”
In today’s New York Times, Richard Thaler argues that the Constitutional “slippery slope” argument in the Obamacare case (“Today health care, tomorrow broccoli”) is misguided. This is a strange argument in this particular case. We must remember that all of today’s commerce clause jurisprudence (which everyone agrees has greatly expanded the power of the Federal ... Richard Thaler on “Slippery Slopes”
Romney’s Money
Mitt Romney made a lot of money at Bain Capital. The press seems to view this as a negative; even the Wall Street Journal is piling on, and the Obama Campaign is paying attention. This is misguided. The lesson to take away from Romney’s high earnings is that he is more dedicated than most politicians; ... Romney’s Money
Privacy Interview
I was recently interview about privacy on the BBC Online Magazine by Kate Dailey. Here is the interview: Magazine 26 January 2012 Last updated at 13:11 ET Could Google’s data hoarding be good for you? By Kate Dailey BBC News Magazine Google’s announcement that is now tracking users’ web movements has upset privacy advocates. But ... Privacy Interview
Privacy in Europe
The EU is apparently thinking of adopting common and highly restrictive privacy standards which would make use of information by firms much more difficult and would require, for example, that data be retained only as long as necessary. This is touted as pro-consumer legislation. However, the effects would be profoundly anti-consumer. For one thing, ads ... Privacy in Europe
The Republican Primary
I have been following the Republican primary on Intrade, the betting market site. In the last few days, the probability Mitt Romney winning the nomination has gone down by about 10%, from about 80% to about 70%. The probability of Newt Gingrich winning the nomination has gone from virtually 0 to about 15% At the ... The Republican Primary
SOPA, Incentives and Efficiency
The fight over SOPA is about the ownership of intellectual property. Rights to intellectual property have two effects. The benefits of intellectual property are the incentives for creation. The costs are that after some work is created any price above marginal cost (which is often zero for digital property) will discourage valuable use. Every piece ... SOPA, Incentives and Efficiency
