link here to article
In a prior post we linked to an article showing that the percent of arable land was declining in major food producing nations. The implication was that we needed to increase crop yields by using more chemical fertilizers to feed to population. This article reviews research that makes the case for sustainable farming versus energy intensive food production. It may be easier to influence food production in the developing world than to modify legacy methods of food production in the developed world.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
CEO of National Public Radio Forced to Resign Due to Pressure from GOP
link here to article
Commentators on Fox have freedom of speech to lie and mislead the public but National Public Radio in the US does not have the freedom to comment on public events. The GOP budget proposal cuts funding substantially for NPR because they feel that it has a liberal bias. Its the same kind of claim that the Fox news makes about the "mainstream media". To conservatives anything that does not conform to their ideology is regarded as bias. Fox News is their yardstick of fair and balanced.
In any case, an NPR executive was punked by conservative activists at a fund raiser. He made critical comments about the tea party which video taped and circulated widely to prove that NPR had a liberal bias. He and the CEO have resigned from NPR. I guess critical comments about a group that is not above criticism is off limits for NPR.
Commentators on Fox have freedom of speech to lie and mislead the public but National Public Radio in the US does not have the freedom to comment on public events. The GOP budget proposal cuts funding substantially for NPR because they feel that it has a liberal bias. Its the same kind of claim that the Fox news makes about the "mainstream media". To conservatives anything that does not conform to their ideology is regarded as bias. Fox News is their yardstick of fair and balanced.
In any case, an NPR executive was punked by conservative activists at a fund raiser. He made critical comments about the tea party which video taped and circulated widely to prove that NPR had a liberal bias. He and the CEO have resigned from NPR. I guess critical comments about a group that is not above criticism is off limits for NPR.
Why are Oil Prices So Volatile?
link here to articles
This link is to several short discussions by oil industry analysts on oil price volatility. Supply and demand are not that far out of balance so why are prices rising so rapidly? Its pretty clear that expectations have a big impact on prices.
This link is to several short discussions by oil industry analysts on oil price volatility. Supply and demand are not that far out of balance so why are prices rising so rapidly? Its pretty clear that expectations have a big impact on prices.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
What Political Party has been Fiscally Irresponsible?
link here to article
The GOP used to brand itself as the party of fiscal responsibility in contrast to the "tax and spend" Democrats. We have to keep reminding ourself that the GOP, which is attempting to rebrand itself as the fiscally responsible party, has since Ronald Reagan been the fiscally irresponsible party. Krugman provides graph that illustrates what has happened to budget deficits since the 1980's. Reagan invented the idea of cutting taxes and increasing spending by using debt instead of taxes to pay for his spending. Bush Jr. did the same thing and Cheney told him not to worry about deficits since Reagan proved that they did not matter electorally. Of course, now that Obama is saddled with an economy that provides reduced tax revenue, the GOP is working as hard as it can to use the resulting deficits as an electoral weapon. This is a party without shame.
The GOP used to brand itself as the party of fiscal responsibility in contrast to the "tax and spend" Democrats. We have to keep reminding ourself that the GOP, which is attempting to rebrand itself as the fiscally responsible party, has since Ronald Reagan been the fiscally irresponsible party. Krugman provides graph that illustrates what has happened to budget deficits since the 1980's. Reagan invented the idea of cutting taxes and increasing spending by using debt instead of taxes to pay for his spending. Bush Jr. did the same thing and Cheney told him not to worry about deficits since Reagan proved that they did not matter electorally. Of course, now that Obama is saddled with an economy that provides reduced tax revenue, the GOP is working as hard as it can to use the resulting deficits as an electoral weapon. This is a party without shame.
Why Pensions are a Good Deal for States and for Workers
link here to article
Dean Baker makes a point that we covered in a prior post. That is, the unfunded pension liabilities of state governments are not as big a problem as conservatives have claimed. On average the unfunded liabilities represent 20 cents of every $100 of future state revenues over the same time period. The attack on the defined benefit pensions provided by states is often justified by comparing them with the defined contribution programs now offered by most corporations. Baker believes that the argument should be reversed. We should push for a return to defined benefit pensions in private industry. Corporations are better able to deal with short term swings in the stock market than their employees who have depended upon returns from their 401K plans.
Baker also argues that defined benefit pensions are a form of insurance. State governments provide the security of a fixed income based on the number of years worked. In return, they get a "premium" in the form of lower salaries which allow them to attract the same quality of worker at lower current cost. In a sense this is free for the state but it would be expensive for workers to purchase the same security from the private insurance market.
Conservatives are not likely to be attracted by Baker's arguments. They like the idea of transferring risk from the employer, whether public of private, to the individual. Less security for workers is a good thing for conservatives. Unless of course it is provided to top executives who are able to negotiate fixed benefit pensions from the Boards that they appoint to determine their compensation.
Dean Baker makes a point that we covered in a prior post. That is, the unfunded pension liabilities of state governments are not as big a problem as conservatives have claimed. On average the unfunded liabilities represent 20 cents of every $100 of future state revenues over the same time period. The attack on the defined benefit pensions provided by states is often justified by comparing them with the defined contribution programs now offered by most corporations. Baker believes that the argument should be reversed. We should push for a return to defined benefit pensions in private industry. Corporations are better able to deal with short term swings in the stock market than their employees who have depended upon returns from their 401K plans.
Baker also argues that defined benefit pensions are a form of insurance. State governments provide the security of a fixed income based on the number of years worked. In return, they get a "premium" in the form of lower salaries which allow them to attract the same quality of worker at lower current cost. In a sense this is free for the state but it would be expensive for workers to purchase the same security from the private insurance market.
Conservatives are not likely to be attracted by Baker's arguments. They like the idea of transferring risk from the employer, whether public of private, to the individual. Less security for workers is a good thing for conservatives. Unless of course it is provided to top executives who are able to negotiate fixed benefit pensions from the Boards that they appoint to determine their compensation.
Infrastructure Privatization is a Bad Solution for Government
link here to article
When a business gets into financial trouble and it is unable to increase revenue it can choose to sell off revenue producing assets. This provides the needed cash but it does so at the expense of future revenue from the lost assets. Governments in need of cash and without the ability to raise cash via taxation, have been moving in a similar direction. For example, Greece did a deal with a Wall Street bank which gave the bank the revenue it derived from airport fees in return for funds which made its balance sheet look better to European regulators. The bank made money in two ways: it charged the Greek government a hefty fee for devising the deal and it gets access to a stream of revenue that yields a better return that sovereign debt.
State and local governments have been doing similar things in the US. This article suggests that the price that they are paying for short term revenue relief is very high. Its sad to see state and local government going to pawn brokers for needed cash.
When a business gets into financial trouble and it is unable to increase revenue it can choose to sell off revenue producing assets. This provides the needed cash but it does so at the expense of future revenue from the lost assets. Governments in need of cash and without the ability to raise cash via taxation, have been moving in a similar direction. For example, Greece did a deal with a Wall Street bank which gave the bank the revenue it derived from airport fees in return for funds which made its balance sheet look better to European regulators. The bank made money in two ways: it charged the Greek government a hefty fee for devising the deal and it gets access to a stream of revenue that yields a better return that sovereign debt.
State and local governments have been doing similar things in the US. This article suggests that the price that they are paying for short term revenue relief is very high. Its sad to see state and local government going to pawn brokers for needed cash.
Why is the GOP Opposed to Comparative Effectiveness Medical Research?
link here to article
Its easier to deal with Social Security than Medicare because we can cut SS benefits by a percentage but its harder to do that with Medicare. There is no such thing as a percent of a surgical procedure. Medicare must decide whether to pay for a particular procedure or not. Thats why we need comparative effectiveness research. The GOP opposes comparative effectiveness research and some wonder why. Krugman's answer is that the GOP comes to bury Medicare not to fix it. Paul Ryan's approach is provide vouchers so that consumers or insurance companies can decide how to spend their money just like consumers do in other markets. Since the value of the proposed vouchers will not increase as fast as the cost of treatment, less well off consumers will be provided with that coveted choice favored by conservatives. They will have to choose not to have a treatment when the voucher does not cover the cost. This is the familiar market based approach to rationing a product of service. The price system will ration the use of medical services.
Its easier to deal with Social Security than Medicare because we can cut SS benefits by a percentage but its harder to do that with Medicare. There is no such thing as a percent of a surgical procedure. Medicare must decide whether to pay for a particular procedure or not. Thats why we need comparative effectiveness research. The GOP opposes comparative effectiveness research and some wonder why. Krugman's answer is that the GOP comes to bury Medicare not to fix it. Paul Ryan's approach is provide vouchers so that consumers or insurance companies can decide how to spend their money just like consumers do in other markets. Since the value of the proposed vouchers will not increase as fast as the cost of treatment, less well off consumers will be provided with that coveted choice favored by conservatives. They will have to choose not to have a treatment when the voucher does not cover the cost. This is the familiar market based approach to rationing a product of service. The price system will ration the use of medical services.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)