Call me stupid but when I step on a 757 I want to know that the pilot is smarter than me, at least about flying an airliner. If I need to have surgery I kind of want to know that the surgeon knows more about the procedure than do I. If I have to choose … More Call me stupid but I want someone smarter than me.
For better or worse, and sometimes both, the lens of the media can distort our perception of reality. The events unfolding in Egypt are undoubtedly of historic proportions and Tahrir Square is the epicenter of change. The intensive media coverage focused on Tahrir has made the square seem larger than life and while that may … More Tahrir Square and the Dallas Cowboys
There’s abundant discussion of what caused the tragedy in Tucson but it’s not one of the following. It’s not Sarah Palin It’s not Ed Schultz It’s not Glen Beck It’s not Rush Limbaugh It’s not Fox “news” It’s not MSNBC It’s not that there are more guns per capita in the US than any other … More What didn’t cause the tragedy in Tucson
OK, so that’s a shameless, attention seeking title that’s not exactly true. What is true is that the median Grade Point Average (GPA) is higher at the University of Florida (UF) than it is at the University of Central Florida (UCF). This GPA differential is indicative of a greater rate of grade inflation – not … More UF students are smarter than UCF students…
In his recent book, Aftershock, Robert Reich builds a strong case for the disparity between the top income earners and the rest of us as the basis for our current economic turmoil. He argues that there will be chronic, structural economic problems if those who produce goods are not able to purchase them. Reich defines … More Two economies: The market basket and The Market
One of the most vivid images of the Gulf oil spill is that of Governor Bobby Jindal walking the shoreline and lambasting the administration for not moving quickly to build sand berms to protect the shore. He argued passionately that something had to be done and that the administration was failing. What the administration did … More Jindal’s berms: Critical thinking and politics
The tax extension compromise of 2010 will add 900 billion dollars to the national debt with the goal of accelerating the economic recovery. To agree to the compromise the Republicans held firm to extending the tax cuts to income in excess of $250,000. This action by itself will add $120 billion* to the national debt … More $120 Billion is a lot of pork
I’ve long believed there was a fundamental misunderstanding of how our tax system works that has lead to groundless support for extending the Bush tax cuts to incomes over $250,000. I partially addressed the topic in a previous posting, The arithmetic of taxing the “rich”. What I did not address was how the message was being … More Bipartisan support for tax cuts for everyone.
I hear some people pining for “the good old days” and how good things used to be. Many times it seems like those same voices are also quick to fault the “socialist” programs of the Obama administration as the reason we are not enjoying the same prosperity as we did “back in the day”. If … More Top fractiles income share and the “good old days”
A premise of accountability is that people should believe what they are saying is true. Speaking in a recent Today Show interview, Representative Michele Bachmann argued that extending the Bush tax cuts for incomes over $250,000 was good for the working class. As her example she said that a plumber or a carpet layer with … More Accountability
Confronting Mediocrity 