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Obama's Phony Federalism | Gene Healy | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Just a few years back, the Republicans — nominally the party of federalism — were busily wielding federal power to enforce red state values — prosecuting medical marijuana patients, punishing doctors participating in Oregon's 'Death with Dignity' initiative, and trying to overturn Florida court decisions that allowed Terry Schiavo to be removed from life support. In that odd political climate, you often heard liberals lamenting the decline of states' rights.
That strange new respect for the 10th Amendment lasted roughly as long as the blue team's exile from power.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said recently that 'if we accomplish one thing in the coming years, it should be to eliminate the extreme variation in standards across America.' Diversity is bad, uniformity double-plus good; get with the program, comrade.
But one of federalism's core virtues is the enormous diversity it allows. Decentralization makes it easier for Americans to escape unwelcome state experiments with fiscal and social policy.
It enhances the political power of individual citizens by allowing important decisions of governance to be settled closest to where Americans live and work. And it avoids making politics a centralized war of all against all, where each contested issue is settled in a one-size-fits-all fashion at the level furthest from the people."
Thursday, December 03, 2009
The 'Stimulus' for Unemployment | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary
The 'Stimulus' for Unemployment | Alan Reynolds | Cato Institute: Commentary: "As Larry Summers, the president's top assistant for economic policy, noted in July, 'the unemployment rate over the recession has risen about 1 to 1.5 percentage points more than would normally be attributable to the contraction in GDP.' And the rate has moved nearly a percentage point higher since then, even though GDP increased. Countries with much deeper declines in GDP, such as Germany and Sweden, have unemployment rates far below ours.
Summers knows why the US rate is so high. He explained it well in a 1995 paper co-authored with James Poterba of MIT: 'Unemployment insurance lengthens unemployment spells.'
That is: When the government pays people 50 to 60 percent of their previous wage to stay home for a year or more, many of them do just that."
"Incidentally, the 'mercy' of longer benefits does no long-term favors: The literature is quite clear that a prolonged period on unemployment tends to depress income for years after you finally go back to work"
"Last August, Krueger and Andreus Miller of Princeton also found that 'job search increases sharply [from 20 minutes a week to 70] in the weeks prior to benefit exhaustion.'
Similarly, Meyer found 'the probability of leaving unemployment rises dramatically just prior to when benefits lapse.' In other words: If you extend benefits to 79 weeks, many people won't find an acceptable job offer until the 76th or 78th week."
"Katz also found that extended benefits, by making it easier for workers to wait and see whether they get their old jobs back, also makes it easier for employers to delay recalling laid-off workers. Just before unemployment benefits run out, Katz found 'large positive jumps in both the recall rate and new job finding rate.'"
Summers knows why the US rate is so high. He explained it well in a 1995 paper co-authored with James Poterba of MIT: 'Unemployment insurance lengthens unemployment spells.'
That is: When the government pays people 50 to 60 percent of their previous wage to stay home for a year or more, many of them do just that."
"Incidentally, the 'mercy' of longer benefits does no long-term favors: The literature is quite clear that a prolonged period on unemployment tends to depress income for years after you finally go back to work"
"Last August, Krueger and Andreus Miller of Princeton also found that 'job search increases sharply [from 20 minutes a week to 70] in the weeks prior to benefit exhaustion.'
Similarly, Meyer found 'the probability of leaving unemployment rises dramatically just prior to when benefits lapse.' In other words: If you extend benefits to 79 weeks, many people won't find an acceptable job offer until the 76th or 78th week."
"Katz also found that extended benefits, by making it easier for workers to wait and see whether they get their old jobs back, also makes it easier for employers to delay recalling laid-off workers. Just before unemployment benefits run out, Katz found 'large positive jumps in both the recall rate and new job finding rate.'"
Warning Label for Pelosicare | Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute: Commentary
Warning Label for Pelosicare | Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Millions who are satisfied with their current, low-cost health plans would have to switch to more expensive plans, solely because Congress decided they weren't buying enough coverage.
The legislation would increase premiums even further over time, as drug companies, chiropractors, acupuncturists, fertility specialists and other special interests lobby Congress to force you to purchase coverage for their services too."
"Medicare — by far the largest purchaser of medical services in the world — actually penalizes doctors and hospitals that reduce medical errors. The House bill would cement those deficiencies in place with yet another massive government program, and create new quality problems, like insurers skimping on care and customer service for the sickest patients."
"The bill purports to cut Medicare spending, but those cuts are not likely to happen. Want proof? At the same time House Democrats promise future spending cuts, they are gutting $210 billion of spending cuts promised by past Congresses.
And like most government health care programs, this bill's actual costs will exceed current projections. In 1967, Congress predicted that Medicare would cost $12 billion in 1990. Medicare's actual cost that year was $110 billion. Oops."
The legislation would increase premiums even further over time, as drug companies, chiropractors, acupuncturists, fertility specialists and other special interests lobby Congress to force you to purchase coverage for their services too."
"Medicare — by far the largest purchaser of medical services in the world — actually penalizes doctors and hospitals that reduce medical errors. The House bill would cement those deficiencies in place with yet another massive government program, and create new quality problems, like insurers skimping on care and customer service for the sickest patients."
"The bill purports to cut Medicare spending, but those cuts are not likely to happen. Want proof? At the same time House Democrats promise future spending cuts, they are gutting $210 billion of spending cuts promised by past Congresses.
And like most government health care programs, this bill's actual costs will exceed current projections. In 1967, Congress predicted that Medicare would cost $12 billion in 1990. Medicare's actual cost that year was $110 billion. Oops."
Copenhagen Climate Conference to Create 'Huge' Carbon Footprint - United Nations - FOXNews.com
Copenhagen Climate Conference to Create 'Huge' Carbon Footprint - United Nations - FOXNews.com: "The U.N. estimates the 12-day conference will create 40,584 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents, roughly the same amount as the carbon emissions of Morocco in 2006."
With the internet and teleconferencing, why can't this be done better?
With the internet and teleconferencing, why can't this be done better?
Official Gmail Blog: Spread some holiday cheer, one card at a time
Official Gmail Blog: Spread some holiday cheer, one card at a time: "This holiday season, as a token of our appreciation to our most enthusiastic fans, we'll snail-mail a free holiday postcard on your behalf."
Of the 6 card designs, only one is religious, and it is for Hanukkah. While they certainly have the right to do that, and it is very nice of them to provide this service, it does seem weird to not have at least one Christmas card.
Of the 6 card designs, only one is religious, and it is for Hanukkah. While they certainly have the right to do that, and it is very nice of them to provide this service, it does seem weird to not have at least one Christmas card.
Campaign For Liberty — An Answer to Bernanke | by Ron Paul
Campaign For Liberty — An Answer to Bernanke | by Ron Paul: "Today's dollar is now worth four cents compared to the dollar entrusted to the Federal Reserve in 1913.
Ninety-six years should have been plenty of time for the Fed to come up with a plan for preventing economic crises."
"The Fed has clearly failed on its mandate to maintain full employment and price stability. It's time to find out what's going on. Instead of assuming responsibility for the Fed's role in the crisis, Bernanke brags about 'arresting' the crisis. I would suggest to Mr. Bernanke that it's too early to brag.
Bernanke decries any effort to gain transparency of the Fed's actions to find out just who gets bailed out and who is left to fail. Instead, he proposes giving even more power to the Fed to regulate the entire financial system. What he does not recognize, or does not want to admit, is that he is talking about symptoms and ignoring the source of the crisis -- the Federal Reserve itself. "
Ninety-six years should have been plenty of time for the Fed to come up with a plan for preventing economic crises."
"The Fed has clearly failed on its mandate to maintain full employment and price stability. It's time to find out what's going on. Instead of assuming responsibility for the Fed's role in the crisis, Bernanke brags about 'arresting' the crisis. I would suggest to Mr. Bernanke that it's too early to brag.
Bernanke decries any effort to gain transparency of the Fed's actions to find out just who gets bailed out and who is left to fail. Instead, he proposes giving even more power to the Fed to regulate the entire financial system. What he does not recognize, or does not want to admit, is that he is talking about symptoms and ignoring the source of the crisis -- the Federal Reserve itself. "
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