Christina Romer (economist at UC Berkeley) has a very good essay in the Sunday New York Times (see here). She skillfully reviews some economic history and concludes her piece with the following paragraph:
Equally important, someone needs to explain to the nation and to world markets just why we must increase the debt in the short run. Unemployment of roughly 9 percent for 28 months and counting is a national emergency. We must fight it with the same passion and commitment we have brought to military emergencies in our past.
In my opinion, she is exactly correct. Of course, based on the results of the Iowa straw poll, her advice isn't likely to be acted upon anytime soon.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Data that stopped me in my tracks...
Jenny Anderson has a piece over at the New York Times (see here) today about legacy admissions in colleges. It contains the following paragraph:
Mr. Kahlenberg, citing research from his book “Affirmative Action for the Rich: Legacy Preferences in College Admissions” made the case that getting into good schools matters — 12 institutions making up less than 1 percent of the U.S. population produced 42 percent of government leaders and 54 percent of corporate leaders.
Wow! I can't believe this is a good thing for American democracy.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Health and income inequality
Yves Smith has an essay in Salon (see here) about health and income inequality. In the essay, the work of Kate Pickett is mentioned, specifically a presentation she gave at the INET conference in 2010. The graph below (click to enlarge) is from her presentation (full presentation here):
In general, the graph shows that health and social problems are worse in states where the income inequality is higher (although there is considerable variation). I've written about income inequality in the past. What interest me is the polarization this topic brings when it is mentioned (like everything else these days, I guess). The argument for not addressing the issue of income inequality appears to be that somehow that would make us "socialists" or that we would further contaminate the "true" spirit of capitalism. We simply must get beyond these ideological gauntlets.
In general, the graph shows that health and social problems are worse in states where the income inequality is higher (although there is considerable variation). I've written about income inequality in the past. What interest me is the polarization this topic brings when it is mentioned (like everything else these days, I guess). The argument for not addressing the issue of income inequality appears to be that somehow that would make us "socialists" or that we would further contaminate the "true" spirit of capitalism. We simply must get beyond these ideological gauntlets.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
What work is
I have a strong interest (as my blog shows) in the issue of employment. My heart goes out to people who look day after day for work in an economy like we have now. So I found myself moved this evening as I listened to NPR's Marketplace and heard Philip Levine read his poem "What work is" (he has just been named the new U. S. poet laureate - see LA Times article here). So forgive me for departing from my focus on "hard data" and let me share "What work is" with you. Thank you, Mr. Levine.
We stand in the rain in a long line
waiting at Ford Highland Park. For work.
You know what work is--if you're
old enough to read this you know what
work is, although you may not do it.
Forget you. This is about waiting,
shifting from one foot to another.
Feeling the light rain falling like mist
into your hair, blurring your vision
until you think you see your own brother
ahead of you, maybe ten places.
You rub your glasses with your fingers,
and of course it's someone else's brother,
narrower across the shoulders than
yours but with the same sad slouch, the grin
that does not hide the stubbornness,
the sad refusal to give in to
rain, to the hours wasted waiting,
to the knowledge that somewhere ahead
a man is waiting who will say, "No,
we're not hiring today," for any
reason he wants. You love your brother,
now suddenly you can hardly stand
the love flooding you for your brother,
who's not beside you or behind or
ahead because he's home trying to
sleep off a miserable night shift
at Cadillac so he can get up
before noon to study his German.
Works eight hours a night so he can sing
Wagner, the opera you hate most,
the worst music ever invented.
How long has it been since you told him
you loved him, held his wide shoulders,
opened your eyes wide and said those words,
and maybe kissed his cheek? You've never
done something so simple, so obvious,
not because you're too young or too dumb,
not because you're jealous or even mean
or incapable of crying in
the presence of another man, no,
just because you don't know what work is.
We stand in the rain in a long line
waiting at Ford Highland Park. For work.
You know what work is--if you're
old enough to read this you know what
work is, although you may not do it.
Forget you. This is about waiting,
shifting from one foot to another.
Feeling the light rain falling like mist
into your hair, blurring your vision
until you think you see your own brother
ahead of you, maybe ten places.
You rub your glasses with your fingers,
and of course it's someone else's brother,
narrower across the shoulders than
yours but with the same sad slouch, the grin
that does not hide the stubbornness,
the sad refusal to give in to
rain, to the hours wasted waiting,
to the knowledge that somewhere ahead
a man is waiting who will say, "No,
we're not hiring today," for any
reason he wants. You love your brother,
now suddenly you can hardly stand
the love flooding you for your brother,
who's not beside you or behind or
ahead because he's home trying to
sleep off a miserable night shift
at Cadillac so he can get up
before noon to study his German.
Works eight hours a night so he can sing
Wagner, the opera you hate most,
the worst music ever invented.
How long has it been since you told him
you loved him, held his wide shoulders,
opened your eyes wide and said those words,
and maybe kissed his cheek? You've never
done something so simple, so obvious,
not because you're too young or too dumb,
not because you're jealous or even mean
or incapable of crying in
the presence of another man, no,
just because you don't know what work is.
A graph that tells the story
Jared Bernstein (see here) has a graph (click to enlarge) this morning that pretty much summarizes the unemployment situation.
An "agenda" in everything?
Throughout most of the current political debate about the national debt, I regularly found myself wondering why it has become so difficult to get opposing sides to accept (or even consider) good data. That is, the agenda in play trumps everything and everybody is forced to defer to the agenda (or opt out of the debate). Now, this isn't a new phenomenon, but it seems to me to have become pervasive in the last few years.
So I read with interest (and, unfortunately, no surprise) this column (see here) in the New York Times about the Florida law that prevents doctors from asking patients if they have a gun in the home. The essay is written by a physician and he states that:
At the moment, however, those of us working in a clinic or hospital will have to imagine we live in a place where gun injuries aren’t a public health issue and forget some of the questions we learned to ask in medical school. In doctors’ offices in Florida, prevention has its limits.
Now, why would someone object to a physician asking about the presence of guns in a house with kids? Well, proponents of the law argued that it was a violation of their rights and none of the physician's business. And why would physicians asks such questions? The same reason they ask about the presence of swimming pools and the use of seat belts. They know what the data shows (see below, click to enlarge).
So, in the interest of prevention and safety and being aware of the data, physicians ask questions that are OK as long as they don't conflict with some agenda (that currently has political power). Could we be living in an age of smart phones and stupid people?
So I read with interest (and, unfortunately, no surprise) this column (see here) in the New York Times about the Florida law that prevents doctors from asking patients if they have a gun in the home. The essay is written by a physician and he states that:
At the moment, however, those of us working in a clinic or hospital will have to imagine we live in a place where gun injuries aren’t a public health issue and forget some of the questions we learned to ask in medical school. In doctors’ offices in Florida, prevention has its limits.
Now, why would someone object to a physician asking about the presence of guns in a house with kids? Well, proponents of the law argued that it was a violation of their rights and none of the physician's business. And why would physicians asks such questions? The same reason they ask about the presence of swimming pools and the use of seat belts. They know what the data shows (see below, click to enlarge).
So, in the interest of prevention and safety and being aware of the data, physicians ask questions that are OK as long as they don't conflict with some agenda (that currently has political power). Could we be living in an age of smart phones and stupid people?
Monday, August 8, 2011
Interesting data on teen employment
Over at the blog Political Calculations (see here) there is a very interesting graph on the July employment data with special emphasis on the issue for teens (click to enlarge).
The bloggers state that:
As a frame of reference, just 4,244,000 teens were counted as being employed in July 2011, as compared to 5,911,000 in November 2007 - the month before the peak in the previous cycle of economic expansion, which marks the beginning of the most recent recession.
The bloggers state that:
As a frame of reference, just 4,244,000 teens were counted as being employed in July 2011, as compared to 5,911,000 in November 2007 - the month before the peak in the previous cycle of economic expansion, which marks the beginning of the most recent recession.
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