« New markets at Intrade.com | Main | Pre-order Gretchen Rubin's new book »
Assorted links
1. Markets in everything: manage your multiple girlfriends.
2. How we will conquer Canada by stealth.
3. Why isn't the stimulus stimulating?
4. Michael Jackson was an important force for racial integration.
5. What Waxman-Markey does for farmers.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on June 26, 2009 at 10:44 AM in Web/Tech | Permalink
Comments
no mention in the racial integration article about MTV?
Posted by: babar at Jun 26, 2009 10:51:13 AM
I like to think of Canada as America Jr.
Posted by: Homer Simpson at Jun 26, 2009 10:57:43 AM
The stimulus is not stimulating because only about 5% of it has been
spent so far. Duh. Sure, the Obama people made overly optimistic
forecasts about unemployment, but I do not remember them saying that
the economy would actually turn around and start growing prior to
about the end of the summer, and by most accounts it has come near
to halting its decline, although unemployment will probably increase
for some time, well-known lagging indicator that it is.
This is news or even interesting other than to highlight that the
Obama team was engaging in some overly optimistic hype?
Posted by: Barkley Rosser at Jun 26, 2009 11:04:43 AM
It is someone's birthday today......http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman
Posted by: Sarah at Jun 26, 2009 11:06:46 AM
Yes, the farm lobby gets more on ethanol subsidies and all in Waxman-Markey.
But the real cave to farmers was on the cow gas issue.
The methane that comes pouring out of both ends of cows is 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO2 -- and quite significant in total.
But of course farmers get a free pass on that. As factory workers and urban dwellers pay the price of fighting global warming, farmers and their cows remain free to cook the world.
Is there any group left that hasn't been bought off by this bill? Other than consumers?
Posted by: Jim Glass at Jun 26, 2009 11:08:59 AM
Obama: The economy requires stimulus spending to turn around, so that is why we haven't spent the stimulus money, so we can spend it right when it stops dropping and is good and ready to turn around.
"The reason is simple. Much of what the Defense Department buys involves things that also have civilian uses. In effect, it is buying off the shelf so spending can be done quickly. But to build a new highway or dam is much more complicated. Plans have to be drawn up, land acquired, environmental impact statements prepared, public comments solicited, political and other objections dealt with, contracts written and put out for bid, etc. This takes years and years."
Haven't done any of this, eh. Ummm, so what is it these people do?
Posted by: Andrew at Jun 26, 2009 11:23:11 AM
I cannot imagine why Jackson was not widely hated by most blacks. He spent years and years making himself look less black.
Posted by: Peter at Jun 26, 2009 11:43:41 AM
Not Milton's birthday. Wikipedia gets it wrong. It's July 31.
Posted by: David R. Henderson at Jun 26, 2009 11:51:22 AM
I like to think of the States as Canada's Mexico.
Posted by: Stompin Tom at Jun 26, 2009 12:21:12 PM
These "farmers" are CAFO producers, not what the average American thinks of as a farmer. Unfortunately, these are the "farmers" taht make big contributions to politicians in farm states.
Posted by: Tom at Jun 26, 2009 12:25:13 PM
We may soon have tissue engineered meat.
Posted by: Andrew at Jun 26, 2009 12:56:50 PM
@andrew -- how soon is "soon"?
Posted by: babar at Jun 26, 2009 1:10:08 PM
Relative, to what? 100 years for significant warming?
Posted by: Andrew at Jun 26, 2009 1:11:41 PM
You could also say that Canada is quietly conquering the USA.
Posted by: IWantCookieNow at Jun 26, 2009 1:50:54 PM
An app to manage a single girlfriend sounds more generally useful and less douchebaggy (douchebagish?).
I submit to anyone fooled by that app's claim that you can use it to "show off your long list of girls", that not only is nobody likely to fall for it, but anyone that does, you shouldn't want to impress.
Posted by: Sigivald at Jun 26, 2009 3:39:20 PM
Here's an interesting link, the second hour of scifri, Science Friday, talking with Alex Rivera, Director, of the movie Sleep Dealer at the tail end of the discussion of Summer Movies: http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200906265
http://www.sleepdealer.com/synopsis.html
Rivera makes the point that I long ago recognized and loved about scifi: it plays with the politics and economics of development, and its impact on society, with most stories revolving around the unintended consquences.
The theme of the movies takes "outsourcing" and "illegal immigrant labor" and "slave labor" and "automation" kinds of issues to new levels.
Posted by: mulp at Jun 26, 2009 4:23:07 PM
Allowing Canadian students as "locals" at community colleges is such a natural I wonder that I'd never heard the idea before. Certainly, say, Sarnia (Ontario) is closer to Port Huron (Michigan) than most of the other towns in PH's county. And we always had at least a few Canadian musicians in the community college's symphonic band. (Though I assume that (like me, usually) they were not registered students.)
Posted by: Sol at Jun 26, 2009 7:35:55 PM
Thank you David for the correct date!
Posted by: Sarah at Jun 26, 2009 11:29:29 PM
The stimulus is not stimulating because it was not meant to. It's really a wish list of social programs the progressives wished to carry out.
The repeating of the quote 'never let a crisis go to waste' is so often trotted out that it has lost its shock value.
This stimulus package is the epitome of the quote, and we all should be shocked by it.
Posted by: Tom at Jun 27, 2009 11:05:54 AM
