***Official Political Discussion Thread***

[shuges]

Wasn't sure where to post this but I figured this thread is a good enough place. This is for Long Island by the way:

Must be nice.

Anyway, let's see how much the diversity on a list like this changes under the Trump administration.

There's one "Latino" name on there and trust me, his shade is nowhere near @ninjahood's.

It always boggles my mind when people fail to see how a system almost always benefits only ONE group.

Also, how many of the top earners are police? Interesting.

Looking forward to seeing the progress Long Island makes.

[pimphat represents pure sarcasm in case anyone was wondering]

 

[RustyShackleford]

As far as being informed, here are my recommendations:

Next, forget Fox, MSNBC, and CNN. They are trash, even in their moments of decency, they are horrible. Forget the nightly news shows on NBC, ABC and CBS. They too are more concern with rating that reporting the news.

You can get you daily news from three non print sources: NPR, PBS News hour or maybe the BBC nightly news (haven’t watched it in a while though).
-----------------------------
Not to sound generic, but the Economist has almost become a must.

A full sub is worth it. But like I said, grab it off Zinio for cheap, read their online content which is good, and their podcast and audio content is solid as well.

You can grab print editions on sale for like $51 bucks a year if you cheap a look out. I will post sales when I see them

-----------------------------

General Newspaper:

These imo stand above the rest

-New York TImes

-Washington Post

-The Guardian

The New York Times is running a half off sale right now I believe. The Washington Post is cheap if you have Amazon Prime, but unfortunately the Guardian is expensive as hell with it being as UK paper. I still suggest check out the site because most of their articles are free and their reporting of the US is top notch. Some of the best long form article you.

Make sure you read the NYT Upshot Blog and the Washington Post Wonkblog. There are great sources for Public Policy matters.

Krugman's blog is probably a must read again. With Trump in office and Ryan pedaling nonsense, Paul gonna be cooking these fools weekly. Krugman is liberal, and wears that label proudly, but he makes sound left wing arguments on issues, and issues his economic brilliance to tear apart the right's BS. He can get over zealous and make silly *** comments, and he definitely doesn't 100% buy into progressive ideology, so their might be some eye rolling if you are a progressive.

Krugman the pundit is like a C-. Krugman the economist is a solid A. One thing he is good for is ripping apart voodoo economics.
-----------------------
As far as investigative journalism I suggest you check out:

-ProPublica. And subscribe to their “Muckreads” on Twitter, or their weekly email, which is an aggregator of the best investigative journalism of the week.

-Hit you library and get access to CQ Researcher. They basically take an issue, investigative deeply, give a comprehensive summery on the issue and summarize the arguments on either side of the debate. You can get really informed about a subject just from reading on of their reports.
-------------------------
-Non print. PBS documentaries are a must especially Frontline.

-Then Jon Oliver is very good also. No matter how much he tries to downplay himself as just a comedian, Oliver has a heavyweight investigative crew behind him. Just wish they would cite their sources more.

-A couple of my friends watch Fareed Zakaria’s CNN show, Oliver even recommended it once, but I don’t personally watch it, but it might be worth checking out.

-Then you have Vice and 60 mins, which do a decent job, but sometimes shallow.

Regarding the PBS docs, they are not only to gain info but to also to gain empathy for people you might not get a chance to interact with.

-------------------------

Now you get into deeper into the field. When tackling with sort of sources, it is good balance have a balance intake of them. Reading to the left of you, read to the right

-For center left liberal mags you have:

Mother Jones (which is probably the best right now)

The Nation (good for opinion pieces)

New Republic

The Progressive

American Prospect

If you were to subscribe to one I say Mother Jones. But it might be good to check the other and browse the top stories of the day to see if anything catches your eye.

Vox.com is good also, they are known for Voxsplaining. Basically taking a complex issue as writing it in a very simple non-analytical way. But they a good entry point, because that reason and they link to a lot of other sources.

--------------From the right, it is not as good. And I don't mean that just for ideological reasons, there are less options and the articles are not very well argued much of the time.

Reason is pretty much libertarian drivel 80% of the time. Sometimes they give decent insight, especially criticizing the establishment of the right

The National Review is basically the news outlet for the Republican Establishment. If Republicans are doing something foolishness, the National Review will defend then with a pseudo-intellectual argument. You probably won't get that much informed reading their articles, but you will get the mainstream Republican argument for their positions.

The American Conservative is probably best of the bunch with an obvious right wing lean. They are way more principle in their conservatism and argue against loony Republicans.

National Affairs.

Christian Science Monitor is also decent, they claim to be independent, but reality the stories have a slight right tilt. But they are generally fair and stick to reporting things accurately. Probably won't gain much insight to conservative arguments though.

You could also read David Brooks and Greg Mankiw but

--------------

From the far left. Especially if you're a liberal, this area of the ideology gets completely ignored. Reading real social democrats and socialist argument a point is something we often times don't do. This is why I laugh off Ninja or Rico calling me a socialist. Because when I read socialist debate a point, I often times disagree with a few things say, so I know I don't personally fit into that ideology right now.

But it is important that their voices be heard. It is unfortunate that libertarians is the most popular third option/voice over social democrats

The only one I read is Jacobin Magazine. It is not a fun read, all their articles are tearing the right apart, and complaining about the center left. They are often times impractical, seem just a tone deaf as race as many white progressives but they are firmly pro democracy, for worker, pro social justice, and pro consumer. People need to hear these arguments.

Some of my friends read Dissent magazine, but I don't.

-------------

Finally it might be good to read or subscript to literally magazines. Just browse their site and read their top stories, if you find a site you like, consider subscribing.

-The Atlantic (I subscribe to this, Coates is a must, can't wait till he is byke full time)

-Harpers

-New Yorker

-New York Mag

-New York Review of Books

-Foreign Affairs

-Foreign Policy

--------------

The best of the rest to browse:

-538, more data driven

-Politico, for Washington insider News

-Two podcast I would recommend for current events is:

-Sam Harris Waking Up. Now I dislike Sam Harris, he is a soft spoken Bill Maher. He is the a perfect example of the frustrating white moderate that MLK complained about, that values order over justice. he pedal summary statistics to back up his arguments, he thinks being able to summarize someone's argument makes him understand it, and he is the king of false equivalences.

But still, people don't hear a lot of moderate liberal voices these days. And he maybe be frustrating to listen to if you're a progressive, liberal or conservative. However, he does give good insights.

-Next is Econtalk with Russ Roberts. Roberts is a libertarian, but probably one of the least offensive ones I have ever heard. He is ideological but very practical, he gives good interviews, and the best part is that he proves tons of sources for what is being discussed in the podcast. The podcast serves as a jumping off point for knowledge, which is good. He needs people the resources to educate themselves further, and get a better understanding.

-Finally, Greatcourses.com. They sell online courses on a ton of issues. There stuff is top notch, and you can become really knowledgeable at something. A sub is $20 a month (which is steep). But they have constant sales. specially around the holidays.
-----------------------

This is a lot. i don't even browse all these at anyone time.

One a base level I would recommend:

-Read NYT, and Post, and borwse Guardian's top stories

-Listen to NPR, especially their news hour.

-Read the economist

-Subscribe to Propublica Muck Reads.

 

[RustyShackleford]

If anyone wants specific links let me know. When i have time I might update the post with them.

 

[everysingletime]

Police in Suffolk County (long Island, ny) on average earn more than police from any other area in the US. So I'm not surprised by that list. Lol

Long Beach, Riverhead, Glencove, East Hampton.. Gee Louise, what kinda work do police supervisors do in these areas.

 

[harlemtothebronx]

Thanks, Rusty.

 

[d nice]

@RustyShackleford how much time do you devote to reading news, stories etc a day? It can get time consuming combing through so much in limited time. And how much far left sites do you read? I find that the Jacobin is decent.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Police in Suffolk County (long Island, ny) on average earn more than police from any other area in the US. So I'm not surprised by that list. Lol

You ever been to the Mastic Beach/ Shirley area? They deserve it.

But yeah, all public workers in Suffolk make bread. Teachers be flourishing outchea.

 

[shuges]

Y'all missing the point.

Yeah, LI cops and LI public workers in general make more than anywhere else. And uh, what is the majority demographic of Long Island?

 

[Based Jesus]

White? 

 

[RustyShackleford]

@RustyShackleford
how much time do you devote to reading news, stories etc a day? It can get time consuming combing through so much in limited time. And how much far left sites do you read? I find that the Jacobin is decent.

Anywhere from 30 mins to 3 hours.

I don't read fiction that much anymore, long forms take the place of that.

I listen to the economist audio and NPR. So the commute and having it on in the background at work saves time.

I work as an economic analysis. So part of my job is reading a lot of news.

Jacobin is only left wing I read consistently, the others I browser.

It is not really that much, at least it doesn't feel like it. I have cut back on watching sports, which strangely opened up a ton of free time.

But then again, like I said I don't read everything all the time.

 

[AZwildcats]

NPR is my favorite news source, I listen to their podcasts on my commute to and from work

 

[whywesteppin]

Good overview, Rusty.

NYT, New Yorker, The Atlantic usually provide the highest quality stuff. Wapo is ok for breaking news but sometimes the quality is slipping. I'd put it halfway between NYT and CNN.

Thanks to google assistant, I do the NPR news summary podcast in the morning while I'm getting ready. It's usually 5 minutes or less. There are a bunch of other podcasts as well but they get redundant quickly. And of course NPR radio has good interviews and discussions if I don't feel like music while I'm driving.

OK, I'll throw out one contribution: http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/

I actually only read one journalist's work on there so I can't speak for the whole site, but he delivers fairly good and well-balanced analysis of international issues that most others struggle with.

 

[d nice]

When it comes to podcasts, I listen to NPR politics, Econtalk, and the Economist Radio. When it comes to commentary, I listen to Eugene Puryear's podcast "By any means neccessary". He was the VP for the PSL this year and I would consider him to be far left.

Rusty pretty much already covered most of the basic sites, but some other ones I frequent are the Jacobin, TheHill, and inthesetimes, and Quartz. And I also frequent the National Review and National affairs when I want to get the other side of the story. I read Thomas Sowell's daily column that he writes for the National Review (The God of Black conservatives. I know Ninjahood would love this guy).

One site I recommend that hasn't been said yet (at least I think it hasn't) is the Intercept. https://theintercept.com/

Other than those, I also read alot of books and like @RustyShackleford I've cut my sports time considerably, but I still watch alot of soccer and b-ball.

EDIT: Democracy Now isn't bad either.

 

[00david00]

WSJ and NYT are both quality. The whole saga between Theranos and WSJ this past year was awesome to follow: http://businessjournalism.org/2016/11/testing-theranos-how-they-did-it/

Atlantic and New Yorker put out great pieces regularly.

Politico has good reporting on the hill. Also, they have daily briefings on specific topics you can sign up for that are pretty informative (free). I get an email every morning at 10 am with a write up on daily happenings in health policy, including links to potential articles of interest (from other publications). They have these for like 20+ topics from agriculture to defense (look under "tipsheets" on homepage).

edit:

For example, here is today's:

Spoiler

By Dan Diamond | 11/30/2016 10:00 AM EDT

The health care industry is abuzz over Donald Trump's picks of Tom Price for HHS Secretary and Seema Verma for CMS administrator. But first: The vote on 21st Century Cures is finally here.

CURES HITS THE FLOOR TODAY, AND BIPARTISAN BACKERS WANT THE HOUSE TO PASS IT - That includes industry players like Intel, Republican leaders like Sen. Lamar Alexander - and the Obama administration, too.

"The Administration strongly supports passage" of Cures, the White House said in a statement, pointing to the legislation's funding for opioid prevention and treatment, the cancer "moonshot" program and the precision medicine and BRAIN initiatives. And while some Democrats remain worried that Cures lacks funding to meet the law's effective dates, "this legislation offers advances in health that far outweigh these concerns," the White House said.

- But Heritage Action wants conservatives to vote it down. The conservative group is calling the 21st Century Cures bill a "Christmas tree, loaded with handouts for special interests" and paid for with budget gimmicks.

Heritage Action's Dan Holler writes in a key vote alert that Congress should not pass a $6.3 billion, 1,000-page "omnibus health care spending bill" during the lame duck session, especially when the new spending isn't subject to the Budget Control Act caps. More for Pros.

- Cole: Appropriators will follow through with Cures money. House and Senate appropriators are committed to authorizing the new NIH funding provided by 21st Century Cures, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said at the House Rules Committee hearing on the bill on Tuesday evening.

Cole, who chairs the House Labor-HHS appropriations subcommittee, said appropriators in the coming years will also provide NIH with additional funding beyond what is in the Cures bill.

The promise may quell some concerns from Democrats, Pro's Sarah Karlin-Smith reports. The Cures bill provides $4.77 billion to NIH over 10 years, but Democrats are worried that the funding isn't mandatory and must be authorized each year. More for Pros.

- Fred Upton releases manager's amendment. The amendment reallocates certain money for NIH and FDA but does not alter the total amount of money in the bill for NIH. It also changes the scope of provisions that are eligible for FDA funding. More for Pros.

MEET TOM PRICE - AND HIS CONSERVATIVE VISION FOR U.S. HEALTH CARE - The Georgia Republican, tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be his HHS Secretary, has a vision for health reform that hinges on eliminating much of the federal government's role in favor of a free-market framework built on privatization, state flexibility and changes to the tax code.

The vast majority of the 20 million people now covered under Obamacare would have far less robust coverage - if they got anything at all, Pro's Adam Cancryn, Jen Haberkorn and Rachana Pradhan report. Keep reading: More for Pros.

- Industry groups overwhelmingly applaud Price pick. The American Hospital Association, America's Essential Hospitals and America's Health Insurance Plans were among the groups saying that Price was eminently qualified for the role. "His vast health care experience and knowledge will be a great asset," PhRMA president Steve Ubl said in a statement.

... The American Medical Association's strong endorsement of Price and call for Congress to "promptly confirm" him didn't sit well with some AMA members, however. "As a Delegate to the House, I am horrified to see this," tweeted Kyle Edmonds, a palliative care doctor. "He opposes much of what the AMA has fought for recently."

- Meanwhile, 11 city health leaders petition Price to invest in public health. "The Republican Party Platform proposes reducing costs by converting Medicaid into block grants," write the letter-signers, which include Baltimore health commissioner Leana Wen and New York City health commissioner Mary Bassett. "This concerns us, as it risks depriving our most vulnerable residents of access to healthcare and adversely affecting health outcomes."

- Democrats seized on Price's nomination as a bad sign for the future of Obamacare and Medicare. And while they don't have the numbers to block his confirmation, they're aggressively attacking his qualifications and attempting to fire up their liberal base. Neera Tanden, a Clinton campaign adviser and the president of the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said Price is not qualified to lead HHS. "His ideas are so extreme and out of touch with the mainstream that he shows no concern for improving the health and livelihood of working Americans," she said.

- Meanwhile: Price speaks at Brookings today. He'll be there at 3 p.m. to discuss his proposed budget reforms, but expect at least a cursory question or two about his nomination to be HHS Secretary. Details and livestream here.

MEET SEEMA VERMA. The Indiana health policy consultant, formally tapped by Trump to lead CMS, made her name working on the Healthy Indiana coverage reforms for state Govs. Mitch Daniels and Mike Pence. More.

"She is the godmother of conservative Medicaid reform ideas and implementation," policy consultant Bob Laszewski told MedPage Today, terming Verma an "outstanding pick."

- In Health Affairs: Verma touts Healthy Indiana 2.0's success. See the August blog post, co-written with Brian Neale, who served as Pence's health policy director in Indiana. (Neale is now executive director of the Senate Joint Economic Committee.)

- In the IndyStar: Verma's conflicts of interest questioned. See the 2014 story, which investigated whether Verma's work on Indiana Medicaid reforms conflicted with her simultaneous contract with one of the state's largest Medicaid vendors.

WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE - Where we've heard one common question from Democrats and Republicans alike: How will Price and Verma adapt to the challenge of leading massive bureaucratic agencies? Neither has experience working within HHS, and the talents necessary to be a policy wonk often don't overlap with the skills needed to be an effective manager. Send tips and thoughts to ddiamond@politico.com or @ddiamond on Twitter.

With help from Helena Bottemiller Evich (@hbottemiller)

THE AGENDA

POLITICO's new Agenda 2020: Healthcare series launches this morning, and it's designed to help Washington peer not just around the corner, but far into the distance. What future problems will we regret not tackling now?

Predicting the future of health. Twelve leading public health thinkers weigh in on topics like aging, diversity and the impact of food and the environment.

What will America really look like in 30 years? Dana Goldstein draws a picture of a United States that is considerably browner, and considerably older, than the country most of us grew up in - which poses some deep policy challenges, and guarantees political friction over the solutions. But it also offers some opportunities. More.

One pilot to improve health care. Pro's Brett Norman spent time at Baltimore's Harriet Lane Clinic, where a pilot program is focused on treating patients' entire lives, not just their medical symptoms. More.

** A message from PhRMA: Medicare Part D has been providing seniors and individuals with disabilities access to affordable prescription drug coverage since its implementation 10 years ago. As Medicare open enrollment comes to an end next week, find tips and checklists here. **

INSURER MEGA-MERGERS

Pro's Paul Demko continues his updates from the DOJ's court challenge of Anthem and Cigna's planned $54 billion merger.

Judge grills Anthem's economic expert. Anthem's witness, Lona Fowdur of Economists Incorporated, said the government cherry-picked data and "arbitrarily established" some thresholds when making its case, which didn't reflect the realities of the marketplace. However, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson pushed back hard on these criticisms throughout Fowdur's testimony. "It's clearly a market that exists," Jackson said. "These people are bringing in billions of dollars." Keep reading: More for Pros.

OBAMACARE REPEAL

Senate Republicans lay out first steps: Start with reconciliation. "Congress will keep its promise to the American people to repeal and replace Obamacare," the post from the Senate Republican Policy Committee vows. More.

An ACA support group? Vox has started a Facebook community for Obamacare customers who are worried about losing their health insurance.

ON THE HILL

Sandy Levin stepping down as ranking Democrat on Ways and Means, wants to focus on health care. The Michigan representative said he's stepping down as the top Democrat on the House W&M Committee - in part to free himself up to focus on health care and the coming battle over Obamacare's future.

"As chair in 2010 when we passed the Affordable Care Act, I feel a sense of responsibility to help preserve it and there are now 20 million people counting on us to stop President Trump and the House Republicans from repealing it," Levin wrote in a letter to colleagues explaining his decision not to run again for the top Democratic spot - a decision that he said was also motivated by a desire to make way for younger leadership.

Chuck Schumer accuses GOP of 'war on seniors.' The incoming Senate Democratic leader trotted out a new messaging attack on Donald Trump and congressional Republicans on Tuesday, accusing the GOP of "plotting a war on seniors" with its plans to repeal Obamacare and potentially privatize Medicare. More for Pros.

AT THE WHITE HOUSE

Obama administration touts progress on substance-use disorders. The White House this morning is hosting its final event in the "Making Health Care Better" series, this time focused on progress in substance-use prevention, treatment and recovery. Scheduled to speak: Drug czar Michael Botticelli, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the VA's Carolyn Clancy, Baltimore city health commissioner Leana Wen and others. The event kicks off at 8:30 a.m: Watch the livestream

PUBLIC HEALTH

Fewer Americans having problems paying medical bills. That's according to new estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, which found that 43.8 million Americans in the first half of 2016 were in families that had problems paying their medical bills, down from 56.5 million Americans in 2011.

While the gains were concentrated among Americans who were uninsured or had public coverage, Americans with private insurance benefited too. Nearly 15 percent of Americans under age 65 with private coverage were in families having problems paying medical bills in 2011, but that number fell to 12.6 percent in the first 6 months of 2016.

Obesity a trillion dollar problem. That's according to a study out today from the Milken Institute, which concludes the obesity epidemic cost the U.S. $1.4 trillion in 2014. The staggering price tag - more than the country's defense budget - includes everything from medical treatment and drug costs to lost productivity; it also tallies up the financial impact of diseases tied to obesity, like diabetes and Alzheimer's. The report estimated that obesity's direct cost in the U.S. in 2014 was $427.8 billion, or more than 14 percent of all health care spending that year. Indirect costs, like lost work-days and lost productivity, totaled $988.8 billion.

"Obesity is weighing down America," said Ross DeVol, Milken Institute's chief research officer and a co-author of the study. Read the report here.

AROUND THE NATION

Hanford, Washington: 'The most toxic place in America.' That's according to some nuclear experts, who warn that the nuclear tanks stored at the site by the Department of Energy are leaking and the toxic and radioactive vapors are causing cancer, lung damage and even dementia. More.

WHAT WE'RE READING by Rachana Pradhan

Nature examines Tom Price's push to cut science and research spending.

StemExpress CEO Cate Dyer tells the Washington Examiner that Republicans' "sloppy" fetal tissue investigation is only hurting the GOP's cause.

New rules in Texas requiring burial or cremation of fetal remains will take effect in December, the Texas Tribune reports.

The health industry is breathing a little easier as the post-Obamacare path stabilizes, Reuters reports.

FDA approved Phase 3 clinical trials for Ecstasy as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, the New York Times reports.

The DEA has banned a cousin of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid, according to the Wall Street Journal.

** A message from PhRMA: In the 10 years since its implementation, Medicare Part D has successfully provided affordable prescription drug coverage to seniors and individuals with disabilities, helping them live longer, healthier lives. In fact, since 2006, nearly 200,000 Medicare beneficiaries have lived at least one year longer thanks to Part D coverage. And today, more than 40 million people benefit from the program. With Medicare open enrollment ending next week, learn more about Part D and how it benefits patients here. **

To view online:
http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/politico-pulse/2016/11/cures-hits-the-floor-today-217627

 

[RustyShackleford]

When it comes to podcasts, I listen to NPR politics, Econtalk, and the Economist Radio. When it comes to commentary, I listen to Eugene Puryear's podcast "By any means neccessary". He was the VP for the PSL this year and I would consider him to be far left.



Rusty pretty much already covered most of the basic sites, but some other ones I frequent are the Jacobin, TheHill, and inthesetimes, and Quartz. And I also frequent the National Review and National affairs when I want to get the other side of the story. I read Thomas Sowell's daily column that he writes for the National Review (The God of Black conservatives. I know Ninjahood would love this guy).

One site I recommend that hasn't been said yet (at least I think it hasn't) is the Intercept. https://theintercept.com/

Other than those, I also read alot of books and like @RustyShackleford
I've cut my sports time considerably, but I still watch alot of soccer and b-ball.

EDIT: Democracy Now isn't bad either.

Bruh, from studying economic and being black, I hate when people bring up Thomas Sowell in conversation. Conservatives think he must be my hero, liberals low key what me to low key how someone can tap dance so much.

Thank god for Arthur Lewis is from my island, I just use that to act like I ain't eem know Thomas Sowell is exist.

 

[d nice]

Bruh, from studying economic and being black, I hate when people bring up Thomas Sowell in conversation. Conservatives think he must be my hero, liberals low key what me to low key how someone can tap dance so much.

Thank god for Arthur Lewis being from my island, I just use that to act like I ain't eem know Thomas Sowell is exist.

Being around community activists and political circles for most of my life, it's hard not to hear and read about Thomas Sowell when he's constantly brought from everyone from conservative and liberal whites to J.C. Watts type cats

He's caught some wind these past few years with the do for self crowd.

You a St Lucia breh? I would've never guessed that. Arthur Lewis was an amazing economist. Too bad most of his books are either out of print or too expensive to come by. I always wonder how well his theory of urban planning would do in today's climate along with his Dual sector model.

 

[Nawzlew]

Didn't WaPo kill Bernie?

**** em

 

[rillo561]

NPR is my favorite news source, I listen to their podcasts on my commute to and from work

Big fan of NPR and C-Span.

 

[RustyShackleford]

Bruh, from studying economic and being black, I hate when people bring up Thomas Sowell in conversation. Conservatives think he must be my hero, liberals low key what me to low key how someone can tap dance so much.


Thank god for Arthur Lewis being from my island, I just use that to act like I ain't eem know Thomas Sowell is exist.

Being around community activists and political circles for most of my life, it's hard not hear and read about Thomas Sowell when he's constantly brought from everyone from conservative and liberal whites to J.C. Watts type cats He's caught some wind these past few years with the do for self crowd.

You from St Lucia breh? Arthur Lewis was an amazing economist. Too bad most of his books are either out of print or too expensive to come by. I always wonder how well his theory of urban planning would do in today's climate along with his Dual sector model.

Yeah. Like Rex said "Basic Economic" is a great book, but dude twerking the banjo a lil too hard for my liking.

Yeah brah I'm from Lucia. Most Nobel laureates per-capital............with two . I'll check when I'm down there for the winter, they used to sell all his books for really cheap in bookstores on the island, won't be a problem for me to scoop them up for you.

I haven't given any thought to how his theories would apply in today's world, it is an interesting question to ponder though.

-Seidenote: I still remember being in 5th grade, there was this big nationalist push on the island. Kids had to read Derek Wallcott, learn French creole, and study the life of Arthur Lewis. My school thought it was wise to teach the students about the Lewis model. This was my first exposure to economics.

Imagine a 26 year old woman that has never studied econ, reading from a government issued manual, trying to dumb The Lewis Model down so 10 year old to digest. I still the whole damb class looking at the teacher like:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Then they tell us we gonna be tested on it:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I remember as soon as i read that test and had no idea what was going on:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

After I was done and teacher announces it gonna be 5% of my Social Studies grade:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Me getting my score:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Mannnn I was screaming **** economics for a good 5 years after that.

 

[RustyShackleford]

The playlist in my car is either NPR, Trap Music, or Dancehall

And I can transition between them smoothly. My girl thinks that is a tad bit disturbing

 

[whywesteppin]

Anyone listen to NPR's segment today about Oklahoma public schools? They switched to 4-day weeks and haven't given raises to teachers for a while because of a lack of funds. State Question 779 would've added a 1% sales tax to go towards education but was defeated.

The argument against it was this: "Opponents argued that a sales tax increase harms low-income and middle-income households more than high-income households, making it a regressive and unfair tax."

I understand the basic argument that sales tax is more regressive than income tax because everyone pays the same rate, but the counterargument I have is that low-income households probably spend most of their money on rent and food (at least I do....). Not all products that have sales tax are luxury items, but it seems like the time you actually pay attention to sales tax is when you're buying large-ticket items (TVs, fur coats, etc) and not on a couple household goods at Target.

That said, I don't know why Oklahoma didn't instead propose an income tax increase (or increase the cigarette or alcohol tax), other than that they are a severely Republican state and that would have been even more severely opposed.

Anyway, it was sad to hear the people they had on NPR arguing against the tax increase without offering any other solutions. Like they'd rather stand firm on the principle of low taxes instead of taking care of their youth. Some of these states just don't understand how much capital they are losing out on. The most talented kids will leave the state and never come back.

 

[biggie62]

Anyone listen to NPR's segment today about Oklahoma public schools? They switched to 4-day weeks and haven't given raises to teachers for a while because of a lack of funds. State Question 779 would've added a 1% sales tax to go towards education but was defeated.

The argument against it was this: "Opponents argued that a sales tax increase harms low-income and middle-income households more than high-income households, making it a regressive and unfair tax."

I understand the basic argument that sales tax is more regressive than income tax because everyone pays the same rate, but the counterargument I have is that low-income households probably spend most of their money on rent and food (at least I do....). Not all products that have sales tax are luxury items, but it seems like the time you actually pay attention to sales tax is when you're buying large-ticket items (TVs, fur coats, etc) and not on a couple household goods at Target.

That said, I don't know why Oklahoma didn't instead propose an income tax increase (or increase the cigarette or alcohol tax), other than that they are a severely Republican state and that would have been even more severely opposed.

Anyway, it was sad to hear the people they had on NPR arguing against the tax increase without offering any other solutions. Like they'd rather stand firm on the principle of low taxes instead of taking care of their youth. Some of these states just don't understand how much capital they are losing out on. The most talented kids will leave the state and never come back.

Kansas is another state that has a failed/similar tax policy. They lowered their taxes and now they can't meet any budget goals because trickle down economics failed. It's hilarious how we still push this agenda when we have Louisiana and Kansas who have tried it to attract business but no businesses want to move there. Businesses will move where they can attract top talent because top talent wants to live there. It's why generally speaking, most of the major economic hubs are major cities or very close to major cities where there are many cultural exhibits and activities. Look at the NE major cities as an exam, San Fran and Silicon Valley, and Austin in Texas. If people don't want to live there they won't move the high value jobs there easily.

You will even struggle to attract skilled blue collar workers as well. Companies understand this fully.

 

[d nice]

Yeah. Like Rex said "Basic Economic" is a great book, but dude twerking the banjo a lil too hard for my liking.

Yeah brah I'm from Lucia. Most Nobel laureates per-capital............with two

. I'll check when I'm down there for the winter, they used to sell all his books for really cheap in bookstores on the island, won't be a problem for me to scoop them up for you.

I haven't given any thought to how his theories would apply in today's world, it is an interesting question to ponder though.

-Seidenote: I still remember being in 5th grade, there was this big nationalist push on the island. Kids had to read Derek Wallcott, learn French creole, and study the life of Arthur Lewis. My school thought it was wise to teach the students about the Lewis model. This was my first exposure to economics.

Imagine a 26 year old woman that has never studied econ, reading from a government issued manual, trying to dumb The Lewis Model down so 10 year old to digest. I still the whole damb class looking at the teacher like:Then they tell us we gonna be tested on it:I remember as soon as i read that test and had no idea what was going on:After I was done and teacher announces it gonna be 5% of my Social Studies grade:Me getting my score:Mannnn I was screaming **** economics for a good 5 years after that.

Mannnnnnn you would be a GODSEND if you could get his books from the island for the low low

Them thangs is non-existent state side.

I've got a whole list for you too look at

I was reading an article the other day about Lewis and wondered how his theories would do and found out that they're currently being used in Singapore. I don't know what data is available to look at to see how Singapore is currently doing but it could be an interesting case study.

If I had to study Lewis as a 10 yr old, I would've had to commit that on some Tommen **** real talk

 

[Nawzlew]

r/the_donald getting purged from r/all

 

[00david00]

Bloomberg: How the White House could justify a debt-driven Keynesian stimulus

Interesting article on potential fiscal policy under the Trump admin, implementing dynamic scoring to justify spending.

From what I understand (I don't know much econ), dynamic scoring plugs in growth from tax cuts back into your model (as opposed to static which ignores that aspect). You're changing the math/assumptions, making the cuts look cheaper. The article mentions this could go beyond tax cuts too. You could feed in regulatory/energy/trade plans into these models, and justify higher levels of spending by compensating with projected growth. Your tax cuts and spending are now paying for themselves (according to your model).

The catch: you explode the debt if your model is off, followed by more interest (which is not even accounted for in this analysis).

Over the summer, both Trump and the House Republicans sent their tax reform plans for analysis to the Tax Foundation, a conservative think tank. The foundation priced the GOP’s tax cut at a cost of $2.4 trillion over the next decade—static. Dynamic, it found a deficit of only $191 billion. Trump’s tax plan shook out at $4.4 trillion to $5.9 trillion static cost, $2.6 trillion to $3.9 trillion dynamic.

According to Kyle Pomerleau, who wrote both analyses, most of the economic growth that feeds back into the dynamic model comes not from reductions in the personal or corporate tax rate, but from allowing businesses to write off their investments immediately instead of over time. This will encourage the purchase of productive capital, which makes workers more efficient and creates growth. Feed that back into the model, repeat.

In Pomerleau’s modeling notes—always read the modeling notes—he lays out two crucial assumptions. First, like North Carolina State’s Traum, he doesn’t assume that politics or bond markets will force Washington to balance the budget over the long term. Second, the model “does not take into account the fiscal or economic effects of interest on debt.”

In almost all standard models, a chunk of new government debt raises interest rates and “crowds out” other investments. The Tax Foundation doesn’t agree with this assumption. “When we model tax plans, we take the global savings glut seriously,” says Pomerleau. Basically, the Tax Foundation believes that there’s so much money in the world that it will find a home no matter what the U.S. Treasury does.

This isn’t quackery. There is a global savings glut. But the assumption that there won’t be any crowding out of other investments is a significant departure from other models, the practice at the JCT and the CBO, and available research (though most of that research predates the recession). And it puts Republicans in an awkward position. Their plans score well if you don’t think government debt is bad.

Aside from the technicalities, also important:

But models and even official scores don’t have any constitutional meaning. They serve only to chasten. It’s not clear what will happen when they encounter a president who can’t be chastened. “That’s going to be the interesting moment,” says Holtz-Eakin. “They’re going to put out a budget. They’re going to dynamically score it. And I can’t wait to see it.”