Remarkable stories from the web in a new, easier format.
What Abe calls his “three-arrows” economic-regeneration plan is a shot in the dark in a country generally not inclined to risk-taking. The first arrow, aggressive monetary easing, is designed to slay the dragon of deflation. The second, a one-time dose of fiscal stimulus, is intended to jump- start economic growth after more than two decades of stagnation. The third, a mix of structural reforms, is designed to boost productive efficiency, attract investment and render faster growth sustainable.
Economist’s View: ‘Japan rising? Shinzo Abe’s Excellent Adventure’
What’s more, their report carries the clear implication that welfare is (or should be expected to be) pulling low-wage workers out of the labor market by making life on welfare so attractive. In actuality, many low-income working families receive assistance through these programs.
Welfare Isn’t Too Generous—Wages Are Too Low | Economic Policy Institute
Between 1979 and 2007, wages and salaries as a share of overall income fell from 70 percent to 60 percent. Over this period, the income going to the top 1 percent of households has more than doubled, from 9 percent to 19 percent. And if unaltered by public policy, income inequality — already having surpassed Gilded Age levels of inequity — will remain on an upward trajectory for the foreseeable future.
5 Years After the Crisis: Why the Income Gap Is Widening | The Fiscal Times
Who is the real John McAfee? He’s the man who went on the run after his neighbour was found dead, face-up, with a bullet in his head. He’s the man who jump-started the multibillion-dollar anti-virus industry. And now he thinks he can make you invisible on the internet.
BBC News – John McAfee: Addict, coder, runaway
Furthermore, you will accept that at least two of these claims are, if not true, then at least plausible.
1. Nominal wage rigidity plays a large role in the modern U.S. economy.
2. A substantial fraction of this nominal wage rigidity stems from basic human psychology, not government regulation.
3. Nominal wage rigidity is sufficiently durable to create a long-run inflation-unemployment trade-off at low inflation rates.
A Challenge for Anti-Keynesians, Bryan Caplan | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
We don’t want to meddle into domestic policy debates, but now that these are threatening economies and investment portfolios worldwide, outside observers and investors have a right to ask some questions. What is so objectionable about Obamacare that some of the critics want to shut it down no matter what? We have a hard time understanding. And we’re not alone:
What Exactly Is So Objectionable About Obamacare? – Seeking Alpha.
You may not have heard of “the peanut butter test,” but it could become a fantastically low-cost and non-invasive way to test for Alzheimer’s. After all, what’s less invasive than asking someone to smell some delicious peanut butter?
New Peanut Butter Test Is A Quick And Easy Screen For Alzheimer’s – Business Insider
Cows have regional accents like humans, language specialists have suggested. They decided to examine the issue after dairy farmers noticed their cows had slightly different moos, depending on which herd they came from.
BBC NEWS | UK | Cows also ‘have regional accents’
It is obvious that governments are struggling to find the correct balance between controlling public debt … and boosting the rate of economic growth. The former objective requires more budgetary tightening, while the latter requires the opposite. Is there any way around this? One radical option now being discussed is to cancel (or, in polite language, “restructure”) part of the government debt that has been acquired by the central banks as a consequence of quantitative easing (QE).
The Fed Could Simply CANCEL $2 Trillion of Government Debt | Zero Hedge
The so-called structural balance of the general government aims to measure the ‘underlying’ position of the budget by excluding the impact of the economic cycle and one-off measures, like bank recapitalisation costs. It has a crucial role in designing fiscal consolidation strategies in the EU (see the Annex at the end).
Bruegel | Mind the gap! And the way structural budget balances are calculated*
In short, group identity and competition led to irrational and self-righteous hostility. Doesn’t that sound like the political rhetoric we hear on the daily news?
From Summer Camp, a Parable for Washington – NYTimes.com
