Assorted Links (4/19/2010)

Here’s a list of articles that I have been reading lately:

Clunkers for Caulkers – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

The Wall Street Journal writes that cash for caulkers is another opportunity to game Uncle Sam’s energy subsidies.

 

The Toxic VAT – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

The Wall Street Journal writes that the Senate votes against the VAT, 85-13.

 

This Is Apple’s Next iPhone – Iphone 4 – Gizmodo

gizmodo.com

You are looking at Apple’s next iPhone. It was found lost in a bar in Redwood City, camouflaged to look like an iPhone 3GS. We got it. We disassembled it. It’s the real thing, and here are all the details.

 

More from Eyjafjallajokull – The Big Picture – Boston.com

www.boston.com

As ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano continued to keep European airspace shut down over the weekend, affecting millions of travelers around the world, some government agencies and airlines clashed over the flight bans. …

 

Andrew Kohut: Americans Are More Skeptical of Washington Than Ever – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

In The Wall Street Journal, the Pew Research Center president, Andrew Kohut, notes that significantly more people now favor a smaller government with fewer services since Barack Obama took office.


T.H. Breen: Americans Should Celebrate April 19 as Our Independence Day – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

In The Wall Street Journal, Northwestern University historian T. H. Breen writes that for ordinary Americans, the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, meant that the rupture with Great Britain was irrevocable.

 

Supply and Demand (in that order): Cartoon About Work Incentives

caseymulligan.blogspot.com

The basic tools of supply and demand help immensely to understand and predict everyday events in our world. These days, many of those events are related to the financial crisis — or the Panic of 2008 as I call it. …

 

On Leadership Panelists: High-risk, low-probability: Why leaders must envision and prepare for futur

views.washingtonpost.com

The art of leadership includes preparing for the unexpected. In an unpredictable world, that’s more valuable than ever.

 

The following study documents, among other things, that the top 1 percent of income earners will pay an additional $50,000 per year in taxes because of this legislation, whereas the average net benefit to income earners in the bottom half of the distribution will be about $1000 per year.

The Tax Foundation – Health Care Reform: How Much Does It Redistribute Income?

www.taxfoundation.org

The health care bill passed by Congress and signed by President Obama is arguably the most significant piece of domestic policy legislation since the 1960s. The law will transform the financing of U.S. …

 

How Is the Stimulus Money Allocated? – Veronique de Rugy – The Corner on National Review Online

corner.nationalreview.com

NRO

 

Will the Icelandic Volcano Cool off the Planet? – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com

freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com

Probably not – it’s just not that big of an eruption.

 

Spending, Not Tax Cuts, Is the Real Driver of the Fiscal Mess — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

www.american.com

It’s hard to argue that our looming budget problems derive from ‘too little taxes’ when by any historical standard taxes will rise to record levels even before the fiscal gap is addressed.

 

Why do so many Americans pay no income taxes?|KeithHennessey.com

keithhennessey.com

Today many are discussing how many Americans do not owe income taxes. The traditional debate splits along partisan lines. Many Republicans and conservatives argue it is both unfair and politically dangerous …

 

EDITORIAL: Cheaper insurance for celebrities – Washington Times

www.washingtontimes.com

Joe Sixpack shouldn’t have to pay for Rosie O’Donnell’s home insurance. Yet as crazy as it sounds, the House Financial Services Committee next week is expected to consider lending a helping hand to the owners of some of the most exclusive properties in the country. …

 

‘The First White Farmer Had Been Murdered’ — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

www.american.com

An eyewitness account of the Zimbabwean civilization’s collapse.

News: Who Really Failed? – Inside Higher Ed

www.insidehighered.com

Louisiana State U. removes a tough grader from her course mid-semester, and raises the grades of her students. Faculty leaders see a betrayal of values and due process.

 

Defaults Rise in Federal Loan Modification Program – NYTimes.com

www.nytimes.com

Defaults nearly doubled in March, continuing a troubling trend that threatens to undermine the federal program.

 

Grace-Marie Turner: Obamacare will make every day feel like April 15th | Washington Examiner

www.washingtonexaminer.com

New taxes on investments, taxes on medical supplies, taxes on drugs and health insurance, and taxes on you if you are just breathing… the list of taxes Americans will face just got a lot longer thanks to ObamaCare.

Journeys to the International Space Station – The Big Picture – Boston.com

www.boston.com

April 12th marked the 49th anniversary of human spaceflight, when Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit the Earth in 1961. At this moment, 13 humans are currently in low-Earth orbit, aboard the International Space Station. …

 

Q&A: Does Gold Belong in My Portfolio? – Fama/French Forum

www.dimensional.com

Based on spot price data from January 1970 through February 2010, the average return on gold bullion was almost exactly the same as the S&P 500 at 88 basis points per month. Volatility was significantly …

 

Taxation: Tax the rich, and the rest | The Economist

www.economist.com

Today’s Parade Magazine (with a circulation of 32 million) includes its “Annual Salary Survey.” What this means is that the magazine presents about a hundred photos of various people with their names, occupations, and annual earnings. …

 

The Upside of an Impenetrable Tax Code – Economix Blog – NYTimes.com

economix.blogs.nytimes.com

It keeps people attuned to and angry about how much money their government is spending, an economist writes.

 

Pension crises: Debt bomb | The Economist

www.economist.com

CALL me a fiscal conservative, but mounting federal and state debt scares the heck out of me. At the Kauffman economics bloggers forum, many participants claimed that they expect a sovereign debt crisis in America in the next few decades. …