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

Debate Heats Up Over Stimulus Spending – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Eighteen months after Obama administered a massive dose of spending increases and tax cuts, a fight has broken out about whether fiscal-stimulus medicine is curing the illness or making it worse.”  For a page 1 story of a major newspaper, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the reporter (Jon Hilsenrath) was able to summarize the empirical academic literature which assesses the relative efficacy of fiscal policy instruments such as deficit spending and tax cuts…

Robert M. Kimmitt and Matthew J. Slaughter: The Foreign Investment Solution for American Jobs – WSJ.

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Robert M. Kimmitt and Matthew J. Slaughter write that the Obama administration can spur job growth for Americans by making it easier for foreign companies to do business in the United States.”

Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete and Yoweri Museveni: Free Trade and the Fight Against Malaria – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni write in the Wall Street Journal that removing tariffs would be good for African health and for African entrepreneurs.”

Stephens: From WikiLeaks to the Killing Fields – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Global View columnist Bret Stephens says that liberals contemplate withdrawal from Afghanistan with no thought of the consequences.”

The Patriarch’s Will – a game theory puzzle – Mind Your Decisions

mindyourdecisions.com

“Here is a scenario which occurred many millennia ago: The patriarch of a wealthy family was on his deathbed and wanted to divide his gold among his eight sons who were all very, very greedy. Wishing to favor the oldest son (as tradition would have it) but also to reward the more cunning of his progeny, he made the following decree…”

The Costs of War – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com

nytimes.com

“A new paper reviews war costs in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

McGurn: Giving Lousy Teachers the Boot – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Main Street columnist William McGurn on bad teachers in D.C. who were booted by school chancellor Michelle Rhee.”

Science Turns Authoritarian — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

american.com

“Science is losing its credibility because it has adopted an authoritarian tone, and has let itself be co-opted by politics.”

The American Spectator : America’s Ruling Class — And the Perils of Revolution

online.wsj.com

My friend Kevin Stuart (Ph.D. student in UT-Austin’s Department of Government) brought this very compelling essay to my attention the other day…

2010 Tour de France – part II – The Big Picture – Boston.com

boston.com

The Cop on the Banks of the Nile – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

Fouad Ajami writes in The Wall Street Journal that no great upheaval has taken place in the Egypt of Hosni Mubarak. But the country has stagnated, and some of its children have blamed the U.S. and embraced terror.”

Fan and Fred and the Problem of Narrative – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Brian Carney notes that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s blunders don’t fit the left’s story about how greedy bankers caused the financial crisis. That’s why they haven’t been reformed.”

ATMs in Antarctica: An Interview With Wells Fargo’s David Parker

needcoffee.com

“I was fascinated when I learned that there was an ATM on Antarctica, specifically at McMurdo Station. Just because, you know, it’s not like your local ATM that they can zip a service tech out to. So to sate my curiosity, I gave a ping to Wells Fargo, who manages that ATM–and got a chance to chat with David Parker. All shall be explained.”

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

Mike Huckabee on politics, Christianity, Israel : The New Yorker

www.newyorker.com

Interesting New Yorker article about former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee…

Will the U.S. Hand Chavez a License to Kill?

www.american.com

“Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez’s record of providing money, arms, political support, and, yes, safe haven to groups waging a murderous war against a sovereign state openly violates international law.”

The Government’s Role in the Housing Bubble – National – The Atlantic

www.theatlantic.com

“I never would have guessed that years in, we’d still be debating the role of the government in the housing bubble.”

New Blood for Social Security

www.american.com

“Should public-sector pensions shift their workers to Social Security?”

Are We Naturally Lazy?

freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com

“We’re happier when busy, but inclined to laziness.”

Crisis Economics

nationalaffairs.com

This is the clearest “plain English” explanation that I have seen anywhere which explains the conditions under which fiscal policy instruments such as government spending and tax cuts may or may not have particularly “stimulative” effects on the economy. The author (Harvard Professor N. Gregory Mankiw) also provides some interesting anecdotes concerning the absurdity of the Obama Administration’s famous “jobs created or saved” metric (also see Three Million Imaginary Jobs II); e.g., how some employers have counted federal government stimulus money which was used to provide pay raises to existing employees as “creating” jobs, and the story about a shoe-store owner in Kentucky who sold boots to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (for work on a project made possible by stimulus funds) who claimed to have created nine jobs with $889 (“…after all, a soldier could not go to work… without a pair of boots”).

Stormy skies – The Big Picture – Boston.com

www.boston.com

Robert McDowell: The U.N. Threat to Internet Freedom – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In the Wall Street Journal, Robert McDowell writes that the FCC’s move to treat broadband providers like phone company monopolies could spur international efforts to regulate the Web.”

Kim Strassel: Obama’s Other Chicago Problem – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Kim Strassel writes in The Wall Street Journal that the president’s support for Illinois senatorial hopeful Alexi Giannoulias is an unwanted reminder of the Windy City’s unsavory politics.”

Review & Outlook: Liberal Tax Revolt – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“The Wall Street Journal writes that even many Democrats don’t want the Bush cuts to expire.”

Charles Krauthammer – Beware the lame duck

www.washingtonpost.com

“To pass major legislation in a lame-duck session would be a violation of democratic norms.”

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

Taking apart the federal budget

www.washingtonpost.com

“(Graphically) Explore the various facets of the government’s budget and see how revenues and spending have changed over time.” Basically, this is a lesson in real world public finance in only 5 slides!

Michael Boskin: Obama’s Economic Fish Stories – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Michael Boskin writes in The Wall Street Journal that when it comes to unemployment, the president claims that the stimulus bill was several times more potent than his chief economic adviser estimates. Such statements hurt his credibility.”

Beware Greedy Relatives If You Hope to See 2011

www.businessweek.com

Thanks to a quirk in the federal tax law, the estate tax this year is zero, but starting on Jan. 1 all taxable estates exceeding $1 million will be taxed at the rate of 55 percent. The author of this article notes that the perverse incentives may mean that “Plugs get unplugged, do-not-resuscitate orders are placed. Maybe worse.” Furthermore, there is an empirical literature which shows that monetary incentives influence death rates; specifically, “…a 2003 paper in the Review of Statistics and Economics by Joel Slemrod of the University of Michigan and Wojciech Kopczuk of the University of British Columbia…examined the number of estate-tax returns immediately following changes in the law since 1916 and found that death rates change with the estate tax.”

Economics One: Government Policy and the Slowdown

johnbtaylorsblog.blogspot.com

Professor Taylor on the causes of (and the cure for) the slowing economy: “Like many economists, I am concerned about the slowdown in the economy which prolongs the high unemployment rate. I think uncertainty about the growing federal debt and the increased government interventions-from health care to financial markets…-is the cause of the slowdown. In my view the best stimulus right now would be a clear and credible plan to reduce the deficit and bring down the growing debt.”

Labor Pains — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

www.american.com

“Europe’s taxes punish working outside the home, so Europeans don’t work as much as they would otherwise.”

Martin Feldstein: The ‘Tax Expenditure’ Solution for Our National Debt – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Harvard economist Martin Feldstein says that the credits and subsidies that make the tax code so complicated cost big bucks. Reduce them by third and the debt will be 72% of GDP in 2020 instead of 90%.”

Bret Stephens: Why Hasn’t Israel Bombed Iran (Yet)? – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Global View columnist Bret Stephens says the military risks of a raid on Iran are large, but the political risks could be even bigger.”

Notable & Quotable – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Reuel Marc Gerecht discusses how conversations about Islam in the U.S. have become boring, lightweight, and sometimes inane under the Obama administration.”

Michio Kaku: What We’ve Learned from the Gulf Spill – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In the Wall Street Journal, Michio Kaku writes that in the future, relief wells should be drilled simultaneously with the main well.”

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

Kimberley A. Strassel: About That Financial Reform ‘Victory’ – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Potomac Watch columnist Kim Strassel writes that Dodd-Frank may backfire on Democrats.”

Andy Kessler: The Yo-Yo Market and You – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Andy Kessler writes that the stock market will suffer dizzy spells until government policies return to some semblance of stability.”

Peggy Noonan: Youth Has Outlived Its Usefulness – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“American politics is desperately in need of adult supervision, argues Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal.”

Charles Krauthammer – Obama’s next act

www.washingtonpost.com

“I have a warning for Republicans: Don’t underestimate Barack Obama.”

Lasting Inequality – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com

freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com

“Income inequality throughout the 20th century…The evidence shows that, although there have been large absolute reductions in the level of infant and child mortality rates and also a reduction in the absolute levels of differences across socioeconomic groups, relative inequality has not diminished over the 20th century.”

Hillary Clinton for President – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

The secretary of state could mount a formidable challenge to Obama, writes Pete du Pont.”

Evangelicals Try Stand-Up by David Skeel – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In his Houses of Worship column, David Skeel writes about a new effort called Veritas Riff, which teaches evangelical leaders improvisation techniques to make them into more effective public intellectuals.”

Op-Ed Columnist – The Gospel of Mel Gibson – NYTimes.com

www.nytimes.com

“The taped tirade of the former Braveheart is evidence of our modern infatuation with ourselves.”

Three Million Imaginary Jobs – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“The Wall Street Journal writes that the White House and Christina Romer are still claiming that the stimulus worked despite the high unemployment.”

The White House’s claim that the $862 billion economic stimulus of February 2009 “created or saved” between 2.5 million and 3.6 million jobs can’t be taken seriously. While the “jobs created or saved” statistic is politically clever, it is based upon a “what would have happened” counterfactual scenario that, by definition, is neither measurable nor refutable.

Senate VIP Loans Mount – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“U.S. senators or Senate staff members received 30 loans—far more than had previously been known—under a controversial lending program at Countrywide Financial that provided cut-rate terms to favored borrowers.”

FT.com / Companies / Banks – Failures of the Dodd-Frank Act

www.ft.com

“Anachronistic in parts right from the day of its legislation …when read in its full glory, the 2,000 plus page script falls flat on at least three important counts, even ignoring its somewhat misplaced – likely populist – diversion into consumer protection issues. First, the Act does not sufficiently discourage individual firms from putting the system at risk…Second, the falls into the familiar trap of regulating by form rather than function…Third, implicit government guarantees for large parts of the shadow banking sector remain unaddressed.”

The Estate Tax’s Perverse Incentives – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com

freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com

“Will the estate tax return next year?”

Do High Incomes Make CEO’s Mean?

online.wsj.com

Possibly they do…

When Debt Flies Off the Charts

www.american.com

“Under one realistic future scenario, the nation’s debt becomes so large that Congressional Budget Office models break down.”

Gregg Sherrill: Speaking Up for American Capitalism – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Tenneco CEO Gregg Sherrill writes that business has taken a pounding on Capitol Hill and at the White House and has for the most part remained silent.”

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

For a New Generation, an Elusive American Dream – NYTimes.com

www.nytimes.com

“In the Nicholson family, America is not delivering for a grandson as it did for his father and grandfather.”

NHTSA: No, Toyotas do not Suddenly Accelerate Unless You Press the Accelerator

www.theatlantic.com

“At the apex of PJ O’Rourke’s description of the 1980s Sudden Acceleration Incident craze…”

‘Artificial Intelligence’ Gains Fans Among Investors – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“A new wave of investment firms are turning to artificial-intelligence programs to make trading decisions. The programs are designed to crunch numbers, learn from decisions, and adapt. Some are having success.”

Shadow Banking

www.ny.frb.org

Here’s some “light” reading for folks who are interested in having a better understanding of how financial intermediation works in the real world: “The rapid growth of the market-based financial system since the mid-1980s changed the nature of financial intermediation in the United States profoundly. Within the market-based financial system, shadow banks are particularly important institutions.”

James Woolsey and Rebeccah Heinrichs: Iran and the Missile Defense Imperative – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“R. James Woolsey and Rebeccah Heinrichs write in The Wall Street Journal that U.S. intelligence now sees Tehran developing intercontinental missiles by 2015. If we continue our current strategy, we will not be able to counter the threat.”

Jenkins: Bank CEOs and the Bewitching Carrot – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Holman Jenkins writes in The Wall Street Journal that shareholders of large, publicly traded banks have a higher appetite for risk than is compatible with our regulatory system.”

The Uncertainty Principle – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“The Wall Street Journal writes that Dodd-Frank will require at least 243 new federal rule-makings and lots of economic uncertainty for struggling businesses.”

Nation Demands Tax Dollars Only Be Wasted On Stuff That’s Awesome

www.theonion.com

Satire concerning “stimulus spending” from The Onion… “Nine of 10 respondents said they favor the continued public financing of new sports stadiums, but only if the old ones are imploded in an elaborate pyrotechnic display that everyone can watch from reclining chairs as AC/DC’s “Highway To Hell” blasts in the background.”

Q&A: The Limits of Arbitrage – Fama/French Forum

www.dimensional.com

“The people in behavioral finance treat the Shleifer and Vishny (1997) paper as if it is empirical evidence. In fact, it is theory built on a set of assumptions – in the end, a clever set of claims. It can’t discredit market efficiency until it is supported by rigorous empirical work.”

The electoral consequences of large fiscal adjustments

www.voxeu.org

“The market turmoil in recent weeks pose a key question: can European governments credibly commit to cutting their deficits? This column presents evidence that fiscal adjustments do not increase the likelihood of electoral defeat for incumbent governments.”

Eating to Live or Living to Eat? http://on.wsj.com/aw8phL  

Mission Group Reels After Losses in Uganda http://on.wsj.com/clhkDG

Paul Berman: What You Can’t Say About Islamism – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In the Wall Street Journal, Paul Berman writes that American intellectuals won’t face up to Muslim radicalism’s Nazi past.”

The Case of Apple and the Mysterious Bars – The Numbers Guy – WSJ

blogs.wsj.com

“Apple’s announcement that its formula for calculating signal bars to display on the iPhone was “totally wrong” spotlighted a mysterious aspect of cellphone technology.”

No Garden-Variety Public Pension Crisis

www.american.com

“Public-sector pensions in New Jersey and other states completely ignore the risk and cost to taxpayers of investing in increasingly risky assets.”

Kimberly Strassel: Obama and the Chicago Machine – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In the Wall Street Journal, columnist Kimberly Strassel writes that testimony in the Blagojevich trial shows the White House in an unflattering light.”

Donald Luskin: Why This Isn’t Like 1938—At Least Not Yet – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Donald Luskin notes that stock prices show we’ve dodged another depression, but toxic, antibusiness rhetoric and policy errors like the Dodd-Frank bill are hurting the still-fragile recovery.”

Eric Felten: Fox TV’s Glenn Beck is Opening a University? Imagine the Curricula if Every Celebrity Did

online.wsj.com

“In his De Gustibus column in The Wall Street Journal, Eric Felten notes that Fox TV’s Glenn Beck is opening an online university, and wonders why any or all celebrities can’t open schools, with curricula to suit their reputations and (sometimes) peculiar talents.”

Peggy Noonan: The Town Hall Revolt, One Year Later – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Peggy Noonan writes in the Wall Street Journal that Democrats didn’t get the message from all of the townhall meetings last summer. Will Republicans do better?”

Walking Away From Million-Dollar Mortgages – NYTimes.com

www.nytimes.com

“The well-to-do have stopped paying their home loans in greater numbers, and apparently with less guilt.”

Ohio hamburger chain says insurance reform will bite into profits

www.cleveland.com

“The White Castle hamburger chain fears that a health insurance reform law adopted earlier this year will put its profits on a downward slide…White Castle, which currently provides insurance to all of its full-time workers and picks up 70 to 89 percent of their premium costs, believes it will likely end up paying those penalties. The financial hit will make it hard for the company to maintain its 421 restaurants, let alone create new jobs, says company spokesman.”

Charles Krauthammer – The selective modesty of Barack Obama

www.washingtonpost.com

“Obama is convinced of his own magnificence, and hardly any of his own country’s.”

New Takings, Just Like the Old Takings

www.american.com

“Oh, for the good ol’ days when eminent domain was the government’s preferred method for taking private land.”

How Much the World Has Changed – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com

nytimes.com

“Advertisements from days gone by.”

Why Limits On Banker Bonuses Are Meaningless « StreetTalk – Forbes.com

forbes.com 

“Limiting compensation will not prevent the next blow up.”

Lee E. OHanian: More Unionization Means Fewer Jobs – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, UCLA economist Lee E. O’Hanian says that the president’s drive to spread unionization throughout the private economy will raise prices, lower production, increase unemployment and retard growth.”

The Superfund Bait and Switch – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“The Wall Street Journal writes that the EPA is using the spill as a pretext to raise taxes and revive a destructive liability theory.”

Arthur B. Laffer: Unemployment Benefits Aren’t Stimulus – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Arthur B. Laffer writes in The Wall Street Journal that increasing unemployment benefits will not have a stimulative effect on the economy but it will reduce the incentive to find work. A federal tax holiday is a better way to cut the high jobless rate.”

The Friends of Israel Initiative: Israel: A Normal Country – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com 

“In the Wall Street Journal, the new Friends of Israel Initiative writes that Western democracies must reevaluate their jaded perspectives on Israel.”

Daniel Henninger: Obama and the Spending Volcano – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com 

“Daniel Henninger writes in The Wall Street Journal that voters are frustrated with the Democrats’ unprecedented spending and the debt that it has created.”

AT&T Finds Glitch Affecting iPhone 4 – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“AT&T said a software defect is slowing down the wireless connection for more than one million customers looking to send data from smartphones like the iPhone 4 or laptop modems.”

Q&A: Public vs. Private Equity – Fama/French Forum

www.dimensional.com

“Asset pricing theory suggests that less liquid assets should have higher expected returns to compensate for lower liquidity. Whether there is in fact a liquidity premium in the returns to private equity is, however, difficult to document. The problem is lack of data on private equity returns.”

The Paradox of Parenting – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com

freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com

“Parents don’t seem to enjoy parenting.”

Our Deeply Unethical National Organ Policy

www.american.com

“In our zeal to protect the poor from exploitation by the moneyed classes, the organ donor—alone among all the participants in the world of transplantation—receives no benefit.”

Stephen Moore: Why a Teacher Bailout Would Be a Mistake – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Stephen Moore says that unions will keep resisting reasonable concessions if Washington rides to the rescue.”

Joseph Rago: The Massachusetts Health-Care ‘Train Wreck’ – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“The future of ObamaCare is unfolding here (in Massachusetts): runaway spending, price controls, even limits on care and medical licensing.”

Banking Bill Invites the Next Global Meltdown: Roy C. Smith

www.bloomberg.com

“The financial overhaul bill set for passage sometime next week is supposed to ‘bring accountability to Wall Street’… The final bill, though, does little to prevent a systemically important bank from failing, and makes it far more difficult for regulators to assist one seeking to avoid failure. This all but insures that the system-wide calamity the bill should be trying to prevent will, in fact, occur again.”

iHand Will Solve All Your iPhone 4 Reception Issues | Geeky Gadgets

www.geeky-gadgets.com

“If you have got yourself one of the new iPhone 4’s and are having reception issues then you may want to check out the iHand, which is designed to easily let you receive and make calls on your iPhone 4 without experiencing any signal drop.”

Review & Outlook: Expelled in Morocco – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“The Wall Street Journal writes that Morocco, a U.S. ally, is mistreating American Christians.”

Bret Stephens: A (Better) Reason to Hate BP – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Global View columnist Bret Stephens asks if BP lobbied to release Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in order to get an agreement with Moammar Gadhafi to begin deepwater drilling off Libya’s coast.”

George Melloan: Hard Knocks From Easy Money – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, George Melloan writes that the Federal Reserve is feeding big government and harming middle-class savers.”

Andrew G. Biggs and Jason Richwine: The Government Pay Bonus – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Andrew G. Biggs and Jason Richwine say there is a substantial pay gap that favors federal workers over comparable private-sector workers. Private employees toil 13½ months to earn what federal workers do in 12.”

Matthew Kaminski: We Can All Still Cry for Ghana – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Matthew Kaminski explains that while World Cup soccer is a beautiful game, it is also cruel and unfair.”

Green Menace

www.american.com

“To saddle hungry Haitians with American romanticism about agriculture is the worst kind of imperialism.”

Is Obama really a socialist? Some say so, but where’s the evidence?

csmonitor.com

“Some critics cite government ‘takeover’ of business and ‘giveaways’ to the poor as signs that President Obama is a socialist. Members of the Socialist Party are among those who disagree.”

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

Notable & Quotable – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Verizon CEO and Business Roundtable Chairman Ivan Seidenberg on government and the economy.”

The Keynesian Dead End – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“The Wall Street Journal argues that spending our way to prosperity is going out of style.”

Weekend Interview with Jim Flaherty – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Mary Anastasia O’Grady interview Jim Flaherty, Canada’s finance minister and writes in The Wall Street Journal that Canada will lead the charge against new bank taxes and for spending restraint at the G-20 in Toronto.”

Seth Lipsky: Conrad Black and the Criminalization of Business – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Seth Lipsky notes that according to the Supreme Court, the media mogul Conrad Black was convicted on overly vague concepts of corporate fraud concerning the honest services statute.”

A Day of Prayer for the Gulf States

www.torenewamerica.com

“The governors of Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi and the lieutenant governor of Florida, have proclaimed this Sunday, June 27 as a Day of Prayer for relief from all the problems related to the oil spill, especially for the people, animal life and economies of the affected states.”

Ensuring That Our Economies Remain Terror-Proof

www.huffingtonpost.com

“The heads of terrorism insurance programs decided to establish — under the aegis of the OECD High Level Advisory Board — a permanent international platform on the financial coverage of terrorism risk.”

Peggy Noonan: McChrystal Forces Us to Focus – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Now General David Petraeus owes us a candid assessment of the Afghan effort, writes Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal.”

Mark Moyar: Petraeus’s Opportunity – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, this selection reassures our Afghan allies that the U.S. will not begin substantial troop reductions until the Afghans can handle the insurgents on their own.”

Pete du Pont: Generation Gap – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“The Kerry-Lieberman energy bill would enervate America, Pete du Pont argues in The Wall Street Journal.”

Jon Shields: Manute Bol’s Radical Christianity – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal’s Houses of Worship column, Jon Shields notes that sportswriters love to use the word redemption to describe athletic performances, former NBA player Manute Bol, shoed the true meaning of the word, and literally died for Christianity.”

Terry Anderson: Why It’s Safer to Drill in the ‘Backyard’ – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, PERC executive director Terry Anderson notes that spills on land are much less dangerous and easier to contain than underwater.”

Kim Strassel: Business’s Buyer’s Remorse – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Potomac Watch columnist Kim Strassel reports that the Business Roundtable has finally figured out that the Obama administration has been playing them for a patsy.”

General McChrystal and the Culture of Exposure – NYTimes.com

nytimes.com

“The firing of Gen. Stanley McChrystal shows our troubling emphasis on private over public performance in public officials.”

Marginal Revolution: Not from the Onion: EPA Classifies Milk as Oil

www.marginalrevolution.com

“New Environmental Protection Agency regulations treat spilled milk like oil, requiring farmers to build extra storage tanks and form emergency spill plans.”

Charles Krauthammer – Afghanistan: The 7/11 problem

www.washingtonpost.com

Charles Krauthammer argues, and I agree, that “President Obama was fully justified in dismissing Gen. Stanley McChrystal. The firing offense did not rise to the level of insubordination — this was no MacArthur undermining the commander in chief’s war strategy — but it was a serious enough show of disrespect for the president and for the entire civilian leadership to justify relief from his post.”

Should We Raise Taxes on the Middle Class? We Already Are

www.american.com

“Taxes are already rising to record levels, with or without legislative changes.”

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

Economics for (and by) 10th Graders – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com

nytimes.com

“An economics primer written by 10th graders.”

Bounding the Price Impact of the New Home Buyer Credit

caseymulligan.blogspot.com

“1.6 percent is still less than the housing price increase reported by Case-Shiller over the most recent twelve months. So, even if a 1.6 percent impact were not exaggerated, housing prices would have been stable or increasing over the past year even without the credit.”

Sculpture Made by Bees

www.neatorama.com

“Dutch designer Tomáš Gabzdil Libertiny made a sculpture of Jesus that was completed by bees. He erected a sealed glass container with his mold inside. Libertiny then released 40,000 bees who worked on the honeycombed surface of the mold.”

France Loses; Warren Buffett Wins : NPR

www.npr.org

“Berkshire Hathaway sold an insurance policy that would have paid $30 million if France won the World Cup.”

The Classroom Still Matters – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com

nytimes.com

“Classroom instruction beats the internet in a new paper.”

Drop Argentina from the G-20

www.american.com

“The G-20 heads of state will gather June 26 and 27. One issue that should be on the agenda: Argentina’s unsuitability to remain a G-20 member.”

Arthur Levitt: A Missed Opportunity on Financial Reform – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt asks: How could Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have escaped the Democrats’ attention?”

John Yoo: Democrats and the McChrystal Fiasco – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, John Yoo says that Democrats during the Bush years egged on military resistance to Bush’s war policies, further increasing distrust between civilian and military leaders.”

Notable & Quotable – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“Max Boot writing yesterday in Commentary magazine’s Contentions blog on General Petraeus replacing General McChrystal in Afghanistan.”

American Thinker: Paul Krugman, the Self-Contradicting Economist

www.americanthinker.com

“An argument that questions the credibility of economists in general is that there are a number of disagreements among many economists, and not all of them can be right at the same time. In the case of Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, these disagreements come from Krugman himself, as he holds contradictory opinions on a large number of topics.”

Nonsense 4.0 at Steven Landsburg | The Big Questions: Tackling the Problems of Philosophy with Ideas

www.thebigquestions.com

I wholeheartedly agree with Steven Landsburg’s assessment of Anatole Koletsky’s Wall Street Journal essay (see http://bit.ly/9Hjoqg), excerpted from his book Capitalism 4.0. A better title for Koletsky’s tome would be Nonsense 4.0!

How the Unemployed Spent Their Time in 2009 – Freakonomics Blog – NYTimes.com

nytimes.com

“They weren’t doing the laundry.”

Schumpeter 2.0 — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

www.american.com

“A great thinker’s contribution not only appears in his or her finished works and arguments, but also within the rich intuitions or core ideas that underlie the arguments.”

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

Jenkins: Blowouts Will Not Always Be Prevented – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Business World columnist Holman Jenkins says Americans are curiously unwilling to acknowledge known risks.”

A Moratorium, Drilled – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“The Wall Street Journal writes on a federal judge’s decision to block the Obama Administration’s ban on deepwater drilling.”

Robert C. Pozen: $100,000 is Plenty for Deposit Insurance – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Robert C. Pozen writes that raising the cap will enhance the ability of weak banks to expand their deposit base and cause trouble for the FDIC.”

BP Spill May Be Less Than Doomsayers Think: Tadeusz W. Patzek – BusinessWeek

www.businessweek.com

“Two months have passed since the blowout of the BP Plc exploratory Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico. Much more is now known about a string of fateful decisions taken in the course of drilling this well.”

The Runaway General | Rolling Stone Politics

www.rollingstone.com

“Here’s the link to the controversial Rolling Stone article that is making lots of news today!”

Op-Ed Columnist – Faustus Makes a Deal – NYTimes.com

nytimes.com

“From the confluence of recent events, one might think the Democrats had made a deal with the Devil — and still managed to lose.”

Le Monde on The Brink | Monday Note

www.mondaynote.com

Hat tip to Tyler Cowen for the pointer to this article. Of particular interest is the following excerpt: “In France, firing a printing plant employee is hugely expensive. The gent is paid €50,000 per year, works 32 hours per week and 164 days per year. Firing him costs about €466,000 – that’s a French government estimate…”

The Gulf Spill and Compensation for Disaster Victims | Psychology Today

www.psychologytoday.com

“When man-made or natural disasters strike, do the victims deserve compensation? Most people assume the answer is yes, but the case for compensation is not always clear.”

Faith, Doubt, and U.S. Foreign Policy — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

www.american.com

“To the degree that Obama believes in promoting democracy, his efforts will flounder if they continue to lack moral realism: a deep sense of religion’s corruptibility.”

Financial Reform Is Disaster For Banks, Consumers: Bove – CNBC

www.cnbc.com

“New financial services regulations will be so disastrous that Congress will need to repeal them to undo the damage they will cause, banking analyst Dick Bove said Monday.”

Paul H. Rubin: A Tale of Two Disasters – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In the Wall Street Journal, Paul Rubin writes that former President Bush was blamed for local failures after Katrina. Meanwhile, President Obama got a free ride for weeks as federal failures mounted during the Gulf spill.”

William McGurn: Obama Should Publicly Criticize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from the Oval Office – WS

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, William McGurn says the president needs to call attention to the role of Fannie and Freddie in the housing bust and the financial crisis.”

Bret Stephens: The Man Who Would Be King – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In The Wall Street Journal, Global View columnist Bret Stephens explains what Rudyard Kipling tells us about Barack Obama.”

Oil in the Gulf, two months later – The Big Picture – Boston.com

www.boston.com

“62 days have passed since the initial explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and the crude oil and natural gas continue to gush from the seafloor.”

Op-Ed Columnist – Trim the ‘Experts,’ Trust the Locals – NYTimes.com

nytimes.com

“The chaotic organization of the federal oil spill cleanup effort highlights the need for increased local control.”

ObamaCare and the Independent Vote – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In the Wall Street Journal, David Brady, Daniel Kessler and Douglas Rivers write that independents opposed to ObamaCare could swing the November election.”

Think Globally, Sue Locally – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“In the Wall Street Journal, Jonathan Drimmer writes that plaintiffs lawyers mount PR campaigns against corporations to trash their image and extort a settlement.”

Review & Outlook: The ‘Paralyzing Principle’ – WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

“The Wall Street Journal says in an editorial that the Gulf oil spill is reviving a discredited environmental theory known as the precautionary principle.”