What if we had two levels of minimum wage: one for adults, and one for...
The actual "minimum wage" would be for adults; a somewhat lower wage could be a "teenage wage." This would address the constant hand-wringing about teenagers losing jobs because of minimum wage...
View ArticleWanna make American great? Stop falling for the blame game.
Some cultures focus on fixing the problem, others focus on finding somone to blame. In America, we focus on the blame. In fact, blaming is so popular that it's often only necessary that something...
View ArticleSeattle was a test case for raising the minimum wage rapidly.
And it appears that it didn't work too well. In 2015, the minimum wage in Seattle was $9.47. In April of that year it was raised to $11. Then, in January of 2016 it was raised again, to $13/hour....
View ArticleIvanka Trump and paid family leave.
The basic idea of family leave is that family members should get paid time off from work to deal with newborns or family medical issues, and then return to their jobs a few weeks later. The key...
View ArticleWhat used to be called "selling out" is now called "cashing in."
The observation in the title comes from a recent book called The Unwinding, by George Packer. The phrase is based on the real-life experiences of Jeff Connaughton, who recalled that in 1997 (the...
View ArticleThe healthcare debate: Just because somebody is in charge doesn't mean they...
Sometimes the people in charge are leaders, sometimes they are not. Sometimes they are leading, sometimes they are not. People defer to them because of rank, and for that reason they are given the...
View ArticleWhy is there so much inequality? Because that's what we want.
The inequality we read and hear so much about is real, but it is not the result of some grand conspiracy. Rather, it is the unintentional result of various market and economic forces, one of which...
View ArticleYes, raising the minimum wage is government intervention in the economy, but...
...the minimum wage is only one example of government involvement in the economy. Farm subsidies and bailouts are two other well-known examples of government intervention. Farm subsidies are...
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Don't fall for the latest "federal estate taxes kill family farms" nonsense.
Below is one of a series of recent tweets from Congresswoman Diane Black (R-TN06). I'm surmising that it is part of a campaign to provide cover for upcoming efforts to cut taxes...again. Don't fall...
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Three observations about America today
1. Reality-based vs. faith-based, from Ron Suskind of the New York Times, in 2004:Ron Suskind. Source: Anglotedesco, Blogspot.The reality-based community is made up of people who think that...
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The middle class is growing by leaps and bounds ... in Asia.
America practically invented the modern middle class. It started after World War II and grew quickly, at rates as high as 6% per year, mostly in the 1950s and 1960s. It came to form the backbone of...
View ArticleIn 2004, US companies got a tax break to bring money back from overseas....
It's called income repatriation. The idea is that the money will be used for job creation, research and development and other such uses. However, that is not what happened the last time the US...
View ArticleEducation for "non-routine skills" will be key to the reboot of the American...
From an automation standpoint, work can be categorized into four groups:Routine manualRoutine cognitiveNon-routine manualNon-routine cognitiveAny work that is routine -- either manual or cognitive --...
View ArticleWhy Tax Cuts DO NOT Lead to Sustainable Job Growth.
First, companies do not go on a hiring spree simply because they suddenly have more money. Hiring is an investment, and you don't make an investment unless it will generate a return. Thus,...
View ArticleSchool Re-segregation and the Values & Practices of Success
Re-segregation is a growing trend in American public education. On the surface it looks like the simple creation of a new school or school district, but it is often called "re-segregation" by...
View ArticleThe Problems for the Middle Class are (Still) Staring Us Right in the Face
From a 2012 Bloomberg study of US Department of Labor data.Since 1978 ...College tuition has increased by 1120%,CEO pay has increased by 937%,Medical costs have increased by 601%,The cost of housing...
View ArticleAre Republicans Going to Bring Federal Regulation to Silicon Valley?
From Fox News's Sunday with Chris Wallace on October 22, 2017. Dana Perino, sitting in for Chris Wallace, interviewing Mitch McConnell.Dana Perino: There's a looming issue of a possible regulation...
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Can the US Economy Deliver Widespread Prosperity Again or Not?
Source: Congressman Ro Khanna tweet, November 9, 2017.This graphic from Congressman Ro Khanna proposes ways to address some of America's bigger problems. The thing is, these are not the solutions of...
View ArticleFor economic growth, tax cuts should be focused on the bottom 90%
"Overall, tax cuts for the bottom 90% tend to result in more output, employment, consumption, and investment growth than equivalently sized tax cuts for the top 10% in the short run." This quote is...
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True Words from Robert Gates
"Any major legislation that is voted by one party is at risk of being reversed in the next election. The only way you get long term solutions to problems in this country is through bipartisan...
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Robert Gates on Russian Interference in US Elections
"There is no doubt in my mind that Putin intervened significantly in our election."- From Robert Gates, during his November 1, 2017, interview with Charlie Rose:I believe that if Mr. Gates had thought...
View ArticleThings Like This are Why We Need a Strong Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
It's already well-known that our wants, needs, habits, hobbies, finances and even our aspirations can be discerned from what we do on our smartphones and computers. The fact that phones and...
View ArticleTo be honest, there is a chance that the Republican tax plan will work
Most economists are panning the Republican tax plan. As advertised, the plan is supposed to increase job growth and wages without increasing the national debt. According to multiple economists,...
View ArticlePersonal Data & US Elections
From now on, our votes and elections will be guided by increasingly invasive data mining and analytics. Reason: It's very effective. Tracking online behavior provides a sufficiently accurate...
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With tricky international relationships, we have to start somewhere
I am surprised at the conservative commentators who have dismissed, and even disparaged, Trump's meeting with Kim. It makes me think that these conservatives actually meant it a few years ago when...
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