Category: Contrarian Economics

The pope’s social encyclical — Part 2 | National Catholic Reporter

The pope’s social encyclical — Part 2 National Catholic Reporter:

Pope Benedict also chastises those who think that a ‘market economy has an inbuilt need for a quota of poverty and underdevelopment in order to function at its best.’ On the contrary, the market is not merely ‘an engine for wealth creation.’ It must also function ‘as a means of pursuing justice through redistribution’ (n. 35).

In the most recent presidential campaign in the United States, the concept of redistribution was hung around the neck of one of the major-party candidates as if he were a Socialist. If so, that term of opprobrium would apply to Pope Benedict XVI as well.

If it weren’t for the sex stuff, the Pope and Catholic tradition would be out there with Michael Moore and ralph Nader…

McCain’s hero Teddy Roosevelt was more socialist than Obama. – By Timothy Noah – Slate Magazine

McCain’s hero Teddy Roosevelt was more socialist than Obama. – By Timothy Noah – Slate Magazine:

All from Tim Noah’s Slate.com post from before the election. I got an email from a local restauranteur decrying “villifying the rich” and complaining about complaining about excessive corporaatte entertaining.

T.R., of course, was no socialist. Indeed, his purpose was largely to prevent socialists from coming to power. But the trust buster got called a socialist a lot more often than Obama ever will. He writes in his autobiography:

Because of things I have done on behalf of justice to the workingman, I have often been called a Socialist. Usually I have not taken the trouble even to notice the epithet. … Moreover, I know that many American Socialists are high-minded and honorable citizens, who in reality are merely radical social reformers. They are opposed to the brutalities and industrial injustices which we see everywhere about us.

T.R. then goes on to outline his strong differences ‘with the Marxian Socialists’ and their belief in class warfare and the inevitable demise of capitalism. Later, he returns to his earlier theme:

Many of the men who call themselves socialists today are in reality merely radical social reformers, with whom on many points good citizens can and ought to work in hearty general agreement, and whom in many practical matters of government good citizens can well afford to follow.

There were, however, limits to T.R.’s tolerance. ‘I have always maintained,’ he concluded, ‘that our worst revolutionaries today are those reactionaries who do not see and will not admit there is any need for change.'”

Tire rims and Anthrax from “Balloon Juice “

Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » You’ll Never Get This 21 Minutes Of Your Life Back:

“I really don’t understand how bipartisanship is ever going to work when one of the parties is insane. Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax. If you can figure out a way to split the difference there and find a meal you will both enjoy, you can probably figure out how bipartisanship is going to work the next few years.”

Sorry, but I had to post this, because I’m using it as mental shorthand all the time, and I just heard it last week.

Someone also posted this adjustment, which I also like:

“Imagine trying to negotiate an agreement on dinner plans with your date, and you suggest Italian and she states her preference [would be a meal of tire rims and anthrax] to give the rich guy at the next table a tax break, hoping he buys your dinner.”

I am more than a little concerned we’ll have the same feeling as we break out the Chianti for the health care reform debate…

Atlas Wanked: From Fiction to Fraud in 52 Years | Crooks and Liars

Atlas Wanked: From Fiction to Fraud in 52 Years Crooks and Liars:

“But what’s especially amusing is that the economic wreckage we see before us today is in fact the handiwork of the Randian dimwits who’ve become endemic to conservative economics.

“Exhibit A: Longtime Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, who was a Big Randian from back in the day.

“Of course, Greenspan now admits this approach may not have worked out so well. Especially the bit about letting the true economic geniuses/captains of industry have their unfettered way. In fact, it all turned out to be a big fat fraud, didn’t it?

“Greenspan wasn’t alone, of course. George W. Bush’s entire approach to governance, especially in the economic sector, was fundamentally Randian: Bush never met a tax cut for the wealthy or deregulation scheme he didn’t chase like a fox after a chicken. Even the Democrats who succumbed to the ‘era of profound irresponsibility’ did so because they were harkening to the siren song of the right-wing Randians.

“Watching Randians at work trying to convince themselves of their essential rightness in the face of the global wreckage pile of evidence to the contrary would be funny were the consequences of their historical muckup not so devastating and so far-reaching for so many of the ordinary schlubs for whom the Randians have at best a guarded contempt. It all reminds me of a bit of wisdom my granddaddy passed along to me: ‘Watch out for ideologues. Ideas are more important to them than people.'”

I have this filed under “Contrarian Economics,” and sadly, the Randian, absolutist free market theory backers are still manning the ramparts to maintain the mantle of respectable economic thought. So, in spite of the wreckage around us, Capitalism with a mandate for social justice is still contrarian.

Health Care Reform Podcasts

5 Podcasts on Healthcare Reform found at the University Channel Web Site

Access to Universal Health Care Pt 1: New Jersey (Podcasts/Podcasts)
…Daniel A. Notterman, MD, MA, Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE IN NEW JERSEY – Senator Joseph Vitale, Senator and Chairman, Health, Human Servi…

Access to Universal Health Care Pt 2: Worldwide (Podcasts/Podcasts)
Pt 2 UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE WORLDWIDE – Uwe Reinhardt, PhD, James Madison Professor of Political Economy, Princeton University – Maggie Mahar, PhD, Fellow, The Century Foundation –

Access to Universal Health Care Pt 3: Keynote (Podcasts/Podcasts)
Pt 3 LUNCHEON SPEAKER – Len Nichols, PhD, Director, Health Policy Program, New America Foundation

Access to Universal Health Care Pt 4: Statewide Efforts (Podcasts/Podcasts)
Pt 4 UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE IN THE NATION – THE MASSACHUSETTS EXPERIENCE & OTHER STATEWIDE EFFORTS – Nancy Turnball, PhD, Associate Dean for Educational Policy, Harvard School of Pub

How the Next President Can Deliver on Healthcare Reform (Podcasts/Podcasts)
…ive Vice President for Policy, AARP; Robert Moffit, Senior Fellow, Heritage Foundation; Joanne Silberner, Health Policy Correspondent, National Public Radio (Sep 26, 2008 at the National Pr…

For this last one, I highly recommend watching the Video so you can see Uwe Reinhardt’s slides.

I will give them a listen soon, but didn’t want to lose the links…

Marty Kaplan: Gotcha? You Betcha!

Marty Kaplan: Gotcha? You Betcha!:

Excellent response to the McCain campaign’s complaints about “gotcha” journalism, and focuses on the lack of same for many years in relation to our current economic crisis. I post this because I did hear the second Fresh Air interview with Greenberger and it was excellent and he was very comprehensible.

“There’s no better way for a lay person to understand the current crisis than by listening to two episodes of This American Life – “The Giant Pool of Money,” which aired last May, and “Another Frightening Show About the Economy,” which aired last weekend. And while you’re at it, check out the “Now You SEC Me, Now You Don’t” segment of This American Life from last month, and the two interviews with former CFTC director Michael Greenberger that Fresh Air host Terry Gross did in April and September. .”

And in the spirit of “gotcha”, check out this interview by Terry Gross of the author of “Gotcha Capitalism”.

Cheers,

NEJM — Campaign Contributions, Lobbying, and the U.S. Health Sector — An Update

NEJM — Campaign Contributions, Lobbying, and the U.S. Health Sector — An Update:

“As of July, people affiliated with the health sector and political action committees (PACs) associated with the sector had contributed about $29 million to presidential candidates, including $8.8 million to Obama, $6.6 million to Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, the former Democratic contender, and $4.7 million to McCain, according to the Center for Responsive Politics (www.opensecrets.org), a nonpartisan organization that researches money in politics. Although these contributions represent less than 3% of the funds raised by presidential candidates, it is remarkable that the health sector has reversed a long-standing pattern of favoring Republican candidates, by contributing substantially more money to Democrats ($17.7 million) than to Republicans ($11.2 million). This trend also holds when the presidential and congressional elections are considered together (see Figure 1): as of July, the health sector had contributed $54.5 million to Democrats and $46.1 million to Republicans. Democrats lead Republicans in contributions from health professionals and from individuals associated with hospitals, nursing homes, or health services or health maintenance organizations. Contributions linked to manufacturers of pharmaceutical and health care products are split about evenly between the parties. The last time Democrats raised more money from health care interests than Republicans was 1992, when Bill Clinton was elected president.”

Yaaaayyy! I am certainly getting this vibe from my colleagues more and more lately. You can only have insurers rub your nose in poo for so long before you understand that some (any!) sytem of universal coverage has to be better than this.

Sunday Forum: Which party best manages the economy?

Sunday Forum: Which party best manages the economy?

“I call the first fact the Great Partisan Growth Divide. Simply put, the United States economy has grown faster, on average, under Democratic presidents than under Republicans.

“The stark contrast between the whiz-bang Clinton years and the dreary Bush years is familiar because it is so recent. But while it is extreme, it is not atypical. Data for the whole period from 1948 to 2007, during which Republicans occupied the White House for 34 years and Democrats for 26, show average annual growth of real gross national product of 1.64 percent per capita under Republican presidents versus 2.78 percent under Democrats.

“That 1.14-point difference, if maintained for eight years, would yield 9.33 percent more income per person, which is a lot more than almost anyone can expect from a tax cut.”

I don’t think this surprises Democrats, but Republicans will just snort in disregard, because, reality has a well known liberal bias…

Obama and McCain Tax Proposals – washingtonpost.com

Obama and McCain Tax Proposals – washingtonpost.com:

“According to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are both proposing tax plans that would result in cuts for most American families. Obama’s plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy. For the approximately 147,000 families that make up the top 0.1 percent of the income scale, the difference between the two plans is stark. While McCain offers a $269,364 tax cut, Obama would raise their taxes, on average, by $701,885 – a difference of nearly $1 million.”

YOU MUST SEE THE GRAPHIC!