According to the American Historical Association, states have been busy in recent years adding new requirements to the social studies curriculum: Since 2017 there's been an uptick in the number of states requiring the study of specific groups (Black, LGBT, etc). Since 2012 there's been a steady increase in civics and US government requirements. In ...continue reading "Raw data: High school history curriculums"
This is the Volksgarten in central Vienna. During spring it's covered in beds of roses, and each rosebush carries a personal dedication to a friend or family member. In the background is the dome of the Natural History Museum.
Sure enough, no one has bothered to even mention Donald Trump's loony proposal to punish banks by capping credit card interest rates at 10%. I found a grand total of two items in the news this morning: a MarketWatch piece saying nobody is taking it seriously and a short criticism in National Review. By contrast, ...continue reading "No one cares about Trump’s attack on the free market"
Here's a quick summary of Donald Trump's economic policy, as it's been announced on a random basis over the past few months. There's something for everybody: No tax on tips! No tax on Social Security! No tax on overtime! Restore the SALT deduction! Extend the tax cuts for the rich! Cap credit card interest rates! ...continue reading "A brief look at Donald Trump’s policy vision"
Donald Trump just announced that he plans to institute a temporary cap of 10% on credit card interest rates "while working Americans catch up." Sigh. It just doesn't matter what he says, does it? Most likely nobody will bother reporting this. Banks won't bother protesting it. Wonky bloggers like me won't bother explaining why Trump ...continue reading "Sure, Donald, let’s cap interest rates"
Big news tomorrow! Donald Trump will finally be able to sell stock in his social media company—as long as the shares stay above $12. It's a close call, but it looks like he'll make it: DJT is now selling below its January price, so everybody who bought in after the Iowa primary surge is already ...continue reading "Time for Trump to sell some stock?"
I almost forgot that today is YouGov poll day: Since July 15, Harris has gained eight points compared to where Joe Biden was. Trump has gained two points. Harris's net favorability is +1% and Tim Walz's is even. Trump's is -13% and J.D. Vance's is -14%. "Who do you think will win" currently favors Harris ...continue reading "Harris builds 4% lead in YouGov poll"
According to provisional figures from the CDC, the pandemic surge in drug overdose deaths is finally starting to turn around: Since its peak last August, drug overdose deaths have fallen 13%.
Jesus Christ: Asked about Haitians immigrants legally working and living in the United States through Temporary Protected Status, Vance criticized the Biden administration for granting that status to Haitians, asserting that the government had “illegally” given them that protection and saying that he would still refer to them as “illegal aliens” anyway. Not only are ...continue reading "J.D. Vance doesn’t care about your so-called “truth”"
The Fed has decided to boldly reduce interest rates by a whopping half point instead of a piddly quarter point: As usual, their explanation is provided in Fed-speak: The Committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are ...continue reading "Fed cuts interest rates half a point. Hooray?"
Here is last night's lunar eclipse. Can you see it? Huh? Can you? It was a 3.5% eclipse, and I didn't even catch it at its high point, so all you can see is a bit of a shadow at the top. Meh. I took it with my new camera and lens, and it's not ...continue reading "Lunchtime Photo"
Tyler Cowen points to a new paper today that reminds me of something: We argue that workers must take costly actions (“conflict”) to have nominal wages catch up with inflation, meaning there are welfare costs even if real wages do not fall as inflation rises.... The impact of inflation on worker welfare is determined by ...continue reading "Wages have been outpacing inflation for five years"
Here is the simplest possible story of the price of oil: Up until 2001, it hovered around $41 per barrel. We invaded Iraq. The price has been volatile ever since, averaging about $100 per barrel. Will we ever manage to get the price of oil back down to $41 on a durable basis? Unless we ...continue reading "Raw data: The price of oil"
Elon Musk and his Twitter army are on the warpath tonight: You’re not gonna believe this, but @GavinNewsom just announced that he signed a LAW to make parody illegal, based on this video 🤣🤣 https://t.co/bdykNuxe6G — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 18, 2024 This is all over the conservo-sphere: California wants to ban memes! But this ...continue reading "California banned campaign deepfakes four years ago. They’re still banned today."
A standard liberal plaint goes like this: How is it possible that Donald Trump still has a chance of winning November's election? He lies constantly! He says crazy stuff! He wants revenge on everybody! He seemingly has no knowledge of anything. This is totally fair. But it doesn't matter. All of it has been priced ...continue reading "What does Kamala Harris need to do to seal the deal?"
My rule of thumb is that Kamala Harris needs to win the popular vote by 4-5% in order to win the election. According to the Economist tracker, she's there: If Harris can expand her popular vote lead by another point or two, I think she'll be the very likely winner. If she expands by three ...continue reading "Kamala Harris is getting close to a durable lead over Trump"
Hey! Donald Trump is right about something. Sort of: Auto insurance has been getting steadily more expensive for a long time, but it's skyrocketed recently. Premiums have gone up by half over the past couple of years, and they're up by a third even after accounting for overall inflation. I don't really know why. I've ...continue reading "We are paying the price for crazy driving"
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