Category Archives: Community

348. geography and advantage. silicn valley

For silicon valley, what next, as it seems to be faltering. Later on, Krugman became interested in economic geography, in the related question of why there were regional specialties—why, in the United States, for instance, were cars produced in Detroit, carpets in Dalton, Georgia, jewelry in Providence, and chips in Silicon Valley? Again, the answer …

March 8, 2010 – 10:12 pm | By doug carmichael | Posted in Community, Daily notes | Comments (0)

293. economic bi-furcation

A Tale of Two American Economies PrintShare Nouriel Roubini | Nov 18, 2009 From the Globe and Mail: While the United States recently reported 3.5 per cent GDP growth in the third quarter, suggesting that the most severe recession since the Great Depression is over, the American economy is actually much weaker than official data …

November 30, 2009 – 5:35 am | By doug carmichael | Posted in Community, Financial system | Comments (0)

290 Economy and realism

We’ve all heard the hype about the economy is getting better. the NYT this morning has the following well-meaning editorial with some sense of correction of the normal upbeat forecasts. EDITORIAL Jobless Recovery If you are looking for an economic recovery you can believe in, the October employment report is not for you. After contracting …

November 8, 2009 – 10:06 pm | By doug carmichael | Posted in Community, Financial system, GardenWorld | Comments (0)

289. 3.5 percent growth?

From Krugman in the NYT   Growth and jobs Just a quick note on the GDP report. Obviously, 3.5 percent growth is a lot better than shrinkage. But it’s not enough — not remotely enough — to make any real headway against the unemployment problem. Here’s the scatterplot of annual growth versus annual changes in …

October 30, 2009 – 2:20 am | By doug carmichael | Posted in Community, Financial system, key issues | Comments (0)

279. Will California become Americas first failed state? | World news | The Observer

The trend is not good. This may well be what happens. Then? Will California become Americas first failed state?Los Angeles, 2009: California may be the eighth largest economy in the world, but its state government is issuing IOUs, unemployment is at its highest in 70 years, and teachers are on hunger strike. So what has …

October 7, 2009 – 10:14 pm | By doug carmichael | Posted in Community, Governance, key issues | Comments (0)

263. Inequality, the debate.

Good review of inequality. Many of the same people who argue that inequality is caused by the market rewarding highly productive people for their efforts — that its a good thing because it encourages productive effort — also deny that inequality is increasing. If inequality is predominately the result of rewarding people for hard work …

September 20, 2009 – 12:40 am | By doug carmichael | Posted in Community, Financial system, key issues | Comments (0)

242. By T.R. Reid — Five Myths About Health Care in the Rest of the World – washingtonpost.com

Good summary. 5 Myths About Health Care Around the World By T.R. Reid Sunday, August 23, 2009 As Americans search for the cure to what ails our health-care system, we’ve overlooked an invaluable source of ideas and solutions: the rest of the world. All the other industrialized democracies have faced problems like ours, yet they’ve found ways …

September 6, 2009 – 4:58 am | By doug carmichael | Posted in Community, key issues | Comments (0)

220. On taxes

We need to remember this and not expect that any solution will emerge without ferce struggle, as we are seeing goin on in the townhall meetings now. Just a harbinger as the situation seems to be deteriorating. The United States was founded, essentially, on resistance to taxes, and to this day, an aversion to the …

August 10, 2009 – 12:30 am | By doug carmichael | Posted in Community, Financial system, Governance | Comments (0)

214. progressives and meaning

This is important. the description of progesive conversations is often too correct. But organizers for social change face a critical problem. Trying to mobilize people strictly on a rational basis, and in particular with uncritical acceptance of the assumptions of a consumer driven economy, is proving increasingly difficult.  On paper it should be working. Intensive …

August 9, 2009 – 9:34 pm | By doug carmichael | Posted in Community, ideas | Comments (0)

213. Higher Taxes May Be Only Solution

To increased number of poor. Do I beleive it? Sort of, but there is also the coming agricultural economy. With the march of technology, the size of a future American underclass dependent on public support for part of its livelihood is hard to predict: 10 million, 20 million, 100 million? We could imagine cities where …

August 9, 2009 – 8:41 am | By doug carmichael | Posted in Community, Financial system, challenges | Comments (0)