Several states are suing to block the merger between these two telecom giants, Reuters reports. In a healthy free-market economy these two companies compete for mobile customers by proving the latest products, and good service. Since Mobile device manufacturers themselves already have a ton of market power, carriers like T-Mobile and Sprint have lower margins... Continue Reading →
Tom Steyer, You Selfish Asshole – What Are you Doing?
Some of the liberal elite within the democratic party are still reeling from the 2016 election. The playbook seemed absolutely rock solid: corporate donorship, executive backing, and populous coattail riding from Clinton's husband. Then Sanders came along with his large grassroots base and small donation playbook. Clinton and the DNC doubled down, ran Sanders out... Continue Reading →
An Informed Electorate
The U.S. has an informed electorate problem. For people who pay attention to the news and policy advances within your state and local government, this is probably a source of frustration and not news. The founding fathers thought that an informed electorate was an important component to a functional democracy. Their litmus test to determine... Continue Reading →
The Government as Producer of Last Resort? Not Exactly
The title is a bit of a play on words, from the original saying, "government is the employer of last resort". The common economic paradigm on the political right, as well as political center, is that entrepreneurial activity and creative production are at its highest when government does the least. I came across this video... Continue Reading →
Absurdity in the Age of The Absurd
There was a post on CBSnews.com about "big oil" asking the government for help against climate change. I immediately thought that this was a good intentioned, but rather sensational headline to pull in readers. Surely the hubris of the oil empire couldn't be this blatant. Evidently, Texas has proposed a plan to build a levee... Continue Reading →
The Tax Bill and Measured GDP
Google is the latest multinational giant to end its "double Irish" tax loophole, according to Financial Times. The article reads: "Google’s actions came ahead of the close of the so-called “double Irish” tax loophole, which has been used by US companies to channel international profits through Ireland and on to tax havens like Bermuda — putting them... Continue Reading →
The GOP Tax Cut – Two Years Later
NPR published an article recently looking at the 2017 tax bill, passed along party lines by the GOP. I predicted back then, as well as most economists, that this tax cut was going to be a boon to already very wealthy people, and do little to nothing for most of the country. The article points... Continue Reading →
Wind Power: Why Should We Not Just Hang Turbines From Clouds?
I was reading a post on MarginalRevolution.com about wind energy which talked about how unappealing wind energy can be. Wind turbine installation faces serious regulatory and permitting obstacles by several parties, which make them difficult to build. For example, from the post: "Bavaria decided back in 2014 that the distance between a wind turbine and... Continue Reading →
Good News for Low Wage Workers
The Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank has released data showing that the bottom 25% of workers are seeing faster wage raises: Source: Atlanta Fed This is presumably tracked so closely, as the nation has increasingly squeaked the wheel of low minimum wage in recent years. It appears as though the grease may be working. I should... Continue Reading →
Are We Making Fewer New Holidays?
I wondered recently whether we are culturally plateauing when it comes to holiday creation. I looked up a list of federal holidays observed in the U.S., and tried to find the date that they were first celebrated, at least informally: New Year's Day - 153 B.C. Thanksgiving - October 1621 President's Day (George Washington's Birthday)... Continue Reading →
