Monthly Archives: January 2013

A Profile of the Birthers

What’s the profile of a typical ‘birther’ – a person who doesn’t believe President Obama was born in the USA?  To answer the question  I downloaded the ‘2010-12 ANES Evaluations of Government and Society Study (EGSS1)’ dataset. I specified a … Continue reading

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Economists and the Public Rarely Agree

Here are interesting findings on how economists and the public diverge on some important issues. Source: The Economist. January 12, 2013.

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Empirical Evidence that Higher Taxes Create Jobs

At  Essential Reading on the Deficit/Debt Issue  kavips posts: “Did I hear someone say they couldn’t find empirical evidence that higher taxes create jobs? http://www.epi.org/publication/books_rethinking_growth/ http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2011/06/24/Will-Higher-Taxes-Tank-the-Economy.aspx#page1 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-02/raising-taxes-isn-t-a-kiss-of-death-for-employment-growth-history-shows.html http://www.decisionsonevidence.com/2012/04/more-jobs-through-lower-tax-rates-a-look-at-the-evidence/ http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tax-cuts-rich-dont-spur-151649273.html http://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/stumbling_and_mumbling/2010/04/a-tax-on-jobs-experimental-evidence.html Rutgers economic historian James Livingston has reasserted it in an excellent book: … Continue reading

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Gun Lobby Contributions to Your Representatives

Go to the Slate article for an interactive map depicting how much the gun lobby has contributed to your Congressional representative.

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Retirees are Attracted to Locations with Natural and Manmade Amenities

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Government Transfer Payments to Individuals as a Percent of Total County Personal Income, 2011

Amazing. Take a look at ‘government transfer payments to individulas as a percent of total county personal income, 2011′.  In many counties, especially in the south and southwest, the percent is as high as 30.4 to 54.5%.  USDA Economic Research … Continue reading

Posted in Economy, Government, Income Distribution, Inequality, Poverty, Socio-economic Status | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Effects of Educational Attainment on Salaries for Post-Secondary Degree Holders

As a retired educator and having spent the great majority of my career in higher education I am always curious about how post-secondary education effects the lives of those who have attained a degree in higher education. A few days ago I learned about “NSF SESTAT 2008 … Continue reading

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Nobel Laureate Explains Why Inequality is Stifling Economic Recovery

Nobel Laureate, Joseph Stiglitz, explains why inequality is stunting economic recovery. “There are four major reasons inequality is squelching our recovery. The most immediate is that our middle class is too weak to support the consumer spending that has historically … Continue reading

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Military Suicide Deaths Exceed Combat Deaths, But There’s More to the Story

Many headlines this past week focused on the news that “military suicide deaths exceed combat deaths.” That’s truly a sad fact but there’s more to the story that for the most part was missed. It’s a fact the suicide trend … Continue reading

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Rice-Cell Cocktail Tough on Cancer Cells, Nice to Normal Cells

Via Newswise: Newswise — Juice from rice cells can knock out two kinds of human cancer cells as well or better than the potent anti-cancer drug Taxol, a Michigan Technological University scientist has discovered in laboratory tests. Plus, it does … Continue reading

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