Re: [PEN-L] fertilizer [was: Peak food]
It is worse than that. Many of Africa's soils are very fragile -- not like our own Midwest. That kind of farming is not sustainable, but the same goes for some of Brazil, which is doing so far more intensively. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 7:47 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] fertilizer [was: Peak food] speaking of excessive energy costs, there was a story on US National Public Radio a week or so ago about the loss of fertility of African soils. The experts spoke, recommending aid to help Africans buy more (energy-intensive, import-intensive) artificial infertilizer. Whatever happened to rotating crops, letting some land lay fallow, and/or growing crops together that help each other. soula avramidis wrote: isn't the rising cost of energy content of modern agriculture specifically rising oil prices partly responsible for the rise in food prices? -- Jim Devine / Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti. (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
Re: [PEN-L] fertilizer [was: Peak food]
Not really. The peasants like the barren hillsides, which are much more interesting than the fertile plains. Jim wrote: I agree, but even fragile soils can be helped with old-fashioned techniques (though perhaps not healed). Part of the problem, of course, is that in many places the best lands were grabbed by the Europeans during colonization. -- Jim Devine / Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti. (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] fertilizer [was: Peak food]
In Farming for Profit in a Hungry World (1977) I estimated that the US lost 20 lbs of soil for each lb. of food produced. I have been intending to read Montgomery's book. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Economists Against Family Values?
Paul Phillips wrote: Why should this surprise anyone? Every labour economist worth her salt knows that unemployment and job loss is a major factor in family breakup as is suicide, alcoholism, mental illness and crime, all of which are correlated/related to the incidence of family breakup. This story concerned a reverse causation -- that family stability inhibits labor flexibility. In our own recent hiring experience at Chico State, an inordinate number of good candidates proved unhirable because of the need to accommodate a spouse. In a similar vein, Andrew Oswald showed a correlation between home ownership and unemployment presumably because people with phones are less likely to pick up and leave. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Peak food
Paul gave some excellent warnings. Don't forget water shortages, elimination of ag. land via urbanization, and the poor treatment of the remaining ag. land. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] I hope you all vote(d) for Obama
This is just silly. Obama is vacuous , as Max suggests, probably to the right of Hillary -- who may be the most grating politician in my lifetime. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] I hope you all vote(d) for Obama
If the choice were between me an Obama, I would donated thousands of dollars to his campaign. -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 5:44 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] I hope you all vote(d) for Obama On Feb 5, 2008 5:39 PM, Julio Huato [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Michael Perelman for president. Now THERE'S an idea!! all it needs is more exclamation points!! -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.comway and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
[PEN-L] Is Japan a Phillips Curve?
http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2007/11/04/200-japan-looks-like-its-phi llips-curve/ Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
[PEN-L] How Capitalism Works
The David H. Brooks story hits on all the high notes: taking advantage of investors, selling the Pentagon defective goods, an ostentatious life style, and perhaps even more. Kessler, Robert E. 2007. Former LI military Contractor Is Busted for Living Lavishly with Cash from Investors and Company, Feds Say. Newsday (26 October): p. A 7. The former head of the Long Island company that provided most of the body armor for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan was arrested at dawn yesterday in a Manhattan apartment by FBI and IRS agents on charges of looting the company and investors of nearly $200 million to pay for a lavish lifestyle. That included supporting a stable of trotting horses; a face-lift for his wife; a diamond, ruby and sapphire-encrusted belt buckle in the shape of a U.S. flag; and an $8-million bat mitzvah for his daughter, which featured music stars including 50 Cent and Kenny G, according to Benton Campbell, the U.S. attorney for the eastern district. Brooks allegedly made the huge stock option gain in 2004 by selling shares in the company shortly after he said he had no intention of selling the stock and shortly before the stock plunged because of reports about the quality of its body armor, the indictment said. Brooks pleaded not guilty at arraignment in U.S. District Court in Central Islip and was held without bail by U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert, pending a hearing Monday. Seybert acted after prosecutor Martin said that in the past year Brooks had purchased a single diamond worth $10 million, unspecified millions in gold and had surreptitiously moved $22 million to banks in Switzerland and Senegal. The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Senegal, Martin said. Brooks has a history of controversy: In 1992, Brooks and his brother, Jeffrey, are investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for insider trading scandal within Jeffrey Brooks' small brokerage. The firm agrees to pay a $405,000 fine without admitting wrongdoing. In 2005, the company recalls all vests containing Zylon because of concerns over how quickly the fiber degrades. In 2006, DHB's subsidiaries settle nationwide class-action suits over those vests. ## O'Brien, Timothy L. 2006. All's Not Quiet on the Military Supply Front. New York Times (22 January). DHB might have remained anonymous if not for a spate of recent events. The quality and adequacy of vests supplied to soldiers in Iraq has come into question over the last year, culminating in a Pentagon study, first reported by The New York Times this month, that said that 80 percent of the Marines who died in Iraq from upper-body wounds might have survived if they had had body armor covering more of their torsos. (It was the military, and not manufacturers, that determined the specifications for the vests DHB supplied the Marines, said DHB). The Marines and the Army recalled about 23,000 Point Blank vests from the field last year after The Marine Corps Times reported that the Marines acquired the vests despite warnings from Army personnel that the vests had what the newspaper described as critical, life-threatening flaws. The Marine Corps issued a statement in November saying that there was no evidence to suggest that soldiers or Marines have been at risk, or that these vests will not protect against the threat they were designed to defeat. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Petrocracy in Venezuela?
Ken's note that the sheikdon's avoid much of the ills associated with the curse of oil is interesting. In many countries, a rich resource spells trouble for most of the people. Patrick Bond can speak of Africa. Why is Dubai different from Nigeria? Is it because it is a small place where people might know or be related to one another? Does it have tribal cleavages? Or is it more vulnerable to popular unrest? Ken wrote: With many of the sheikdoms who sit on oil and lavish the oil wealth on themselves I very much doubt that the conditions of citizens are worse than before the oil was found. I know that for citizens of Kuwait there are extensive social services and excellent health care-but not for the non-citizens who do all the drudge work. the problem is that in many cases the publicly owned oil companies are in autocratic regimes that do not spend their wealth on their citizens--although some do in a paternalistic manner. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] speaking of academic repression...
I thought Bob Dornan was gone. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2007 8:36 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] speaking of academic repression... On 9/13/07, Michael Perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: What does it mean when controversy becomes forbidden? Don't they have a name for such a state? Orange County. -- Jim Devine / Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti. (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
Re: [PEN-L] strange coincidence
Moveon did with a full page add in the New York Times. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 3:36 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] strange coincidence did anyone notice that Petraeus rhymes with betray us? -- Jim Devine / Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti. (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
Re: [PEN-L] Galbraith's new paper
Of course, I'm skeptical about the VAR technique, but the paper doesn't interesting job of showing that the data is more consistent with a Fed policy of fighting low unemployment than inflation. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Monday, September 03, 2007 7:39 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Galbraith's new paper I haven't read that paper, but can VAR prove anything? On 9/2/07, Perelman, Michael [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Has anyone looked at this? Jaimie uses a VAR model to show that the Fed targets low unemployment rather than inflation and that it acts politically to promote Republicans and presidential elections. Levy Working Paper No. 511 The Fed's Real Reaction Function Monetary Policy, Inflation, Unemployment, Inequality-and Presidential Politics* James K. Galbraith Olivier Giovannoni Ann J. Russo August 2007 Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com -- Jim Devine / In the years since the phrase became a cliché, I have received any number of compliments for my supposed ability to 'think outside the box.' Actually, it has been a struggle for me to perceive just what these 'boxes' were - why they were there, why other people regarded them as important, where their borderlines might be, how to live safely within and without them. -- Tim Page (THE NEW YORKER, August 20, 2007).
[PEN-L] The Mysterious Productivity Lead of the US Economy
The International Labour Organisation just released a report showing that labor in the United States is the most productive in the world. Four points are relevant here. First, part of that productivity reflects the fact that workers in the United States spend more time on the job than workers elsewhere. Even so, the output per hour is still the second highest in the world -- after Norway. Second, conventional economics teaches us that wages reflect productivity, yet for more than three decades hourly wages (corrected for inflation) have shown a slight decline, while productivity has soared. Third, a country can become more productive merely by shutting down some of its less productive operations. In that sense, increasing productivity can be nothing more than an indication of deindustrialization. I don't think that is the case here, but the ongoing illumination of less productive businesses has been a factor. According to conventional theory, deindustrialization could mean rising wages for the same reason that productivity increases. By eliminating the low salaries, the average of the remaining salaries would be higher -- except that the resulting increase in unemployment allows business to drive wages down. Fourth, productivity can mean something very different from what people might think I was productivity. This statistic is nothing more than the gross domestic product divided by the amount of labor. Consider a fictitious country named Nike. It has a single product -- shoes, which it can market throughout the world. This country has four workers: a lawyer to make contracts, a marketer to advertise the product, a shipping clerk, and an accountant. Rather than making shoes by themselves, they contract with a sweatshop in China which sells them shoes for $5 a pair. The country exports 4 million pairs of shoes year for $100 a pair. A statistical agency would credit each of the four workers with producing a million shoes, representing a net increase in value of $95 each. Nike would certainly be the most productive country in the world. Or would it be? Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] The Mysterious Productivity Lead of the US Economy
Bosworth got the Wal-Mart data from a McKinsey report. Robert Gordon also used it. I'm not sure how reliable the McKinsey report is, but it may be correct. What I said was just that deindustrialization adds to productivity. The Wal-Mart story is a bigger factor. I mentioned deindustrialization to suggest that increasing productivity is not necessarily a sign of economic health. The data here also include finance, which I feel pretty confident has a bigger statistical impact than Wal-Mart. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Doug Henwood Sent: Monday, September 03, 2007 9:49 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] The Mysterious Productivity Lead of the US Economy On Sep 3, 2007, at 12:33 PM, Perelman, Michael wrote: Third, a country can become more productive merely by shutting down some of its less productive operations. In that sense, increasing productivity can be nothing more than an indication of deindustrialization. I don't think that is the case here, but the ongoing illumination of less productive businesses has been a factor. If you believe the stats, and the literature, the productivity acceleration from 1975-2005 (which has gone into reverse lately - trend productivity growth is now just above 1%) was led by services, so deindustrialization isn't part of the story. But at least within retail, the acceleration was essentially the result of Wal-Mart putting small, inefficient retailers out of business; there was no acceleration to speak of at existing establihsments. (I think this comes from Bosworth Triplett, though I can't remember right now and I'm too lazy to look it up.) Doug
Re: [PEN-L] Monbiot: How the neoliberals stitched up the wealth of nations for themselves
I found Sean's note very informative. I like Blyth personally and intellectually and I used his book in my Confiscation of American Prosperity. Here is a brief excerpt from my latest project, The Heavy Manacles of Capitalism (which relates to the Galbraith paper I mentioned yesterday): According to the rhetoric of the Federal Reserve, its objective is to maintain an appropriate balance between maintaining employment and price stability. Conservatives typically regard the Federal Reserve's courageous fight against inflation to be one of the nation's highest economic priorities. In reality, price stability is a code word for holding wages in check. Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, was quite clear about this relationship: ... in an economy like ours, with wages and salaries accounting for two-thirds of all costs, sustaining progress [in reducing inflation] will need to be reflected in the moderation of growth of nominal wages (Volcker 1981, p. 614; and 1982, p. 89). But tight monetary policy does little to hold down the salaries of executives earning multimillion dollar salaries. Nor is it meant to do so. When Richard Nixon was running for president in 1968, he insisted that inflation was the country's number one problem. After his election, he enlisted the Council of Economic Advisors to identify those adversely impacted by inflation. According to the Chairman of his council, Herbert Stein, If anyone was being severely hurt, the available statistics were too crude to reveal it (Stein 1984, p. 149; also cited in May and Grant 1991, p. 373). Indeed, a number of studies indicate that inflation does no harm to the middle or lower classes as a whole, although it does have a detrimental effect on the rich (see May and Grant 1991). However, the fight against inflation does have a substantial negative impact on workers. Edwin Dickens, an economist from St. Peter's College, has written a series of significant articles analyzing the minutes of the meetings of the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve Board back as far as the 1950s. He reports numerous occasions when participants voted to tighten the money supply when major union contracts were about to expire. The minutes indicate that the specific intent was to force employers to be less generous with their wage offers (Dickens 1995; and 1997). Instead, as Dickens' research shows, the Federal Reserve's strongly partisan behavior is designed to tilt the economy in the direction of the wealthy. Holding wages down and making workers more compliant add to the wealth and income of the rich and comfortable. So too does protecting the value of their accumulated monetary wealth, which declines with rising interest rates. Finally, the rich are net lenders; the poor, borrowers. Over one-seventh of wage earners' salaries goes for interest (see Stiglitz 2004, p. 81). Back in the 1960s, Harry Johnson, a conservative University of Chicago professor writing in a journal dominated by the renowned conservative perspective of University of Chicago, offered a shockingly honest evaluation of class bias of monetary policy: ##From one important point of view, indeed, the avoidance of inflation and the maintenance of full employment can be most usefully regarded as conflicting class interests of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, respectively, the conflict being resolvable only by the test of relative political power in the society and its resolution involving no reference to an overriding concept of the social welfare. [Johnson 1968, p. 986] Political power rests with the powerful. The Federal Reserve is no exception. Its role is to protect capital against the interests of labor. In order to maintain labor discipline, the Federal Reserve Board maintains a level of unemployment high enough to keep workers fearful of losing their jobs. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Galbraith's new paper
Here is the next section of the book. Is this the material Daniel is asking about? For example, during the late 1990s, while the dot-com boom was in full swing, Alan Greenspan, then the all-powerful Chairman of the Federal Reserve, spoke to his colleagues at the Fed about the traumatized worker. Greenspan was not referring to the traumatization of the unemployed workers, but rather that of the employed workers facing the possibility of unemployment. Greenspan had no intention of trying to elicit sympathy for these workers. On the contrary, workers' intimidation created a welcome opportunity for business. As Robert Woodward reported, Greenspan saw the traumatized worker as someone who felt job insecurity in the changing economy and so was resigned to accepting smaller wage increases. He had talked with business leaders who said their workers were not agitating and were fearful that their skills might not be marketable if they were forced to change jobs (Woodward 2000, p. 163). Greenspan was always careful to choose his words carefully. Traumatization refers to a condition that causes people to suffer serious disorders -- the kind that often can create grave health consequences. The association of posttraumatic stress disorder and the threat of unemployment might seem far-fetched, if the source were someone less eminent than Alan Greenspan. I do not believe that Greenspan ever used the expression, traumatized worker in his public pronouncements. After all, Greenspan used a language that was legendary for its obscurity, but his less inflammatory words still conveyed the same message. For example, the Chairman testified before Congress: ... the rate of pay increase still was markedly less than historical relationships with labor market conditions would have predicted. Atypical restraint on compensation increases has been evident for a few years now and appears to be mainly the consequence of greater worker insecurity (Greenspan 1997, p. 254). The lack of clarity in this statement may make his words seem less harsh, but the meaning remains the same. Greenspan had numbers to back him up. He reported: As recently as 1981, in the depths of a recession, International Survey Research found twelve percent of workers fearful of losing their jobs. In today's tightest labor market in two generations, the same organization has recently found thirty seven percent concerned about job loss. [Greenspan 1999] Greenspan was not the only person taken by surprise by the impact of traumatization. Paul Samuelson, Noble Prize-winning economist told a conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston shortly before Greenspan's comments: America's labor force surprised us with a new flexibility and a new tolerance for accepting mediocre jobs (Samuelson 1998, p. 36). Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Galbraith's new paper
That is the kindest interpretation that can be given although AG said all of the things that Doug attributes to him. One other consideration was that he did not want to have too much of a crunch on his watch -- sort of like Bush waiting to pass the Iraq hot potato to the Dems. From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Doug Henwood AG also believed in the productivity revolution, driven by IT and free markets, so that provided some space for wage increases, which he allowed. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Monbiot: How the neoliberals stitched up the wealth of nations for themselves
His article is a synopsis of David Harvey's book. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2007 8:15 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Monbiot: How the neoliberals stitched up the wealth of nations for themselves Me: overemphasis on neoliberal ideas) and even toward conspiracy theory (that stuff about the Mont Pelerin group). I thought that he was Sandwichman wrote: How is it conspiracy theory to point out that specific groups of people deliberately and very successfully campaigned for an ideology? Would it be a conspiracy theory to say that the Bolsheviks were instrumental in the course taken by the Russian Revolution? NO. I did NOT say that he actually presented a conspiracy theory. Rather, I said that Monbiot _leans too heavily toward_ philosophical idealism here ... and even toward conspiracy theory (that stuff about the Mont Pelerin group). [emphasis added] A conspiracy theory would say that the Russian Rev. was caused by outside agitators, those dern Bolshies. It would ignore the disastrous results of the Russian Empire's entry into World War 1, the revolts by sailors, peasants, and workers, etc. Such a theory would be the polar opposite of a structural or inevitability theory which would ignore human agency entirely. -- Jim Devine / In the years since the phrase became a cliché, I have received any number of compliments for my supposed ability to 'think outside the box.' Actually, it has been a struggle for me to perceive just what these 'boxes' were - why they were there, why other people regarded them as important, where their borderlines might be, how to live safely within and without them. -- Tim Page (THE NEW YORKER, August 20, 2007).
[PEN-L] Galbraith's new paper
Has anyone looked at this? Jaimie uses a VAR model to show that the Fed targets low unemployment rather than inflation and that it acts politically to promote Republicans and presidential elections. Levy Working Paper No. 511 The Fed's Real Reaction Function Monetary Policy, Inflation, Unemployment, Inequality-and Presidential Politics* James K. Galbraith Olivier Giovannoni Ann J. Russo August 2007 Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
[PEN-L] Schmallensee again
I just found this in David Warsh's Economic Principles site, which I like very much. http://www.economicprincipals.com/issues/07.07.08.html But it was the bitter antitrust battles of the 1990s that now seem to have broken the case wide open, at least where economics is concerned: US v. Microsoft, of course, and, especially, the battles among Visa, Mastercard, Discover and their would-be issuers in particular, culminating in the US v/ Visa and MasterCard in 1998. It was in 1991 that Visa hired Richard Schmallensee and David Evans to help fend off a private antitrust suit by Sears, which wanted to issue Visa cards to its customers. Schmallensee was professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, trained there in the golden age of the 1960s; Evans, consultant for National Economics Research Associates with a 1983 PhD from University of Chicago, the very end of its golden age of price theory. Before long, Microsoft signed up the pair as well. A decade of furious briefing followed. In 1999, Schmallensee and Evans published Paying With Plastic: The Digital Revolution in Buying and Borrowing. The book was framed as a defense of the credit card industry. It was true, the authors wrote, that credit cards encouraged some people to spend beyond their means and to become mired in debt. But plastic also had allowed millions of people to enjoy life earlier than their current incomes and savings permit and created a boom in the process. The authors had a subsidiary aim as well: to demonstrate how competition worked in an industry that did not fit the standard models that lawyers brought with them to court. It began with a series of novel solutions to the chicken and egg problem -- consumers don't want cards that merchants won't accept, and merchants don't want cards that consumer do not carry. Most of these solutions involved collaboration, a tactic that had become ubiquitous in the modern age, but one viewed with suspicion at least since Adam Smith wrote that People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. The book was a tour de force of thick description, a narrative history of the development of payment cards, plus an analysis of the unique interdependent pricing of the industry. Charge card systems such as American Express had two sources of revenue: merchant fees and cardholder fees. Credit card systems backed by banks enjoyed finance charges paid by cardholders as well. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Books/ articles criticizing this eurocentric idea
I don't know if individualist communitarianism initially had something comparable to the slaves, but it did differ from possessive individualism in the sense that it did not place of high-value on consumptionism, but rather on people developing their own potential -- something like From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Michael P. mentions a very attractive type of individualist communitarianism [that] existed in Italy in the 13th century until the tyrants took over the city states. Machiavelli [1469-1527] reflected the tyrannical period. I don't know enough about this subject, but individualist communitarianism seems to involve a strong sense of individualism _and_ a commitment to one's community. This kind of attitude has prevailed in relatively small communities which enjoyed a lot of equality internally. (As in ancient Athens, which had a similar attitude, there was a large class of outsiders (slaves, women, foreigners, etc.) who were not seen as part of the community.) Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
[PEN-L] Voice recognition gone wild.
I don't know if individualist communitarianism initially had something comparable to the slaves, but it did differ from possessive individualism in the sense that it did not place of high-value on consumptionism, but rather on people developing their own potential -- something like Sen [using voice recognition, Sen's name caused the program to send the message to the list] proposes. From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Michael P. mentions a very attractive type of individualist communitarianism [that] existed in Italy in the 13th century until the tyrants took over the city states. Machiavelli [1469-1527] reflected the tyrannical period. I don't know enough about this subject, but individualist communitarianism seems to involve a strong sense of individualism _and_ a commitment to one's community. This kind of attitude has prevailed in relatively small communities which enjoyed a lot of equality internally. (As in ancient Athens, which had a similar attitude, there was a large class of outsiders (slaves, women, foreigners, etc.) who were not seen as part of the community.) n as part of the community.) Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Venezuela and 6 hour day?
Richistan has a short section on watches for the elites, which can run well over $100,000. One expensive watch has the hours on the clock face organized in an irregular order, making it difficult to keep time. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dan Scanlan Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2007 2:02 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Venezuela and 6 hour day? On Aug 23, 2007, at 10:02 AM, Jim Devine wrote: I think we should all go back to the system that used to prevail in Saudi Arabia: skip all this time-zone stuff and go for solar time! I have been trying to convince a sophisticated programmer friend of mine since childhood that there is major change to be effected and money to be made by creating a watch that knows where you are, how long ago the sun rose and when it will set. In a moment in history when GPS can tell us exactly where we are and linkage to atomic calendars can tell us WHEN we are, and logarithms can tell where we are relative to sunrise and sunset, why do we still use timekeepers that are based on monks' burning knots on a rope to force other monks to work, sleep and pray? I have for years considered daylight saving time a fraud. What it really does is squander our sense of nature, i.e., the sun's impact on us. A simple bit of coding can translate local moment into universal time. Local Moment equals here and now (longitude and latitude plus percentage of day since sunrise). Universal Time equals this moment in the Earth's revolution around the Sun since 00:00:00 New Years Day. Such a timepiece would bring mankind back to the natural tick-tock of the world and, in time, shed the handcuffs of corporate (priestly) time. Dan Scanlan
Re: [PEN-L] The transition to capitalism: is it in our genes?
I just sent this comment to Lou's blog In 1984, I spent some time with Clark when I spent a year at Stanford. He is very bright. His main focus is to prove that wealth and power are the result of the efficiency of markets; his dissatisfaction with my work was not surprising. Some of his work is far fetched, but he usually is very diligent in collecting data and using very up-to-date methods. This particular effort seems a bit far fetched. I don't think that much factory work was taken up by middle class youth. England had their equivalent of Mexicans in nearby Ireland. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Louis Proyect Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2007 12:38 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] The transition to capitalism: is it in our genes? http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2007/08/07/the-transition-to-capitalis m-is-it-in-our-genes/
Re: [PEN-L] Realclimate deals with Cockburn
Jerry Brown is much like Bill Clinton without the people skills. Both began as naïve progressives than cowered in the corner. Brown moved far to the rhetorical left before he became a right wing mayor of Oakland. Now he will be a law and order but moderately progressive attorney general. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Doug Henwood Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 9:06 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Realclimate deals with Cockburn On Jun 19, 2007, at 11:09 AM, Jim Devine wrote: Cockburn became all contrariness and no commitment. Long ago, he said that he (the late and much-missed) Andy Kopkind saw themselves as members of a Chaos Party. Anything that increased the level of chaos, they were for. Andy told me during the 1992 campaign, when he was publicly writing positive things about Jerry Brown and his presidential campaign, that he didn't like Brown at all. But if Brown were to win the Dem nomination, it would have destroyed the Dem party, and if by some fluke he'd won the presidency, he would have destroyed the U.S. Which is why he was for Jerry Brown. Cockburn has a similar impulse - he's for things that shock. Doug
Re: [PEN-L] Back to the Future
One of my dissertation advisers quit UC Berkeley to run KSAN. Ann wrote: I remember Hipp from alternative format radio (KSAN-FM), which makes me much older than (radioactive) dirt. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, Ca 95929
Re: [PEN-L] NACLA on RCTV
David wrote: You (the generic you) are like Pavlov's dog. Hear Friedman, spit out Chile. And you accuse me of lack of logic. First of all, ALL of us should go light on the vitriol. What follows from David, sounds very dogmatic -- somewhat out of character for him. I am typing slowly to help you understand my argument. The argument is not if you value freedom, then you must desire private property. The argument is not if you have capitalism, you have freedom. The argument is not a lot of things. The argument is that if you have a revolutionary socialist government, it is PREDICTABLE that (1) the government will actively attempt to restrict freedom of expression and the ability to dissent (and that there are institutional reasons why a socialist government could not protect freedom of expression even if run by angels), and (2) food production will be altered in a manner that will result in, at worst starvation, and at best really serious problems (even if the government is run by angels). I do admit that I assume that if you value freedom of expression and people not being hungry, you would be at least a little bit concerned if I am right. And that is why I made the point that if you don't value those things, the correctness would be irrelevant to you. Back to the point. I just gave you a couple hypothesis. They are testable. Venezuela is the latest test case. Who is up for the bet? I am here right now with a room full of very conservative economists. They probably agree with David, but they know that speaking to me with the attitude that David exudes here would not be very productive. Here we have licensing of the airwaves, but I cannot think of any regularly scheduled network programs that reflect my politics. I guess that the freedom that you mean would be like that of Anatole France -- the rich and the poor are both forbidden from sleeping under the bridge. Also, the point has been made before -- can you imagine if a tv network would advocate antigovernment policies. They don't even report very much on antipolitical activities, except to denounce the protestors or make them seem ridiculous. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, Ca 95929 David Shemano
Re: [PEN-L] Little Investment, Lots of Speculation
There is a long lag between investment production. Demand is increasing. Excess supplies allow Exxon to threaten price cutters with a price war. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2:28 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Little Investment, Lots of Speculation On 5/30/07, raghu [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Is it true that because oil demand is inelastic, their earnings would actually *decrease* if they increase production? (because marginal price would decline sharply and demand remains the same)? I believe that it's true that the demand for oil is price-inelastic, at least in the short run. That means that if oil production rises, it would reduce profits (cet. par.) But individual oil producers have a hard time putting that insight into action. (There's an incentive to produce a lot and hope that the price doesn't fall. This is especially true for the marginal producers.) To solve the problem, they try to keep the cartel going (or revive it, depending on the period being considered). -- Jim Devine / Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti. (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
Re: [PEN-L] I say po-tay-to, you say po-tah-to
The East India Company had three major exports -- first textiles, then tea, and finally opium. Tea became important because the working class could no longer afford to drink milk. Money from the East India Company was used to buy estates, which did help to revolutionize the countryside. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com Jim Devine Since as far as I know, tea can't be grown in W. Europe and thus would play no significant role in revolutionizing social relations there. (Perhaps it gave workers extra energy to work, however, like coffee does. Also, global warming might allow tea cultivation in W. Europe.)
Re: [PEN-L] Refutation of 9/11 conspiracy theories?
In all fairness, I asked Paul not to keep posting on this subject. We should also abide by that request. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Engels on transition
This is unacceptable! -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Louis Proyect Okay, we get it. You don't have time. I have a 35 hour week job programming Unix applications, write 3 to 5 articles a week to my blog and moderate a thousand member mailing list. If I have time, you have time. What you don't have is motivation. You are a lazy slug and a windbag. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Engels on transition
Your description of me is not quite accurate. I think decrepit would be far more accurate than aging. My interventions have been limited for the last two weeks because of a series of e-mail problems on campus. I had not realized that my either/or comment had been repeated so many times. I did not mean it to be some sort of scholarly insight but rather a question that I have seriously considered for quite some time -- the degree which the two forms of exploitation played in the development of England. I tend to go back and forth in terms of the priority, but I really wondered why you held what seemed to be your position of exclusivity. From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Louis Proyect I am also highly insulted by your own one sentence Zen Buddhist interventions into this thread, as if Why does it have to be either or, a point you've only made 1000 times, is supposed to represent scholarly insights. The sheer laziness on this list makes me feel like I've wandered into an AOL chatroom for aging tenured professors. What a waste of time. Michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] EGYPT: Islamic Democrats?
The US made the same sort of mistake linking with fundamentalists in Afghan. It is not just the number of divisions. Was Stalin saying he would link with the Pope if he had enough divisions or was he just dismissing the Pope? Religious thought does not lend itself to Realpolitik, but to absolute truths, real or imagined. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Yoshie Furuhashi Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2007 3:03 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] EGYPT: Islamic Democrats? On 4/29/07, Perelman, Michael [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I admire the Berrigan brothers for the humanity rather than for their Catholicism. That is good of you, but I think that people who are interested in the Muslim Brotherhood, from left to liberal, are interested in neither their humanity nor their religion but are motivated by a similar question to the ones that Stalin asked: The Pope? How many divisions has he got? (qtd. in Winston Churchill, The Gathering Storm, Vol. 1, Ch. 8, The Second World War, 1948, http://www.bartleby.com/66/30/55130.html); and If the Pope or you can tell us what armies, artillery, machine-guns tanks and other weapons of war he possesses, let him become our ally. We don't need an ally for talk and incense (Enver Hoxha, Memoirs from My Meetings with Stalin, 1981 http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hoxha/works/stalin/meet3.htm ). For Stalin, the questions were rhetorical, but today they aren't. In other words, people are interested in the Brotherhood and the like first and foremost because they do have many divisions, not necessarily in the literal military sense (though Hizballah and the Iranian state have them in this sense also) but in a political sense of mass membership. -- Yoshie
Re: [PEN-L] EGYPT: Islamic Democrats?
I can't continue this anymore. I am just taking a break from my meeting, but the link between the Fascists and the Pope is not that far fetched considering his actions during the war. I don't think Stalin made an alliance with the Nazis, but just bought himself enough time to prepare for the war. For all his faults his was a realist. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Yoshie Furuhashi Sent: Sunday, April 29, 2007 3:20 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] EGYPT: Islamic Democrats? On 4/29/07, Perelman, Michael [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The US made the same sort of mistake linking with fundamentalists in Afghan. It is not just the number of divisions. Was Stalin saying he would link with the Pope if he had enough divisions or was he just dismissing the Pope? In this case, Stalin asked rhetorical questions to dismiss the Pope, but in other cases he made peace with all sorts of political forces and entities, from the Nazis to FDR, and he conducted himself similarly toward Muslims and other religious groups inside the USSR and the actual and potential Soviet spheres of influence. Today's liberals and leftists of the sort who are expressing interest in the Muslim Brothers and the like, however, are obviously a little more discriminating in their alliance than Stalin. At the same time, it's clear that no one would take a look at them if they are politically insignificant. -- Yoshie
Re: [PEN-L] Student wisdom
Student work pressures are the most serious source of decline in our university. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Seth Sandronsky Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 5:56 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] Student wisdom http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=315528 Seth Sandronsky _ The average US Credit Score is 675. The cost to see yours: $0 by Experian. http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=660600bcd=EMAILFOOTE RAVERAGE
Re: [PEN-L] Bill Moyers versus the lapdog media
I think that he is a self-identified populist, but so was Lyndon Johnson. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Thursday, April 26, 2007 8:33 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Bill Moyers versus the lapdog media He's not really under cover. It's more a matter of him saying I'm a liberal if being associated with the liberal Kennedy-Johnson administrations makes me a liberal (a paraphrase) and the like. He correctly made the point that in mainstream US political discourse, the word liberal is more of a swear-word than a word with real meaning. On 4/26/07, Doyle Saylor [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Greetings Economists, On Apr 26, 2007, at 8:19 AM, Jim Devine wrote: he is mainstream. I heard him on US NPR the other day (on Terry Gross's Fresh Air) and he went out of his way to limit the extent to which he was seen as liberal. Doyle; Ha ha, an under cover liberal. They meet in secret to further subversion of the American way. They watch over and over Edward R Murrow. But in public they pretend they aren't They must be outed. Doyle -- Jim Devine / Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti. (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
Re: [PEN-L] Populism?
Shane may be correct in the sense that populist rhetoric tends not to be analytical, but more personal, in contrast to Marx who called the capitalists merely the character masks of capital. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Friday, April 20, 2007 8:27 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Populism? Shane Mage wrote: What people are calling populism, and spinning definitions, categories, and analyses of, is just something that for thousands of years has been described by a single, still perfectly adequate, word: *demagogy*.
Re: [PEN-L] quotation du jour [was 911 considered/reconsidered ...]
Yes! Yes! Yes! And at the same time, trying to understand how to communicate that reality in a way that people can figure out a better way to change the world. Before we reach that level, I am convinced that setting out grand political strategies is meaningless. We first have to be able to communicate what we have to offer. Now I am off to make a fool of myself on the basketball court. Jim Devine wrote: I wish people would focus on _social forces_, the balance of political power, the dynamics of capitalism and the like. -- Jim Devine / The truth is more important than the facts. -- Frank Lloyd Wright Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] U.S. Stamps
I doubt that the stamps will earn that much more than the interest rate, although the inflation rate on stamps has been enormous -- three cents in my youth -- wasn't much of the jump in stamp prices the result of semi--privatization? Charles Ponzi began by arbitraging Italian stamps, but then he went on to bigger things. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bill Lear Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 7:33 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] U.S. Stamps Did anyone have a comment on the new U.S. first-class stamp proposal? Buy a first class stamp and it will always be a first-class stamp. Doesn't this benefit the wealthy, who can stock up on cheap stamps, while the poor have to buy them as they need them? Bill
Re: [PEN-L] The bigger picture behind conspiracies
Yesterday, I asked that we let this topic slide. I understand why Paul would want to initially respond, but let's leave this one go. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
[PEN-L] Questions for Bernanke
The Financial Markets Center has published a very nice list of questions for Bernanke. http://www.fmcenter.org/site/pp.asp?c=8fLGJTOyHpEb=2488429 Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] PEN-L should be announcing capitalism's shortcomings more than the Sun-Times
Doug wrote: Ok, suppose this is true. Then what? How do progressive economists turn this to their advantage? What's the political import of all this Godot-ish waiting? Doug asked how we could use information about the weakening economy. I was working for a big company for a while during the Vietnam War. At first, my antiwar discussions fell on deaf ears. Once the war seemed to be a factor in dropping the value of the company's stock, people suddenly wanted to hear what I had to say. I think that as the economy weakens, an opportunity opens to have a political effect. Understanding the nature of the problem, and even better being able to explain it as it unfolds, enhances that opportunity. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] query: Cheney quote
Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy, Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 6:34 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] query: Cheney quote does anyone know the full quote by Richard Bruce Cheney on environmentalism being merely an individual moral commitment? -- Jim Devine / Doubt is uncomfortable, but certainty is ridiculous. -- Voltaire.
Re: [PEN-L] data question
If you can find the titles, that would be wonderful. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] cognative elites?
Long story. Not appropriate here. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dan Scanlan Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 2:21 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] cognative elites? On Dec 27, 2006, at 2:13 PM, Michael Perelman wrote: I used to know a person who robbed liquor trucks. When he was arrested did the cops have all the proof they needed?
Re: [PEN-L] The farm worker paradox - post your favorite solutions!
Smith did not use that term, but he lectured about his subject, but caught himself when he saw the implications of his thought, then returned the next day to introduce the marvelous division of labor which brought markets to perfection. Smith's truncated discussion would cover 2 3. -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jon Baranov Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 6:28 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] The farm worker paradox - post your favorite solutions! In Micheal Perelman's book the Perverse Economy, he quotes Adam Smith's farm worker paradox. While he solves the diamond-water paradox, I do not remember him attempting to explain the farm worker paradox. I apologize if I simply missed Michael's argument Does anyone on this list think they have the answer? I think the paradox has an obvious solution as far as capitalists are concerned. What about wage differentials between workers? Here's my attempt - 1. The unequal structure of demand for various kinds of labor 2. Bargaining power - the inherent structure if the capitalist labor market 3. Social control - the cultural and institutional imperatives of capital 4. Different profit rares and accidental factors Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] gas prices
Yes. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 8:53 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] gas prices Michael Perelman wrote: Aren't crude oil prices beginning to increase again? do you think it's because the oil companies are trying to recoup the profits lost because of their effort to manipulate the recent US election to favor Bush? -- Jim Devine / Crime seems to change character when it crosses a bridge or a tunnel. In the city, crime is taken as emblematic of class and race. In the suburbs, though, it's intimate and psychological - resistant to generalization, a mystery of the individual soul. -- Barbara Ehrenreich
Re: [PEN-L] Formula for disaster
I don't know about who is trading derivatives now, but I know from earlier studies, may were sold to people who did not know what they were doing -- according to Frank Partnoy's book. I am now looking at Bryan, Dick and Michael Rafferty. 2006. Capitalism with Derivatives: A Political Economy of Financial Derivatives, Capital and Class (NY: Palgrave Macmillan). They write: 70-1: A conventional notion that equity involves ownership and debt does not is therefore also broken down: financial derivatives have transformed the role of capital as property and as social relation and merged the categories of property and finance. In so doing, financial derivatives are helping to break down the distinctiveness of all particular forms of capitaJ, and serving to bring to the fore the characteristics that al1 forms of capital within capitalism share in common: the social relations of capitalist competition.♦ Is this stricltly true i.e. the financial markets being a zero-sum game? Forgetting for the moment the nonsense about different utility curves etc, the options-futures markets as I understand it is almost entirely for the big boys i.e. the Morgan Stanleys, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan-Chase and their like. In the last five years I believe *ALL* of these companies have been making massive trading profits - so who is losing money? An Amarath here and a Refco here surely does not account for all those massive Wall St profits and bonuses? What are we missing? My favorite theory is that there is money creation going on in the futures market i.e. it is a positive sum game with a massive barrier to entry. Any comments? -raghu. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Formula for disaster
This came just before the part I cited. It suggests that algorithms are used to pick stocks. I was very surprised by the estimate of one-third. David's explanation makes it seem sensible. Thanks. Complicated stock picking methods are nothing new. For decades, Wall Street firms and hedge funds like D. E. Shaw have snapped up math and engineering Ph.D.s and assigned them to find hidden market patterns. When these analysts discover subtle relationships, like similarities in the price movements of Microsoft and I.B.M., investors seek profits by buying one stock and selling the other when their prices diverge, betting historical patterns will eventually push them back into synchronicity. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Daniel Davies Sent: Saturday, November 25, 2006 7:11 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Formula for disaster rgh! algorithmic trading is completely misunderstood and articles claiming it's a computer to pick stocks are the problem. It's algorithmic *trading*. The algorithms aren't used to pick the stocks, they're used to minimise the slippage in placing the trades. The point is that if you decide you want to buy $100million of Google and it's trading at $499, then normally, by the time your trades have gone through, you've pushed the price up to $505, meaning that the average price you paid is somewhere around $502. If you have a smart trader working for you, he will break your order up into chunks, and time the placing of the chunks for when he thinks that there are biggish Sell orders coming across the market. If he can do this reasonably well, then he might get your average price down to $501, which is obviously a big saving. The algorithmic trading models that this article is talking about are just a way of automating that process. Some of them are quite tricksy in forecasting the flow of orders, but the main gain from an algorithmic trading system is that a computer can watch a lot more broken-up orders than a human being and never forgets about any of them. There are some automated stock-picking systems out there, but they're nowhere near a third of the market (and most of them are basically used by index funds). best dd -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Perelman, Michael Sent: 25 November 2006 02:31 To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Formula for disaster The New York Times discusses the growth of trading financial assets by mathematical formulae. This type of trading can potentially overwhelm markets -- something the article does not mention. Duhigg, Charles. 2006. A Smarter Computer to Pick Stocks. New York Times (24 November). Studies estimate that a third of all stock trades in the United States were driven by automatic algorithms last year, contributing to an explosion in stock market activity. Between 1995 and 2005, the average daily volume of shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange increased to 1.6 billion from 346 million. But in recent years, as algorithms and traditional quantitative techniques have multiplied, their successes have slowed. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
[PEN-L] Dick Cheney, Working Class Radical
I enjoy collecting vignettes about how workers subvert the authority of management. I had not expected to find Richard Bruce Cheney to contribute to my collection, but according to Sy Hersh, he did. Hersh, Seymour M. 2006. The Next Act. The New Yorker (27 November). A month before the November elections, Vice-President Dick Cheney was sitting in on a national-security discussion at the Executive Office Building. The talk took a political turn: what if the Democrats won both the Senate and the House? How would that affect policy toward Iran, which is believed to be on the verge of becoming a nuclear power? At that point, according to someone familiar with the discussion, Cheney began reminiscing about his job as a lineman, in the early nineteen-sixties, for a power company in Wyoming. Copper wire was expensive, and the linemen were instructed to return all unused pieces three feet or longer. No one wanted to deal with the paperwork that resulted, Cheney said, so he and his colleagues found a solution: putting shorteners on the wire -- that is, cutting it into short pieces and tossing the leftovers at the end of the workday. What is ironic is that Cheney tells this story to continue his obsessive efforts to shore up the authority of the presidency with respect to international law, Congress, the courts, and mostly ordinary people. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
[PEN-L] Formula for disaster
The New York Times discusses the growth of trading financial assets by mathematical formulae. This type of trading can potentially overwhelm markets -- something the article does not mention. Duhigg, Charles. 2006. A Smarter Computer to Pick Stocks. New York Times (24 November). Studies estimate that a third of all stock trades in the United States were driven by automatic algorithms last year, contributing to an explosion in stock market activity. Between 1995 and 2005, the average daily volume of shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange increased to 1.6 billion from 346 million. But in recent years, as algorithms and traditional quantitative techniques have multiplied, their successes have slowed. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
[PEN-L] Is the bubble becoming explosive?
Here is what the Wall Street Journal reports: Ng, Serena, Gregory Zuckerman, and Michael Hudson. 2006. $60 Billion in Two Days: A Spate of Mergers, Buyouts Announced Across the Globe. Wall Street Journal (21 November): p. C 1. More than $60 billion in deals were consummated in the past 48 hours of frantic merger and buyout activity, not including the debt assumed from target companies in these transactions, according to Dealogic, a research firm. The deals included a $20 billion private-equity bid for real-estate giant Equity Office Properties Trust and stretched from Europe to Canada to the U.S. More than 35 deals were announced globally, leaving bankers looking broadly to other sectors -- including health care, technology, gambling and home building -- for the next megatransactions. The common denominator now is debt. In the U.S., corporations have sold $109 billion in high yield, or junk, bonds and raised an additional $593 billion in junk-rated bank loans so far this year, according to Dealogic. Last year they raised $707 billion in bonds and loans in the U.S. Yet there are signs emerging that large debt loads could begin to weigh on companies involved in the deals. Some of the bonds issued by both HCA and Freescale were toggle bonds, which allow the companies to choose between paying interest in cash or in the form of additional bonds. That's a strategy companies adopt when they worry that they might be short of the cash flow needed to pay off interest in the short term. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] tehcnology forcing regulation
I have dealt with that subject in my Perverse Economy book. I have also written in several books about the idea that high wages spurred innovation in US economic history. Here it was not regulation, but labor scarcity. However, minimum wages did have a positive effect on technology -- is cached in the South. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Eban Goodstein Sent: Friday, November 03, 2006 11:45 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] tehcnology forcing regulation Folks, have had this query: We need some examples of cases where government regulations have spurred technological or other innovations with significant economic benefits resulting. Any good suggestions for summary resources? thanks-- Eban Goodstein Jim Devine wrote: Mark: The only revolutionaries to vote consistently Democratic over much of this stretch wore hoods and sheets and voted early and often. Louis Proyect wrote: This is absolutely true. Before the New Deal, there was little to distinguish Democrat from Republican. We seem to have returned to the status quo ante. If I remember correctly, before the New Deal, the DP was in favor of free trade, while the GOP was not. Nowadays, those roles have been partially reversed. There may have been some other differences between the parties, but of course their attitude toward capitalism was the same. -- Jim Devine / Mathematicians are like Frenchmen: whatever you say to them, they translate it into their own language, and forthwith it means something entirely different. -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe -- Eban Goodstein Professor of Economics Lewis Clark College Portland, OR 97219 www.lclark.edu/~eban 503-768-7626
Re: [PEN-L] Oracle, Red Hat, and Open Source
Ravi and Ragu, thanks for the good information. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] a possible pen-l principle
I don't think that anybody objects to pointing out how awful the government is, or even saying that the administration of Guantánamo is worthy of Nazis -- if I can use that word. Here, we are talking of similes. When one says that the government is fascist, one has transcended the metaphorical realm and is making an identification. Bill Lear wrote: Why would we want to? When our government makes decisions based on principles that would have been congenial to the Nazis, why would we not want to point this out? Bill Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Small aircraft hits building in New York City
It was a Yankees pitcher. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Charles Brown Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 12:29 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] Small aircraft hits building in New York City Small aircraft hits building in New York City October 11, 2006 ASSOCIATED PRESS photo http://cmsimg.freep.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=C4Date=20061011Cate gory =NEWS99ArtNo=61011027Ref=ARMaxW=233Border=1 (WABC-TV) A small plane crashed into a high-rise condominium Wednesday on Manhattan's Upper East Side, touching off a raging fire and raining flaming debris on the streets below, police said. There was no immediate word on any deaths or injuries. It was not immediately known if it was terrorism. Flames shot from the windows on two upper floors of The Belaire, a 50-story tower on East 72nd Street, close to the East River. A pillar of black smoke rose over the city, and burning debris fell as firefighters shot water streams of water at the flames from the floors below. Fire Department spokeswoman Emily Rahimi said the aircraft struck the 20th floor. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was too early to determine what type of aircraft was involved, or what might have caused the crash in the middle of a hazy, overcast October afternoon. The tower was built in the late 1980s and is situated near Sotheby's Auction House. It has 183 apartments, many of which sell for more than $1 million. This report will be updated as details become available.
Re: [PEN-L] Senior's Last Hour -- help!
I did not see any reference to Senior in the article you mentioned. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Celebratory Eurocentrism
What struck me very negatively about the article was the way he explained everything ex post facto in terms of some positive attribute of Western civilization. It seems something like the inverse of the way Pat Robertson attributes every disaster to some moral failing. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Michael Nuwer Sent: Friday, October 06, 2006 6:57 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Celebratory Eurocentrism Have you seen AG Frank's review of Landes? http://www.rrojasdatabank.org/agfrank/landes.html Michael Perelman wrote: David Landes recently published an article explaining why the West prospered more than China. You can read the whole thing and scroll down. Landes finds the usual -- that China lacked the proper market arrangements that makes capitalism work. But then he goes further, suggesting that the monasteries (hardly what one might think of as a free market) were a major factor in European success.
[PEN-L] The Nazi Origins of Privatization
Privatization is very popular among laissez-faire types today. The recent issue of the Journal of Economic Perspectives offers a different tale in which the term, privatization is falsely credited to Peter Drucker. In fact, Nazis coined the term. Their intent was to skew the distribution of income toward the rich, with the objective of reducing consumption. After all, the rich have a lower marginal propensity to consume. The term seems to have been first introduced into academic social science by Maxine Yaple Sweezy, wife of the distinguished Marxist economist, Paul Sweezy. Bel, Germa`. 2006. The Coining of Privatization and Germany's National Socialist Party. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20: 3 (Summer): pp. 187-94. 187-8: The standard story on the coining of privatization reports that in 1969 Peter Drucker used the term reprivatization in the sense that economists understand it today. In The Age of Discontinuity (1969, p. 229), Drucker makes a negative appraisal on the managerial capabilities of the public sector: Government is a poor manager It has no choice but to be `bureaucratic.' Drucker's (p. 233) analysis of how government works leads him to what he takes as the main lesson of the last fifty years: the government is not a doer. Thus, Drucker (p. 234) proposed adopting a systematic policy of using the other, the nongovernmental institutions of the society of organizations, for the actual `doing,' i.e., for performance, operations, execution. Such a policy might be called `reprivatization.' Drucker referred to reprivatization because he proposed giving back to the private sector executive responsibilities that had been private before the public sector took them over through nationalization and municipalization starting in the last decades of the nineteenth century. 189-90: In the late 1930s and the early 1940s, a number of works were devoted to the analysis of economic policy in Germany under the rule of the National Socialist Party. One major work was Maxine Yaple Sweezy's (1941) The Structure of the Nazi Economy. Sweezy stated that industrialists supported Hitler's accession to power and his economic policies: In return for business assistance, the Nazis hastened to give evidence of their good will by restoring to private capitalism a number of monopolies held or controlled by the state (p. 27). This policy implied a large-scale program by which the government transferred ownership to private hands (p. 28). One of the main objectives for this policy was to stimulate the propensity to save, since a war economy required low levels of private consumption. High levels of savings were thought to depend on inequality of income, which would be increased by inequality of wealth. This, according to Sweezy (p. 28), was thus secured by `reprivatization' The practical significance of the transference of government enterprises into private hands was thus that the capitalist class continued to serve as a vessel for the accumulation of income. Profit-making and the return of property to private hands, moreover, have assisted the consolidation of Nazi party power. Sweezy (p. 30) again uses the concept when giving concrete examples of transference of government ownership to private hands: The United Steel Trust is an outstanding example of `reprivatization.' This may be the first use of the term reprivatization in the academic literature in English, at least within the domain of the social sciences. 192-3: The primary modern argument against privatization is that it only enriches and entrenches business and political elites, without benefiting consumers or taxpayers. The discussion here suggests a rich historical irony: these modern arguments against privatization are strikingly similar to the arguments made in favor of privatization in Germany in the 1930s. As Sweezy (1941) and Merlin (1943) explicitly point out, German privatization of the 1930s was intended to benefit the wealthiest sectors and enhance the economic position and political support of the elite. Of course, this historical connection does not prove that privatization is always a sound or an unsound policy, only that the effects of privatization may depend considerably on the political, social and economic contexts. German privatization in the 1930s differed from the privatization of Volkswagen in the 1950s, and both of these situations differ from, say, the British privatizations of the 1980s, the Russian privatizations of the 1990s, or the privatizations across Latin America over the last two decades. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com
Re: [PEN-L] Russia and U.S. Trade Deal Stalls
Russia does not seem to even be making demands, just concessions. Is the US just trying to humiliate Russia? Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 www.michaelperelman.wordpress.com -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Yoshie Furuhashi Sent: Saturday, September 09, 2006 5:26 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Russia and U.S. Trade Deal Stalls On 9/9/06, Michael Perelman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: This press report about the concessions that Russia refuses to make doesn't mention a single demand that Russia appears to be making on the US. Washington still has not given PNTR status to Russia, and that's what Washington will have to give Russia if it lets it join the WTO. The WTO and PNTR aren't as big a prize for the Russian power elite as they were for the Chinese power elite, however, for the US isn't among Russia's major trade partners. -- Yoshie http://montages.blogspot.com/ http://mrzine.org http://monthlyreview.org/
[PEN-L] Wages salaries at lowest level ...
Does anyone have access to this report? In another recent report on the boom in profits, economists at Goldman Sachs wrote, THE MOST IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTOR OF HIGHER PROFIT MARGINS OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS HAS BEEN A DECLINE IN LABOR'S SHARE OF NATIONAL INCOME. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] Perelman turns down Fields Medal and $1 million Clay award
But I don't need the money. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of ravi Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 9:46 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] Perelman turns down Fields Medal and $1 million Clay award http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1855725,00.html [S]aid Prof Jaffe. He does not worry at this stage of his life about personal things like wealth and position. But he carries it to an extreme which people might describe as a little crazy. There you have it! --ravi -- Support something better than yourself: ;-) PeTA: http://www.peta.org/ GreenPeace: http://www.greenpeace.org/ If you have nothing better to do: http://platosbeard.org/
Re: [PEN-L] GM technology in medicine and environmental cleanup
Insulin can be made in a laboratory in a way that could be relatively easy to contain. The oil-cleaning bacteria might have other properties released into the wild. I would need to know more before coming to a conclusion. Ken asked: So do people also object to the use of GM technology to produce insulin and also to create bacteria that consume oil and can cleanup oil spills? Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] Last Lieberman Lament?
McKinney's opponent was support by Republicans in the crossover primary; Lieberman expects Republican support in the November election. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2006 3:11 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Last Lieberman Lament? On 8/10/06, Yoshie Furuhashi [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: BTW, Cynthia McKinney lost. It doesn't seem a good trade-off to lose her and get Lamont. how effective was she in Congress? how effective will Lamont be? until we know the answers to those questions, we can't tell if it's a good trade-off or not. anyway, the point is to improve the trade-off via mass mobilization against the war other bad things and for good things (the leftists' mom apple pie). -- Jim Devine / In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in economics, it's the exact opposite. --- Paul Dirac [edited]
Re: [PEN-L] Mexican agriculture and NAFTA
Thank you, David. One bit of clarification. Are you saying that the progress exists in the South as well? Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] Mexico: the electoral tribunal validates the fraud
Title: Participa en el Alejandro, I think we all appreciate what Julio is doing. It is exactly what I hoped that this list would do -- to bring information and informed commentary instead of the sort of repetitive back and forths with little content which happens on too many lists, including this one. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Alejandro Valle Baeza Julio, tu sitio sobre las elecciones en México es muy bueno felicitaciones. ¿No podrías cambiar los colores? ¡Azul y blanco usa el PAN! Saludos Alejandro -- Posgrado Facultad de Economía Av. Universidad 3000 Circuito interior México 04510, DF México Tel. 55-56222148 fax 55-56222158 Página web: http://usuarios.lycos.es/vallebaeza
Re: [PEN-L] A gloomy Brad DeLongy
Doug, were you thinking of this? Robinson, Joan. 1972. Richard T. Ely Lecture: The Second Crisis in Economic Theory. American Economic Review, 62 (May): pp. 1-10. 8: The whole trouble arises from just one simple omission: when Keynes became orthodox they forgot to change the question and discuss what employment should be for. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] resource cost of cities
Paul wrote: Interesting and thought provoking point. Perhaps a couple of comments? 1) Is the issue really cities? Wasn't it the twin Roman institutions of slavery and of empire that did the actual sucking of the resources? These resources were handed to an elite who *then* choose to use those resources as luxury consumption in Rome - although it seems a similar amount of resources went to luxury consumption on lavish rural estates, resort towns like Pompei, or provincial cities (Alexandria alone had a population maybe a half million). Me: I am not sure if a large city can exist without the resource deficit. Greedy cities, of course, will cause bigger deficits. Paul: If one nets out the socially unproductive expenditure that happens to be located in cities, they might turn out to be a very efficient use of resources. Me: Again, interesting. Surely eliminating unproductive expenditures, like greed, would diminish the problem of imbalance. Paul: ... Temin points out, he carried out his research precisely with the intention of refuting the slavery and surplus approach (pioneered by marxists like de St. Croix and a progressives like Finley). Temin proposes a view of Rome as a market economy which Temin sees as supporting Fogel and that crowd. (Temin, Journal of Roman Studies, 2001 and Working Paper MIT). Me: In the article, slavery is very benign. Workers commit themselves to slavery to get a better deal. Paul: On Temin's graph (posted on Michael's blog) I wonder if someone, more knowledgeable than I, would contest Temin's view of price formation in the Roman Empire. Temin says it proves the power of supplydemand in an integrated Imperial market - a high demand closer to Rome and less so in the periphery. Someone more progressive might point to the costs of production approach and an historical context: it is well known that Rome sought to conquer Egypt and other parts of the Eastern periphery precisely because they could produce and market cheap grain (to be precise, large quantities as tribute, plus cheap market prices). The Nile Valley was superbly suited to the agricultural technology of the Ancient World (one big reason why Egypt was Egypt). Spain (and to some degree Gaul) offered a different benefit -- the opportunity to establish vast new slave plantations that Italy no longer could no longer provide. Likewise one is simply more likely to find extant relevant documentation (wholesale trade) from places that were favorable producers. Temin's proof is a linear regression with all of 6 prices/locations! [could a lefty could get away with that at MIT?]. Me: He explains why Roman data is so scarce in the article, so that defect might be forgiven. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] meanwhile back in Iraq...
When the turning points come too quickly they become spin. Sandwichman wrote: The next six months should prove the turning point, as Thomas Friedman would say. -- Michael Perelman Michael Perelman
Re: [PEN-L] Thomas Brown and prison sentences for research misconduct
I was also surprised by the Wiener article. Wiener has done a very nice job in his book opposing the hypocrisy of academic punishments of leftists which letting distinguished people off without consequences when their offenses are much worse. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] Thomas Friedman parody I wrote
Why not father of Sandwichman? Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] food for the sandwichman
This paper studies the Italian labor market during the 1930s. Using monthly data on eight manufacturing sectors for the period 1929-1939, we evaluate the effects of the introduction, at the end of 1934, of the 40 h working week on the demand for labor. The results support the view that the reduction of the level of standard hours can be effective in stimulating employment provided that it does not imply an increase in hourly wage rates. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
[PEN-L] Nomi Prins on Paulson
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060619/prins Henry Paulson's Treasury by NOMI PRINS [posted online on June 6, 2006] In the coverage of President Bush's nomination of Henry J. Hank Paulson to replace John Snow as Treasury Secretary, I've lost count of the number of mainstream media discussing the well-worn path between Goldman Sachs and official Washington. But just because a road is well traveled doesn't mean it leads in the right direction. Tapping officials from the venerable investment bank for policy-making positions in government is a practice that dates back to the Eisenhower Administration, when John Foster Dulles, whose law firm represented Goldman Sachs, was appointed Secretary of State. In more recent history, Goldman Sachs co-CEO Robert Rubin instigated massive banking deregulation in the five years he served as Treasury Secretary in the Clinton Administration. Rubin quit in 1999 for a multimillion-dollar position at Citigroup. Around the same time, Jon Corzine lost an internal political battle as Paulson's co-CEO, rebounding first as the Democratic senator of New Jersey and now as governor. In March 1999, Joshua Bolten left Goldman Sachs to become policy director of the Bush-Cheney campaign, later serving as policy adviser, director of the Office of Management and Budget and ultimately White House Chief of Staff. Stephen Friedman, former Goldman co-CEO with Rubin, was appointed National Economic Council director by Bush from 2002 to 2005. Enter Hank Paulson, who has spent the past eight years as Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO. He joined the firm in 1974 after serving as a member of the White House Domestic Council in the Nixon Administration. Under Paulson's leadership, Goldman Sachs has become one of Washington's most generous patrons. Paulson is a top donor--mostly to the GOP. (To the chagrin of critics on the right, Paulson is also an ardent environmentalist and is chairman of The Nature Conservancy.) As Treasury Secretary, Paulson may have to dump some stock (he is the single largest shareholder in Goldman Sachs according to its 2006 proxy statement, with 4.6 million shares) to decrease his overwhelming conflict of interest, but even if he sells his unrestricted stock, he'll still have several hundred million bucks in RSU (restricted stock unit) awards, which are not immediately sellable. This could place him in a position where maintaining his financial well-being could necessitate supporting policies positive to Goldman's short-term stock price over long-term needs of the general economy, like dividend tax cuts. What first struck me upon news of Paulson's possible appointment was that he's too smart to take on this task, with Bush's approval ratings for his economic policies hovering around 40 percent. Then, I got it. Paulson is Bush's last hurrah--and his last chance. Known as a pragmatic and decisive leader, Paulson will likely be more proactive than Snow, whose sole job essentially was traipsing up to Congress once a year and urging lawmakers to raise the US debt cap by another trillion dollars so we wouldn't default on our interest payments to China. Bush's economic legacy is a weak dollar (who wants to invest in a country teetering on the brink of default?) and tax cuts for the super-wealthy that have created an outrageous deficit and debt. And that legacy benefits men like Paulson at the expense of middle-class Americans and the working poor. It will be a stretch for him to argue for prudent budgeting, while facing the country's highest national debt ever, without cutting social programs to get there. This shaky economic legacy also makes Paulson's possible appointment more challenging and hence more potentially dangerous than Rubin's. He must rally citizens into believing their individual economic condition is better than it is. Plus, he needs to convince international investors that the dollar isn't in free-fall, despite the abundance of American debt. That's a lot harder than convincing a board of peers as chairman to compensate your fellow senior executives hundreds of millions of dollars. When Robert Rubin hit Washington, mega-consolidation in the banking industry that led to Enronian corporate scandals had yet to be given the 1999 legislative go-ahead that smashed Glass- Steagall, FDR's New Deal Act separating commercial banking from investment banking. Today, things are more complicated and less regulated. Separately, the fact that Paulson presided over Goldman Sachs during a period when the firm increasingly transformed itself from a classic investment bank relying heavily on profit from stable fees into something resembling a hedge fund, in which record profits were based on trading bets made with borrowed funds doesn't make him the most credible proponent of debt or deficit reduction. So for Paulson to nab the top Treasury spot is multiples worse. Still, he is strong and confident. That's the scary
Re: [PEN-L] Marxian query
You might look at David Laibman Laibman, David. 1973-74. Values and prices of production: the political economy of the transformation problem. Science and Society, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Winter): pp. 404-36. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 3:41 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] Marxian query where is it that someone wrote an article on the so-called tranformation problem which said that only one of the following propositions could be true: (1) total value = total price (2) total surplus-value = total profit (3) value rate of profit = price rate of profit. thanks ahead of time. -- Jim Devine / These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people. -- Abraham Lincoln (attributed)
Re: [PEN-L] Key Economic Measures Jumped in March - NYT
What do people think about this report? Housing does not seem to be much of a basis for near term growth. Manufacturing growth was mostly driven by aircraft, I thought. What is weird is that when I see an indicator of an immanent recession (growth), right away comes some sign of growth (recession). Has there ever been a time when so many mixed signals have come for so long? Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] hamburgers jobs
I understand that the Monsanto seeds are leased. I could be wrong. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
Re: [PEN-L] Capricious growth in Peru
With the exception of Castro and Chavez, all the political leaders I admire were assassinated or their lives were cut short in other ways. I have heard all sorts of revolutionary figures on Democracy Now (Kabilla, eg.) speak in wonderful ways, making one believe that they are going to make their country a wonderful place. Few work out nearly as well. Paul's call for reserve should be a general policy. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
Re: [PEN-L] The Israel Lobby
Maybe so, but what about the way that they have picked of congressional representatives who opposed Israel, beginning with Paul Finley and onto the recent electoral defeats of Black reps. in the South? Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] Larry Summers has resigned
Unlike some college presidents, Summers undoubtedly does not need Harvard. I cannot imagine that he will be teaching that much. It is sad, however, that Harvard is one of the few schools to resist the CEO treatment. I assume that Summers would have done quite well at most major universities in forcing the faculty to fall in line with corporatization. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] Horowitz List of 100 Most Dangerous Professors in U.S.
Todd Gitlin? Mary Frances Berry of Pacifica fame? Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Michael Hoover Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 2:57 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] Horowitz List of 100 Most Dangerous Professors in U.S. The Professor's Colleges and Universities Arcadia University: Warren Haffar Ball State University: George Wolfe Baylor University: Marc Ellis Boston University: Howard Zinn Brandeis University: Gordon Fellman, Dessima Williams Brooklyn College: Priya Parmar, Timothy Shortell Cal State University, Fresno: Sasan Fayazmanesh California State University, Long Beach: Ron (Maulana) Karenga City University of New York: Stanley Aronowitz, Bell Hooks, Leonard Jeffries, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Columbia University: Lisa Anderson, Gil Anidjar, Hamid Dabashi, Nicholas De Genova, Eric Foner, Todd Gitlin, Manning Marable, Joseph Massad, Victor Navasky Cornell University: Matthew Evangelista De Paul University: Norman Finkelstein, Aminah Beverly McCloud Duke University: Miriam Cooke, Frederic Jameson Earlham College: Caroline Higgins Emory University: Kathleen Cleaver Foothill College: Leighton Armitage Georgetown University: David Cole, John Esposito, Yvonne Haddad, Mari Matsuda Holy Cross College: Jerry Lembcke Kent State University: Patrick Coy Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Noam Chomsky Metropolitan State College, Denver: Oneida Meranto Montclair State University: Grover Furr New York University: Derrick Bell North Carolina State University: Gregory Dawes Northeastern University: M. Shahid Alam, Northwestern University: Elizabeth M. Brumfiel, Bernardine Dohrn Occidental College: Tom Hayden Penn State University: Michael Berube, Sam Richards Princeton University: Richard Falk Purdue University: Harry Targ Rochester Institute of Technology: Thomas Castellano Rutgers University: H. Bruce Franklin, Michael Warner Rutgers University, Stony Brook: Amiri Baraka San Francisco State University: Anatole Anton Saint Xavier University: Peter Kirstein Stanford University: Joel Beinin, Paul Ehrlich State University of New York, Binghamton: Ali al-Mazrui State University of New York, Buffalo: James Holstun State University of New York, Stony Brook: Michael Schwartz Syracuse University: Greg Thomas Temple University: Melissa Gilbert, Lewis Gordon Texas AM University: Joe Feagin Truman State University: Marc Becker University of California, Berkely: Hamid Algar, Hatem Bazian, Orville Schell University of California, Irvine: Mark Le Vine University of California, Los Angeles: Vinay Lal University of California, Riverside: Armando Navarro University of California, Santa Cruz: Bettina Aptheker, Angela Davis University of Cincinnati: Marvin Berlowitz University of Colorado, Boulder: Alison Jaggar, Emma Perez University of Dayton: Mark Ensalaco University of Denver: Dean Saitta University of Hawaii, Manoa: Haunani-Kay Trask University of Illinois, Chicago: Bill Ayers University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign: Robert McChesney University of Kentucky: Ihsan Bagby University of Michigan: Juan Cole University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: Gayle Rubin University of Northern Colorado: Robert Dunkley University of Oregon, Eugene: John Bellamy Foster University of Pennsylvania: Regina Austin, Mary Frances Berry, Michael Eric Dyson University of Rhode Island: Michael Vocino University of South Florida: Sami al-Arian University of Southern California: Laurie Brand University of Texas, Arlington: Jose Angel Gutierrez University of Texas, Austin: Dana Cloud, Robert Jensen University of Washington: David Barash Villanova University: Rick Eckstein, Suzanne Toton Western Washington University: Larry Estrada
Re: [PEN-L] the typical office worker is interrupted every three minutes
This article deals with the decline in the feeling of well-being as a result of meetings other interruptions. Luong, Alexandra, and Steven G. Rogelberg. 2005. Meetings and More Meetings: The Relationship Between Meeting Load and the Daily Well-Being of Employees. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 58-67. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Eubulides Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 7:07 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] the typical office worker is interrupted every three minutes http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-memory6feb06,0, 2981681.story Why the Aging Mind Is Driven to Distraction By Robert Lee Hotz Times Staff Writer February 6, 2006 NEW YORK - Exploring the anatomy of attention, researchers have discovered that middle-aged people are more readily driven to distraction by interruptions because of age-related changes in how their brains work. In research made public today, scientists at the University of Toronto and the Rotman Research Institute documented for the first time how age altered the brain's ability to ignore irrelevant intrusions. I have certainly found that as I have gotten older it is harder to deal with distractions, said lead author Cheryl L. Grady, 52, who studies the cognitive effects of aging. This experiment tells me why that is. This is happening in my brain. By scanning the brains of healthy young, middle-aged and elderly people, Grady and her colleagues detected a gradual breakdown in the brain circuits that maintain the normal balance of the attention span. Two key regions of the brain that allow the mind to focus on a single task and tune out unwanted thoughts get out of kilter much earlier in life than previously suspected. Normally, special neural circuits in the prefrontal cortex become more active when the mind pays strict attention. At the same time, related brain areas in the medial frontal lobe - thought to monitor more general background activity - simultaneously slack off. When the mind is at rest, the level of brain activity in those regions is then supposed to reverse. The researchers discovered, however, that starting at about age 40, this seesaw pattern began to break down during memory tasks. It's known that older adults are more easily distracted. We think we've found a mechanism in the brain to explain this, Grady said. The functional changes are detectable by middle age. The study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. As a practical matter, many researchers are trying to learn whether multi-tasking techniques meant to improve communication and productivity could instead make people scatterbrained, leaving them lethargic and forgetful. By one published estimate, the typical office worker is interrupted every three minutes. Scientists from King's College at the University of London, for example, recently determined that people trying to juggle phone calls, e-mail and other routine office distractions suffered a greater loss of IQ than someone smoking marijuana. Grady, however, suggested that people in their 20s today - their brains molded by instant messaging and all of the other high-technology of the short attention span - may be better able to manage unwarranted interruptions when they reach old age. If you are a 20-year-old today, Grady said, you may find it easier to deal with distraction when you are 60 because you have had so much practice.
Re: [PEN-L] Need Quote/opinion on Primitive Accumulation
Good summary, Jim. I am currently working on a paper linking primitive accumulation with privatization, which I interpret to mean the destruction of social self-provisioning. From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Michael Perelman, in his _The Invention of Capitalism: Classical Political Economy and the Secret History of Primitive Accumulation_ stretches the definition of PA a bit, to include the destruction of space for gardens in the cities and the like, which increases the requirement that workers buy consumer goods from capitalists. The latter seems quantitative, while Marx's concept seems a qualitative break. --- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
Re: [PEN-L] (Fwd) Ellerman on Wunderkinder Sachs-Summers-Shleifer
I enjoyed this comment, but does the problem, rather than in the narrowing of the vision that economics gives. I think of the agricultural specialists who convinced Bangladesh to plant short stemmed rice, which died during the inevitable floods. They had some data that the rice yielded more, so it had to be good, regardless of the actual conditions. In other words, I suspect that the common factor was that the prodigies moved to positions of power, but others with less prestige might have been just as bad. Of course, the lesser economists might not have been as arrogant so might have been dissuaded from bad policies -- but then Cheney was never a prodigy. -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Patrick Bond In last year's Post-Autistic Economics review, David Ellerman (former WB-based Stiglitz adviser) made this interesting point (drawing on James Scott's work). Does anyone agree or disagree? Youthful prodigies are typically in activities based on abstract symbol manipulation (e.g., mathematics, music, and chess) where subtle and often tacit background knowledge obtained from years of human experience is not so relevant (see Scott's discussion of pragmatic knowledge or 'metis'). . --- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
[PEN-L] specialization in economics
The Wall Street Journal online describes the 2 new fed nominees. My ellipsis changes the meaning a bit, but Mr. Warsh, who will become the youngest Fed governor if confirmed, is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School. He is married to Jane Lauder, an executive at the cosmetics company founded by her grandmother, Estee Lauder Cos. At the White House, Mr. Warsh has focused on domestic finance ... Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
[PEN-L] new frontiers in investment planning
Economists have long criticized the poor for not having a sufficiently long-term planning horizon. Some studies suggest that even rich people suffer from the same defect. Here is definitive proof that really rich people think long-term: Regalado, Antonio. 2006. A Cold Calculus Leads Cryonauts To Put Assets on Ice. Wall Street Journal (21 January): p. A1. You can't take it with you. So Arizona resort operator David Pizer has a plan to come back and get it. Like some 1,000 other members of the cryonics movement, Mr. Pizer has made arrangements to have his body frozen in liquid nitrogen as soon as possible after he dies. In this way, Mr. Pizer, a heavy-set, philosophical man who is 64 years old, hopes to be revived sometime in the future when medicine has advanced far beyond where it stands today. And because Mr. Pizer doesn't wish to return a pauper, he's taken an additional step: He's left his money to himself. With the help of an estate planner, Mr. Pizer has created legal arrangements for a financial trust that will manage his roughly $10 million in land and stock holdings until he is re-animated. Mr. Pizer says that with his money earning interest while he is frozen, he could wake up in 100 years the richest man in the world. I figure I have a better than even chance of coming back, says Don Laughlin, the 75-year-old founder of an eponymous casino and resort in Laughlin, Nev. Mr. Laughlin, who turned a down-and-out motel he bought in 1966 into a gambling fortune, plans to leave himself $5 million. At least a dozen wealthy American and foreign businessmen are testing unfamiliar legal territory by creating so-called personal revival trusts designed to allow them to reclaim their riches hundreds, or even thousands, of years into the future. :Such financial arrangements, which tie up money that might otherwise go to heirs or charities, are more widespread than I originally thought, says A. Christopher Sega, an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University and a trusts and estates attorney at Venable LLP, in Washington. Mr. Sega says he's created three revival trusts in the last year. In December, a trusts expert from Wachovia Trust Co., part of Wachovia Corp., participated in the First Annual Colloquium on the Law of Transhuman Persons held in Florida. His PowerPoint presentation was titled Issues Facing Trustees of Personal Revival Trusts. A Wachovia spokesman confirmed the bank is named as trustee in one cryonics case but declined to comment further for this article. To serve clients who plan on being frozen, attorneys are tweaking so-called dynasty trusts that can legally endure hundreds of years, or even indefinitely. Such trusts, once widely prohibited, are now allowed by more than 20 states -- including Arizona, Illinois and New Jersey -- and typically are used to shield assets from estate taxes. They pay out funds to a person's children, grandchildren and future generations. The chilling new twist: In addition to heirs or charities, estate lawyers are also naming their cryonics clients as beneficiaries. If they come back to life after being frozen, the funds revert back to them. Assuming, that is, that there are no legal challenges to the plans. Thomas Katz, an estate planner at the law firm Ruden McClosky in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., believes cryonics could raise fundamental legal quandaries. Upon coming back to life, for instance, would a person have to repay their life insurance? Our legal notion of death is pretty fixed. The scientific notion might not be as time goes by, Mr. Katz says. Some 142 human bodies or heads, including that of baseball legend Ted Williams, are now held in cold-storage at one of two U.S. cryonics facilities, Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale Ariz., and the Cryonics Institute of Clinton Township, Mich. --- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
Re: [PEN-L] telecoms and the internet redux
Thank you for this article. When I wrote about this subject a few days ago, I was concerned about censorship. What would stop some fundamentalist group from putting pressure on one of the carriers to restrict material it doesn't like, perhaps comparable to a recently canceled plans for a gay reality show? From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Eubulides The Coming Tug of War Over the Internet By Christopher Stern Sunday, January 22, 2006; B01 Meanwhile, on the other side, companies like ATT, Verizon and BellSouth are lobbying just as hard, saying that they need to find new ways to pay for the expense of building faster, better communication networks. And, they add, because these new networks will compete with those belonging to Comcast, Time Warner and oth er cable companies -- which currently have about s a media policy analyst with Medley Global Advisors. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] the last mile
I thought that that was what they were describing. -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of ravi Now, if they were talking about creating a parallel network cloud by interconnecting end-user WiFi boxes, that would be exciting, though perhaps infeasible! --- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
Re: [PEN-L] People who think that rational economic man is sociopathic might find this a bit humorous
From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Autoplectic What are the seminal texts for the VC schools theory of history? Douglass North the like. As markets develop, economies prosper. Those who defy the market suffer. They feel confident that history vindicates their view. We can't get away from the stories. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] Narrowing the internet
My original concern was not about speed, but the potential of the corps. to act as traffic cops, eventually filtering what comes across. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 u!
Re: [PEN-L] Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
I believe she worked for the World Bank, which seems to be a requirement to hold office in poor countries, unless you have CIA connections, which trumps Brettton Woods. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 1:57 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: [PEN-L] Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf does anyone know what the policy orientation of Liberia's new Prez, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, is? She's a Harvard economist, but is she a neoliberal? if so, such bad choices! Johnson-Sirleaf vs. a soccer star. In Iran, a fundamentalist nut vs. a neoliberal. Etc. -- Jim Devine The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side. -- James Baldwin
Re: [PEN-L] Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
The soccer star -- I don't recall his name -- was the candidate of young, lower class people. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 3:22 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf I would guess that she's also part of the Liberian upper class. On 1/16/06, Perelman, Michael [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I believe she worked for the World Bank, which seems to be a requirement to hold office in poor countries, unless you have CIA connections, which trumps Brettton Woods. -- Jim Devine When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. Now I'm beginning to believe it. -- Clarence Darrow
Re: [PEN-L] Narrowing the internet
You know more about it that I do. My fear is that once they become relieved of their status as common carriers, then they will be more likely to be free to impose censorship, just as the television networks are free to reject advertisements. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of raghu Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 8:04 PM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Narrowing the internet My original concern was not about speed, but the potential of the corps. to act as traffic cops, eventually filtering what comes across. Michael, If you are referring to the possibility of censorship, I don't think the new two-tier proposal would change anything compared to what we have now. However I stand by my original opinion that this new proposal will ultimately raise the cost of internet access, with all the implications it has for democracy etc. The phone execs at present appear to be testing the waters with this idea to see if it gains traction. Details are scarce so far, and reading the thread on NANOG Ravi was referring to only increased my confusion. See: http://www.merit.edu/mail.archives/nanog/2005-12/msg00295.html I am not too familiar with the infrastructure the network operators use to connect to each other (as opposed to the access network, and the so-called default-free core backbone, both of which are more transparent). But from the NANOG discussion it appears as if there is already some kind of two-tiered architecture in place in some of those networks. I see nothing wrong with that as it is just corps negotiating with corps. The new proposal on the other hand appears to be aimed at the access network, and is of much greater interest to us end-users. There is a coming upgrade from xDSL to fibre access networks which should be at least as dramatic as the earlier dialup-broadband transition. If Verizon and ATT have their way, the free Internet will be blocked out of the higher speed access network and stuck at the speeds that are available today. At least that's the way I read it. --raghu.
Re: [PEN-L] cambridge criticism
The Cambridge-like argument is stronger for labor than for capital, especially when various workers are involved. People who do econometrics on sports try to estimate how particular players on a team contribute. They can do so -- probably not very accurately -- because of the variability of outcomes. In normal production, economists assume that all workers in a workplace are abstract labor. But think about a job in which any one failure can screw up the entire project. What is the marginal productivity of any worker? Even worse, in intellectual property, which is supposed to be the key to the future, how do you figure out who invented the computer? What is common in science is that several teams or individuals are working parallel to each other. In one of the most famous cases, on February 14, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell's father-in-law submitted Bell's patent for Improvements in Telegraphy just hours before Elisha Gray applied for a patent caveat, outlining his idea. Or think of an undergraduate coming out of a university. How do you figure out how much each teacher, secretary, janitor contributed to the finished product? Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
Re: [PEN-L] Not a housing bubble
Carl rightly pointed to this special type of reality. Wages stagnate
because workers lack the appropriate human capital. CEOs of failing
companies prosper because of their special skills. All hail the market.
And I don't just mean the CEOs brought in to rescue failing companies,
but those who drive them into bankruptcy.
From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Carl
Remick
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2005 10:22 AM
[Ah! That's because belief in the market is grounded in reality. NB,
the
comment from Delphi Chairman Steve Miller (below), which I happened to
hear
rebroadcast on the news the other night. {Graphic CEO-speak follows.
Not
for those with weak stomachs -- reader discretion advised.}]
---
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Chico, CA 95929
530-898-5321
fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] The key to our success lies with a realistic, less ideological, more humble economics - Paul Ormerod
One of the ideas I have pushed is that product markets are deflationary. Alternatively, you can create competitive pressures by making factor markets more costly. Increasing wages or resource costs are not deflationary. I worked this out in a book that Jim Devine did not like. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
Re: [PEN-L] econophysics
Barkely Rosser, bless his soul, knows quite a bit about this. Maybe Max can get him to chime in. Pareto influenced Mandelbrot, whose key article was on cotton prices. This gave rise to the Santa Fe Institute the support for that way of thinking. Sam Bowles not runs their econ. Program. One interesting point about all of this. Economists have been going around trying to bully social scientists with their math. When Time on the Cross was first published, most historians seemed to be initially intimidated. Now that economists are coming up against people trained in physics, they may revert to actually studying the economy instead of their tools. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 -Original Message- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jim Devine Sent: Monday, December 12, 2005 10:36 AM To: PEN-L@SUS.CSUCHICO.EDU Subject: Re: [PEN-L] econophysics Pareto. I think the econophysics folks think that economics is so bad that they don't have to study it at all. It's like the leading lights at MIT economics, who don't study econ. unless it's mathematical. On 12/12/05, Max Sawicky [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Didn't Pareto or some dude gin up this notion 100 years ago? December 11, 2005/New York TIMES Econophysics By CHRISTOPHER SHEA Victor Yakovenko, a physicist at the University of Maryland, happens to think that current patterns of economic inequality are as natural, and unalterable, as the properties of air molecules in your kitchen. -- Jim Devine Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti. (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
Re: [PEN-L] structure agency [was: TRUE COST ECONOMICS MANIFESTO]
Suppose a 50-year-old thug steals $100 from me at gunpoint, but in a fit of conscience gives me back $10. On a more serious side, I think all this would commend people who turned their back on investment banking. On 12/5/05, David B. Shemano [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Let's imagine a hypothetical 50 year old investment banker. He owns a mansion in Connecticut and Upper East Side apartment, has a beautiful second wife, vacations at the finest resorts around the world. He loves wine and art, and has a magnificent collection of each which he truly appreciates. Having plenty of money, he decides to retire from investment banking, spending his time managing his own money and serving on various charitable boards. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
[PEN-L] Clinton vs. Galbraith
Mark Cooper (yeah, I know) interviewed Richard Parker, author of the Galbraith bio. He says that Clinton asked for an interview with Galbraith, after he read the bio. During their talk, Galbraith leaned over to Clinton and said, As I told Harry Truman, one Republican Party is enough; probably too many. Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
Re: [PEN-L] Murtha as a reflection of mainstream opinion
Clinton is such a visionary! He's a really good man, Clinton told USA Today. I'm going to have to think about it because I respect him so much. ___ Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929
