Posts by Nick Cassella

Daily Clips: June 13th, 2016

Daily Clips: June 13th, 2016

Being gay in America is still a radical act: Yes, “even in 2016, [LGBT individuals’] mere existence can still be considered a threat.” That’s not hyperbole. “LGBT people are more than twice as likely to be the target of a violent hate-crime than Jews or Black people. They are more than four times as likely as Muslims, and almost 14 times as likely as Latinos” to be attacked. GOP blocks bill to stop terrorists from buying guns:  “Congress has been paralyzed by the gun lobby for years, while more and more Americans are killed in mass shootings. the carnage won’t stop until Congress finds the courage to stand up to the gun lobby and protect the nation.” A higher minimum wage won’t lead to Armageddon:  A very thoughtful piece put forward by Noah Smith, who responds to Nick Hanauer’s  Democracy Journal piece on higher minimum wages. Smith believes Hanauer mischaracterized his position on the $15 minimum wage and does a very nice job of outlining why. It’s good to see an economic writer be so self-reflective. Tweet of the day: It's no accident that guns remain so unregulated. They looked to the tobacco industry and said, "not us". https://t.co/SRkDFtONbL — ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) June 13, 2016

Daily Clips: June 10th, 2016

Daily Clips: June 10th, 2016

Brooks admonishes Paul Ryan for backing Trump:  He also shows his readers that he understands freedom in an extremely uncomplicated and unsophisticated way. Brooks claims that “conservatives believe that politics is a limited activity.” In this way, freedom is best achieved through non-interference. To Brooks, “culture, psychology and morality come first.” Ugh, what does that even mean? There’s no evidence that Google is manipulating searches to help Hillary Clinton:  One to monitor, however. Economics struggles to cope with reality:  Noah Smith has written two pieces in the last couple of days which reflect on the nature of economics. It’s excellent to see that such a prominent voice is analyzing the field in an honest way. Tweet of the day: Low-income families spend more than 80% of their income just to cover the basics. It wasn't always like this. https://t.co/tfP2apXLQc — Hanna Brooks Olsen (@mshannabrooks) June 10, 2016  

Daily Clips: June 9th, 2016

Daily Clips: June 9th, 2016

Economists show that boys who grow up around books earn significantly more money as adults:  The sample size of this study was quite large, as well – 5,820 European men from across nine countries were examined. Elizabeth Warren is set to endorse Hillary Clinton:  Soon. Obama’s overtime rule defies Econ 101:  So says Noah Smith, who argues that “companies will probably react to overtime by doing both things — cutting base wages, but also substituting more workers for longer hours. Reduced hours for some employees will probably translate into a higher number of jobs throughout society.” After predicting the effects of the overtime rule, Smith boldly wraps up by claiming, “no one really knows what to expect from overtime rules.” The super rich start saving super early:  A fascinating read on the saving patterns of young, rich people. A study of 700 people found that wealthy individuals were unique in that they “started working and investing in stocks—15 and 25 years old, respectively.” Tweet of the day: This is Seattle @MayorEdMurray meeting with homeless under I-5 today.Courtesy: Photographer Tim Durkan. pic.twitter.com/3pZc7O0keR — Matt Lorch (@MattLorchQ13Fox) June 9, 2016

Daily Clips: June 8th, 2016

Daily Clips: June 8th, 2016

Everyone should celebrate Clinton’s milestone:  An interesting take from the American Prospect. I found this paragraph in particular to be intriguing: As I’ve written before, I’ve long believed that the right-wing apoplexy over the presidency of Bill Clinton was prompted not by his assertion that he had smoked weed but didn’t inhale, or that he avoided serving in the Vietnam War, or had a history of philandering. It was that he married that Rodham woman and seemed fine with her lawyering around—and even appreciated her giant brain. “Two for the price of one” was how he described, during the 1992 campaign, the benefit she brought to his potential presidency. Top supporters of Bernie Sanders gently tell him that “It’s time” : Give it up, Bernie. You lost. Friedman pleads for a new GOP: America needs a center-right party ready to offer market-based solutions to issues like climate change. America needs a center-right party that will support common-sense gun laws. America needs a center-right party that will support common-sense fiscal policy. America needs a center-right party to support both free trade and aid to workers impacted by it. America needs a center-right party that appreciates how much more complicated foreign policy is today, when you have to manage weak and collapsing nations, not just muscle strong ones. Hiring in April at slowest pace in nearly two years:  Our economy is in a precarious situation right now.  Tweet of the day: Recall the judge who gave the indecent 6-month sentence to Brock Turner for rape: https://t.co/Huj1WQnyvr pic.twitter.com/GjyqUk4fG5 — NYT Opinion (@nytopinion) June 8, 2016

Daily Clips: June 7th, 2016

Daily Clips: June 7th, 2016

History will look unfavorably upon Republicans who back Trump: The idealist in me wants to believe that politicians care about the country above personal gain. But that is clearly not the case. Donald Trump has exposed the GOP for what they are: racists or at the very least racist sympathizers. Paul Ryan called Trump’s attacks on the “Mexican” judge as a “ textbook definition of a racist comment .” Would that stop him from voting for Trump? Of course not. Explicit racism has taken over the GOP. Gone are the days of implicit racism modeled through trickle-down budgets. You reap what you sow, Republicans. Brooks waxes poetic about culture wars:   The larger culture itself needs to be revived in four distinct ways: We need to be more communal in an age that’s overly individualistic; we need to be more morally minded in an age that’s overly utilitarian; we need to be more spiritually literate in an age that’s overly materialistic; and we need to be more emotionally intelligent in an age that is overly cognitive. All-knowing David Brooks at his best. Oil hits 2016 high: Yay? Elizabeth Warren laying down the law on Dodd-Frank:

Daily Clips: June 6th, 2016

Daily Clips: June 6th, 2016

Love him or hate him, Mitch McConnell is a good politician: In his new book (which all sane people should not purchase), “McConnell comes through as a proud politician whose loyalites with the Republican Party more than a conservative ideology…” As you’d expect, “policy takes a backseat to campaign politics and legislative maneuvering throughout the book.” In short, he doesn’t have any core principles and only fights for partisan pleasure. Yellen faces fine balance on Fed rate hike after disappointing May job numbers:  US inflation still stubbornly remains below 2 percent. California’s economy continues to prosper:  “The high taxes and ubiquitous regulation critics cite when assailing Golden State government are proving no impediment to business and investment.” A Hillary Clinton presidency would have large impacts on women:  Yglesias puts forward a highly researched piece on governance that is definitely worth your time. Here’s a strong passage: Women lead different lives than men, and would consequently govern differently if more of them were in office. And the evidence strongly suggests that electing women to high-profile jobs inspires more women to run for and win lower-profile jobs. The presidency isby far the highest-profile job in American politics, meaning a Clinton presidency would likely have a meaningful downstream impact on women’s representation for years to come — with far-reaching ramifications for public policy at both the state and national level.  Tweet of the day: That Grover Norquist would endorse a candidate who calls for banning Muslims from the US gives new meaning to the phrase “big tent" — David Frum (@davidfrum) June 5, 2016

Daily Clips: June 3rd, 2016

Daily Clips: June 3rd, 2016

The Democratic establishment prevails: So says Molly Ball at the Atlantic. Her argument is very convincing: It’s not just Hillary Clinton. In down-ballot primaries, the candidates favored by left-wing pressure groups have not prevailed, starting with the Maryland Senate race : Progressives backed the firebrand Donna Edwards, and outside groups spent millions on her behalf, but she lost by a 15-point margin to Chris Van Hollen, a member of House Democratic leadership. An establishment nominee, Kate McGinty, also fended off anti-establishment challengers in Pennsylvania. The populist left failed to field serious primary challengers to other establishment-backed Senate candidates, with the result that the Democrats’ general-election slate across the country consists entirely of party-backed career politicians. The US economy just got its worst jobs report in years:  Gulp. I wonder if companies are slowing their hiring due to the upcoming election. Or is this a “ desirable consequence of an economy nearing full employment “? Paul Ryan’s endorsement of trump is a sad for America:  The principled conservative turns out to have no principles. Who would’ve guessed? Tweet of the day: American democracy with its norms of non-violent debate and peaceful transitions of power is a huge accomplishment. — Timothy B. Lee (@binarybits) June 3, 2016  

Daily Clips: June 2nd, 2016

Daily Clips: June 2nd, 2016

Obama “evolves” on Social Security: Barry O saw the rising populist tide brought by Bernie and Trump and decided, “Nah, I’m not going to stand in defiance of that.” How else can you explain Obama’s claim yesterday that Social Security should not be cut, but expanded. Hear his remarks on the topic: OPEC leaves oil production levels unchanged:  Yay? EJ Dionne talks GOP and religion: The Washington Post columnist claims that “the sheer force of demography means [religion] will never again enjoy the public influence it once had.” To which I say: about damn time. Tightening US labor market boosts economic growth outlook:  New applications for jobless benefits fell, “further boosting the economic outlook for the second quarter.”

Daily Clips: June 1st, 2016

Daily Clips: June 1st, 2016

Your morbid post of the day: American death rates rises for first time in a decade . Ridiculous headline of the day: Jimmy Carter makes one final push to end racism . Click-bait headline of the day: New polls put Trump down to Clinton by just 2 points. How nervous should Democrats be? Obama’s ex-speech writer outlines liberal incrementalism in column: Such is the path of progress in America — slow, difficult, collective, and always unfinished. It doesn’t come from sudden revolutions or charismatic strongmen. It comes from the quiet, persistent effort of citizens and leaders who are flawed and fallible human beings, but nevertheless press on, believing that for all the days filled with setbacks and disappointments, there will be some days when, to paraphrase the president’s favorite King quote, we have bent the long arc of the moral universe ever slightly toward justice. The MLK metaphor nearly ruins this paragraph. Is it just me or is it so overused?

US Consumer Spending Climbs At Fastest Pace in Seven Years

US Consumer Spending Climbs At Fastest Pace in Seven Years

Personal consumption in our economy accounts for roughly 70 percent of our gross domestic product. And the consumption economy seems to be kicking back in, as “ US consumer spending recorded its biggest increase in more than six years in April .” Consumer spending went up 1 percent last month, in large part due to the “ strengthening labor market, which is steadily pushing up wages .” In the words of our plutocratic overlord Nick Hanauer, “when customers have more money, businesses have more customers.” You don’t say! This virtuous cycle of consumption and demand is known by many : Economists generally accept the idea that Americans who make more will be prone to spend more. While consumer savings preferences don’t always add up to an exact 1-to-1 ratio between income and spending, it’s generally believed that compensation gains ultimately help stimulate consumption. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the month’s solid spending totals, disposable personal income – or Americans’ earnings after taxes – climbed 0.5 percent last month for the metric’s best showing since January. An economy’s purpose, after all, is to provide solutions via market forces for citizens. Naturally, a citizen is going to be more active in the economy if he or she has enough money to participate in the economy. That’s why today’s news is good news. With the velocity of money in our society so beleaguered , any uptick in consumer spending is cause for celebration.