Economics
Whatever Happened to the United Farmworkers?
On New Year’s Day, a friend mentioned that Frank Bardacke had published his long-anticipated history of the rise and fall of Cesar Chavez and the United Farmworkers. It was worth the wait, he assured me and “completely stunning. Just get it and read it. You won’t put it down.” He was right. Bardacke, a respected [...]
Protection That Makes You Weaker
I have taken up running and, like boomers everywhere, I worry about hurting myself. Data suggest that between a third and half of runners get hurt running every year, making running a surprisingly high risk exercise. Why is this? Journalist Chris McDougall wondered why he was getting hurt when humans have been running for two [...]
Seven Forces that Doom Bookstores and Publishers
During the past few years, the music industry has been hammered. As music went digital, it was pirated, deconstructed, and mashed. As music stores and labels disappeared, their lobby, the RIAA, screamed bloody murder. But amidst the carnage, a funny thing happened: the music industry grew larger even though it had fewer labels and far fewer retailers. Revenue [...]
The GOP Raises Interest Rates. China Cheers.
As of tonight, it is not at all clear when the US debt ceiling will get extended or when the entirely artificial crisis caused by Republican House members will be resolved. But one thing is now very clear: the ham-fisted GOP tactics will raise interest costs for every American family and business. It is the [...]
Amazon.com: America’s #1 Tax Evader?
== Update: On September 7, Amazon relented and made a deal to pay sales taxes on shipments to California (no doubt the trenchant analysis that follows persuaded them to do the right thing). For details of the deal see http://goo.gl/kNwjQ. Now every other state in America needs to make a deal with Amazon — even if they [...]
“We are Going to Pass” -10 Reasons VCs Turn Down Startups
Every few years, Silicon Valley grows strong, flies high, makes beautiful music and then, like the Phoenix of ancient myth, burns to ashes and starts the cycle again. At the moment, the Valley is a frenzy of startups. The rest of the country may be in the economic doldrums, but dozens of technology companies are being [...]
Kwik Fixin’ Oakland
I love Oakland. It is immigrant, black, and blue collar. The town has a great history and a solid soul. Ours were among the first neighborhoods in America where all of the whites did not move out when blacks moved in. Of course, along with a heart of oak, the town also has a brain [...]
Toujour L’Audace
In early 1997, Steve Jobs spoke at Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference. At the time, he was an advisor to Apple CEO Gil Amelio, who had just bought Next from Jobs. (That July, Jobs pushed Amelio out in a boardroom coup and regained control of the company he had founded). I embed Jobs’ fascinating talk [...]
Public Unions 5: Can Unions Innovate?
This post concludes a five part series on public sector unions. The opening post argued that political attacks on public sector unions are more likely to worsen fiscal or political problems than solve them. The second article asserted that low public sector productivity is primarily a management failure. The third article noted that efforts by unions to [...]
Public Unions 4: Preventing Labor Capture
This is the fourth of a five part series on public sector unions. The opening post argued that political attacks on public sector unions are more likely to worsen fiscal or political problems than solve them. The second article asserted that low levels public sector productivity relative to pay is primarily a management failure. The third article noted [...]
Public Unions 3: The Price of Job Security.
This post is the third of a five part series on public sector unions.The opening post argued that political attacks on public sector unions are more likely to worsen fiscal or political problems than solve them. The second article asserted that low public sector productivity is primarily a management failure. The third article notes that efforts by unions to [...]
Public Unions 2: Management, Productivity, and Pay.
This is the second of a five part series on public sector unions. The opening post argued that political attacks on public sector unions are more likely to worsen fiscal or political problems than solve them. The second article asserts that low public sector productivity is primarily a management failure. The third article notes that efforts by unions [...]
Public Unions 1: Scott Walker’s Gift
This post commences a five part series on public sector unions. It argues that political attacks on public sector unions are more likely to worsen fiscal or political problems than solve them. The second article asserts that low public sector productivity is primarily a management failure. The third article notes that efforts by unions to [...]
Beliefs vs. Preferences vs. Facts.
Most of us spend much too little time separating our beliefs from our preferences from facts about reality. We tend to think that our beliefs are grounded in facts, despite repeated evidence that they rarely are. Beliefs get us into more trouble than preferences, or as pioneering blogger Mark Twain put it “It ain’t what you don’t [...]
Michael Lewis: When Capitalists Try to Destroy Capitalism
If the global financial collapse has a silver lining it’s the Vanity Fair accounts by Michael Lewis of how three different European countries responded to the meltdown. We can only hope that Lewis adds to these reports and turns them into another best-selling book. Lewis (Liar’s Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side, The Big Short) is [...]
The Federal Budget: Getting What We Asked For.
Budgeting is governing, so the federal budget is rightly the stage for intense political struggle. It also means that a budget is fundamentally as much about setting the stage for a political fight as it is a reflection of priorities. So what does the new stage look like? You can see a more interactive version here. [...]
Mills College: Women’s Education in a Post-Male World
Towards the end of last year’s hit movie, The Kids are All Right, Nic and Jules (Annette Benning and Julianne Moore) drop off their daughter Joni (Mia Wasikowska) to begin her freshmen year at an attractive, unnamed college. The campus was gorgeous — its stately buildings and lawns captured the promise of a nourishing and provocative [...]
The Long Slide: Amazon Sells More Digital than Printed Books.
I have always loved printed books. I like discovering them and reading them. I like how they look, feel, and smell. I like rooms filled with books like the reading room of the British Museum or the New York Public Library or the rare book room at Shakespeare’s. I like the cluttered shelves of professor’s [...]
Obama: Looking for Dumb Federal Programs? Kill 13(c).
Obama this week announced an effort to hunt and destroy stupid federal programs. As he well knows, these programs are easy to find but tough to kill. I learned this when I was put in charge of a really stupid federal program. I got agreement at the highest levels of government to kill it. The [...]
California is Italy. Texas is Russia. Vermont is Yemen.
Always a sucker for a good graphic or a good map. Note that you can compare states with countries based on their populations or on the size of their respective economies.
