Showing posts with label Ezra Klein. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ezra Klein. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Today is the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech
Apparently the King family owns the copyright on the text and the video of the entire speech. However, there is a PDF version available at the National Archives that you can download and read.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Privately financed and built passenger rail service? Someone is going to give it a shot!
This is going to be very interesting if it proves to be profitable:
"In late March, Florida East Coast Industries (FECI) announced plans to build “All Aboard Florida,” a private passenger rail line that would connect Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa and Orlando. At least for now, FECI is planning to do this without government subsidies — which could make this the first self-funding passenger rail line in the United States in half a century."
This company has a lot of things going for it, as the post mentions, such as ownership of rights of way, faster and lighter freight service existing on those tracks (as opposed to the normally slow and heavy freight service), and real estate holdings near the proposed downtown Miami station that could see an increase in value with a new station.
And oh by the way, it could also prove to be a vital first step in catching up with the rest of the world that has left us behind in rail service. You know, because we "invest" in roads and highways but "subsidize" rail, which is essentially the same thing.
"In late March, Florida East Coast Industries (FECI) announced plans to build “All Aboard Florida,” a private passenger rail line that would connect Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa and Orlando. At least for now, FECI is planning to do this without government subsidies — which could make this the first self-funding passenger rail line in the United States in half a century."
This company has a lot of things going for it, as the post mentions, such as ownership of rights of way, faster and lighter freight service existing on those tracks (as opposed to the normally slow and heavy freight service), and real estate holdings near the proposed downtown Miami station that could see an increase in value with a new station.
And oh by the way, it could also prove to be a vital first step in catching up with the rest of the world that has left us behind in rail service. You know, because we "invest" in roads and highways but "subsidize" rail, which is essentially the same thing.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
More reasons for why the filibuster is bad.
Ezra Klein with a blog post on why the filibuster promotes partisanship:
"The crucial idea here is that it is very different to kill a bill than to vote against a bill. When the minority party kills a bill, they have made the majority into a failure. And when voters perceive the majority as failing, they vote in the other guys. If you’re in the minority, there’s no faster path back to power than killing bills."
"The crucial idea here is that it is very different to kill a bill than to vote against a bill. When the minority party kills a bill, they have made the majority into a failure. And when voters perceive the majority as failing, they vote in the other guys. If you’re in the minority, there’s no faster path back to power than killing bills."
Thursday, September 15, 2011
"Your life is not your own."
Great post at The Incidental Economist about Ezra Klein's post at The Washington Post on the libertarian view on health care. A few great points below.
From Ezra Klein:
"It’s all well and good to say personal responsibility is the bedrock of liberty, but even the hardest of libertarians has always understood that there are places where your person ends and mine begins. Generally, we think of this in terms of violent intrusion or property transgressions. But in health care, it has to do with compassion.
We are a decent society, and we do not want to look in people’s pockets for an insurance card when they fall to the floor with chest pains. If we’re not going to look in their pockets, however, we need some answer for who pays when they wake up — or, God forbid, after they stop breathing — in the hospital."
From TIE:
"...my life is not entirely my own to the extent (some) libertarians may think it is or ought to be. I am not the only one who cares about the consequences of my decisions. I am not the only one who suffers or enjoys what comes of them. I am not the only one who cares about whether I live or die. I am not the only one who matters.
It’s not just some vague “society” that cares about my life. It’s much more concrete than that. It’s the people I see every day, that I live with, for whom I’m, in part, responsible and on whom I rely. It’s my family, friends, and co-workers. They all care about my life. I care about theirs. My life is not entirely my own."
Both are excellent reads and really clarify why libertarianism, like liberalism or conservatism, is not a 'one size fits all' solution to the world.
From Ezra Klein:
"It’s all well and good to say personal responsibility is the bedrock of liberty, but even the hardest of libertarians has always understood that there are places where your person ends and mine begins. Generally, we think of this in terms of violent intrusion or property transgressions. But in health care, it has to do with compassion.
We are a decent society, and we do not want to look in people’s pockets for an insurance card when they fall to the floor with chest pains. If we’re not going to look in their pockets, however, we need some answer for who pays when they wake up — or, God forbid, after they stop breathing — in the hospital."
From TIE:
"...my life is not entirely my own to the extent (some) libertarians may think it is or ought to be. I am not the only one who cares about the consequences of my decisions. I am not the only one who suffers or enjoys what comes of them. I am not the only one who cares about whether I live or die. I am not the only one who matters.
It’s not just some vague “society” that cares about my life. It’s much more concrete than that. It’s the people I see every day, that I live with, for whom I’m, in part, responsible and on whom I rely. It’s my family, friends, and co-workers. They all care about my life. I care about theirs. My life is not entirely my own."
Both are excellent reads and really clarify why libertarianism, like liberalism or conservatism, is not a 'one size fits all' solution to the world.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Breakdown of Appeals Court Ruling on Health Care Reform
The Incidental Economist breaks down nicely the nuances of the court ruling on the Affordable Care Act.
Additionally, Ezra Klein has an informative and detailed post on what the future holds for health care reform.
Additionally, Ezra Klein has an informative and detailed post on what the future holds for health care reform.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
"Why do half of all Americans pay no federal income taxes?"
If you've wondered why roughly half of all Americans pay no federal income taxes, Ezra Klein asks the same question and comes to this conclusion:
"But the basic story here is that once you've added together the standard features of the tax code and the tax expenditures for the elderly, poor and young, you've explained almost everyone who doesn't pay taxes."
Read the whole post and the Tax Policy Center report that it links to. You'll be glad you did.
"But the basic story here is that once you've added together the standard features of the tax code and the tax expenditures for the elderly, poor and young, you've explained almost everyone who doesn't pay taxes."
Read the whole post and the Tax Policy Center report that it links to. You'll be glad you did.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Why The Math Doesn't Work
Ezra Klein starts off clearly:
"There are now two sides in the American tax debate: the Republican Party, which refuses to have a serious conversation about taxes, and the Democratic Party, which . . . refuses to have a serious conversation about taxes."
...then goes on to explain why the math doesn't work:
"The debt-ceiling deal simply proves the point. Let’s say the spending cuts go exactly as the Republicans hope: We cut $900 billion now and $1.5 trillion later. That’s more cuts than the White House says it would ever agree to, but ignore that for a moment. Now let’s say the tax side goes according to the White House’s plan: Most of the Bush tax cuts are extended, but the break for income of more than $250,000 a year expires. Are we done?
I asked Jim Horney of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities to run the numbers. In 2021, that scenario would leave the debt above 75 percent of GDP — and growing. That’s well above the 60 percent of GDP most deficit hawks think we should shoot for, and it doesn’t leave us at all prepared to deal with costs related to the retiring baby boomers."
Definitely an informative read.
"There are now two sides in the American tax debate: the Republican Party, which refuses to have a serious conversation about taxes, and the Democratic Party, which . . . refuses to have a serious conversation about taxes."
...then goes on to explain why the math doesn't work:
"The debt-ceiling deal simply proves the point. Let’s say the spending cuts go exactly as the Republicans hope: We cut $900 billion now and $1.5 trillion later. That’s more cuts than the White House says it would ever agree to, but ignore that for a moment. Now let’s say the tax side goes according to the White House’s plan: Most of the Bush tax cuts are extended, but the break for income of more than $250,000 a year expires. Are we done?
I asked Jim Horney of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities to run the numbers. In 2021, that scenario would leave the debt above 75 percent of GDP — and growing. That’s well above the 60 percent of GDP most deficit hawks think we should shoot for, and it doesn’t leave us at all prepared to deal with costs related to the retiring baby boomers."
Definitely an informative read.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Washington's Dirty Little Secret
Ezra Klein uncovers something most people don't realize: tax expenditures and government spending are really the same thing:
"The government pays employers $700 billion to offer health insurance to their employees, which no economist would say is a good idea. We’re subsidizing select parts of the energy sector, spending almost $2 billion, for instance, to subsidize “open-loop biomass” rather than simply pricing carbon emissions and letting the market work out the details, and we’re handing $4 billion to oil and gas companies that explore for new reserves.
Midway through my excavation, however, when I was really just getting warmed up, I realized I had made a mistake. I wasn’t looking at the federal budget — I was looking at the U.S. tax code. So cutting all those costly programs wouldn’t count as cutting spending to Republicans in Washington. It would count as raising taxes.
All those programs are tucked in the tax code, classified as “tax expenditures.” Like traditional government spending, the point is to achieve specific ends by throwing money at a problem. The only difference is that the beneficiaries don’t receive checks from the government, they simply have their tax liabilities reduced. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that, in 2010 alone, tax expenditures cost the government more than $1 trillion — more than Medicaid and Medicare combined."
"The government pays employers $700 billion to offer health insurance to their employees, which no economist would say is a good idea. We’re subsidizing select parts of the energy sector, spending almost $2 billion, for instance, to subsidize “open-loop biomass” rather than simply pricing carbon emissions and letting the market work out the details, and we’re handing $4 billion to oil and gas companies that explore for new reserves.
Midway through my excavation, however, when I was really just getting warmed up, I realized I had made a mistake. I wasn’t looking at the federal budget — I was looking at the U.S. tax code. So cutting all those costly programs wouldn’t count as cutting spending to Republicans in Washington. It would count as raising taxes.
All those programs are tucked in the tax code, classified as “tax expenditures.” Like traditional government spending, the point is to achieve specific ends by throwing money at a problem. The only difference is that the beneficiaries don’t receive checks from the government, they simply have their tax liabilities reduced. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that, in 2010 alone, tax expenditures cost the government more than $1 trillion — more than Medicaid and Medicare combined."
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Why does the GOP hate taxes so much? - Ezra Klein, Washington Post
Ezra Klein asks some conservative economists a question I've been asking for years without getting an answer to it.
Now if someone could explain why they hate non-Christians as much as they hate taxes, all my questions about the Right will be answered.
Now if someone could explain why they hate non-Christians as much as they hate taxes, all my questions about the Right will be answered.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
What do you mean the birth certificate is real!?! What do you mean he's really a moderate!?!
Ezra Klein explains where Barack Obama's policy ideas come from. Democrats aren't going to believe it and Republicans are going to be in denial about it:
"President Obama, if you look closely at his positions, is a moderate Republican from the early 1990s. And the Republican Party he’s facing has abandoned many of its best ideas in its effort to oppose him."
"President Obama, if you look closely at his positions, is a moderate Republican from the early 1990s. And the Republican Party he’s facing has abandoned many of its best ideas in its effort to oppose him."
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
I called it too...
In his daily Wonkbook today, Ezra Klein talks about how President Obama is expected to announce that he is backing the Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan. Although I am a regular reader of Ezra Klein's blog, I missed the post where he predicted this would happen. So either I am really tuned into Ezra Klein's thinking or I'm starting to think along the same lines because I posted the same prediction on this blog last Thursday.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em..."
Ezra Klein writes a great opinion piece detailing the history of health-care reform in the United States and calling the Republican Party's bluff on their "alternative". He says it's "Put-up-or-shut-up time" for Republicans. Personally, I think their position is more like that of "The Gambler".
Friday, January 28, 2011
US States: The Good and the Bad and Ugly
Great map posted on Ezra Klein's blog on WashingtonPost.com yesterday about the pros and cons of each state in the Union. Now some of the pluses are questionable, such as Kentucky being the "Best Armed" or just seem like a pathetic reach, such as Oklahoma being "Best License Plate". Some of the negatives are funny, like Utah with "Porn Usage" or Washington with "Bestiality". My personal favorite is the seemingly obvious connection between Ohio's pro ("Highest Library Usage") and con ("Nerdiest state").
It would have been nice to see a side by side list so I made one up myself below. See if you can find any other interesting connections. Enjoy!
Alabama
Good: Church Attendance
Bad: Stroke
Alaska
Good: Most Equal
Bad: Suicide
Arizona
Good: Sunniest
Bad: Alcoholism
Arkansas
Good: Bromine Production
Bad: Worst Credit Score
California
Good: Safest for Workers
Bad: Air Pollution
Colorado
Good: Lowest Obesity Rate
Bad: Cocaine Use
Connecticut
Good: Lowest Carbon Emissions
Bad: Breast Cancer
Delaware
Good: Best State to Incorporate In
Bad: Abortion
Florida
Good: Affordable In-State Tuition
Bad: Identity Theft
Georgia
Good: Hosts Busiest Airport Hub
Bad: Most Sickly
Hawaii
Good: Highest Life Expectancy
Bad: Cost of Living
Idaho
Good: Highest Per Capita Computer Manufacturing Output
Bad: Weakest Government Influence
Illinois
Good: Most Average
Bad: Robbery
Indiana
Good: Most VPs Born
Bad: Least ‘green’ state
Iowa
Good: Sick Days Taken
Bad: Oldest State
Kansas
Good: Wheat Production
Bad: Poorest Health
Kentucky
Good: Best Armed
Bad: Cancer Deaths
Louisiana
Good: Biggest Pork
Bad: Gonorrhea
Maine
Good: Least Violent Crime
Bad: Dumbest State
Maryland
Good: Highest Income
Bad: AIDS
Massachusetts
Good: College Grads
Bad: Worst drivers
Michigan
Good: Best Freshwater Access
Bad: Unemployment
Minnesota
Good: Best Heart Health
Bad: Tornadoes
Mississippi
Good: Churches per Capita
Bad: Obesity
Missouri
Good: Political Bellwether
Bad: Bankruptcy
Montana
Good: Native American Political Empowerment
Bad: Drunk driving
Nebraska
Good: Least Public Corruption
Bad: Violence on Females
Nevada
Good: Most Liberalized Prostitution Laws
Bad: Crime
New Hampshire
Good: Least Poverty
Bad: Corporate Taxes
New Jersey
Good: Lowest Suicide Rate
Bad: Taxes
New Mexico
Good: Spaceport Home
Bad: Anti-social
New York
Good: Transit Use
Bad: Daily Commute
North Carolina
Good: Best Value University
Bad: Teacher salary
North Dakota
Good: Lowest Unemployment
Bad: Ugliest residents
Ohio
Good: Highest Library Usage
Bad: Nerdiest state
Oklahoma
Good: Best License Plate
Bad: Female criminals
Oregon
Good: Most Breastfed Babies
Bad: Homeless population
Pennsylvania
Good: Most Hunters
Bad: Arson
Rhode Island
Good: Lowest Coal Consumption per Capita
Bad: Drug use
South Carolina
Good: Golf Holes per Capita
Bad: Most mobile homes
South Dakota
Good: Fewest Mental Health Days Taken
Bad: Rape
Tennessee
Good: Immunization
Bad: Corruption
Texas
Good: Most Wind Power Production
Bad: High School Graduation
Utah
Good: Highest Reported Wellbeing
Bad: Porn Usage
Vermont
Good: Healthiest
Bad: Infertility
Virginia
Good: Presidential Birthplace
Bad: Motorcycle deaths
Washington
Good: Lowest Infant Mortality
Bad: Bestiality
West Virginia
Good: Most Retirees
Bad: Heart Attack
Wisconsin
Good: High School Graduation Rate
Bad: Binge drinking
Wyoming
Good: Cleanest Air
Bad: Fatal car crashes
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
So I wasn't the only person that knew this was true!
Posted on Kaiser Health News and then Ezra Klein's blog at The Washington Post, which is where I first saw it.
Monday, November 15, 2010
"You Make The Call" (Part Deux)
I blogged earlier today about The New York Times' budget deficit calculator. Ezra Klein of The Washington Post has post today about that New York Times calculator and three other calculators: one at the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget, one for the budget overall at Center for Economic and Policy Research, and another one specifically for healthcare at the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Enjoy playing with the online money gadgets!
Enjoy playing with the online money gadgets!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Be careful what you wish for...
I think Ezra Klein explains it best in today's Wonkbook why it seems like the most gridlock-inducing scenario is what ended up being played out as a result of last night's election results:
"Welcome to gridlocked America: The GOP is on track to win about 65 seats in the House of Representatives, and 47 or 48 in the Senate. This is a huge victory: the Republican House majority will be the largest since 1928. But it is not a governing majority, even on the congressional level. Democrats still hold the upper chamber. In fact, Harry Reid still leads the upper chamber.
From the perspective of actually getting anything done in the next two years, there was perhaps no worse outcome. Republicans don't fully control Congress, so they don't have enough power to be blamed for legislative outcomes. But Democrats don't control the House and they don't have a near-filibuster proof majority in the Senate, so they can't pass legislation. Republicans, in other words, are not left with the burden of governance, and Democrats are not left with the power to govern. Republicans don't have to be responsible, and Democrats can't do it for them."
By the way, the daily Wonkbook e-mail/blog post is a great read to stay on top of all policies issues going on in Washington.
"Welcome to gridlocked America: The GOP is on track to win about 65 seats in the House of Representatives, and 47 or 48 in the Senate. This is a huge victory: the Republican House majority will be the largest since 1928. But it is not a governing majority, even on the congressional level. Democrats still hold the upper chamber. In fact, Harry Reid still leads the upper chamber.
From the perspective of actually getting anything done in the next two years, there was perhaps no worse outcome. Republicans don't fully control Congress, so they don't have enough power to be blamed for legislative outcomes. But Democrats don't control the House and they don't have a near-filibuster proof majority in the Senate, so they can't pass legislation. Republicans, in other words, are not left with the burden of governance, and Democrats are not left with the power to govern. Republicans don't have to be responsible, and Democrats can't do it for them."
By the way, the daily Wonkbook e-mail/blog post is a great read to stay on top of all policies issues going on in Washington.
Friday, August 13, 2010
If a picture is worth a thousand words...
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words do you think you can come up with for this one?
Monday, August 2, 2010
Five myths about the Bush tax cuts
A thought-provoking piece on the Bush Tax Cuts. The five myths, according to the writer are:
- Extending the tax cuts would be a good way to stimulate the economy.
- Allowing the high-income tax cuts to expire would hurt small businesses.
- Making the tax cuts permanent will lead to long-term growth.
- The Bush tax cuts are the main cause of the budget deficit.
- Continuing the tax cuts won't doom the long-term fiscal picture; entitlements are the real problem.
While we’re on the topic of the Bush tax cuts, Ezra Klein posted on his Washington Post blog earlier today the general sentiment regarding whether the tax cuts should be extended, partially extended, or be allowed to expire entirely.
Update: Fareed Zakaria also offers a very pragmatic piece about the expiration of the tax cuts and a general argument about how low our taxes are in this country compared to other countries around the world today and to the historical rates in the United States.
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