Paul Krugman’s piece, Chicago Calvinball, is probably too inside economics for most people’s interest.  However, it does give evidence about my thesis that the Chicago School of economics is alive and well and still corrupting economic thinking.

Here is the key quote from the article that suits my purpose.

Reading Noah Smith reading John Cochrane solidified a thought I’ve been grasping at for a while: the extraordinary lengths to which the Chicago School is going to avoid a straightforward interpretation of the mess we’re in.

I think this issue of the Chicago School is important.  I conjecture that some of Obama’s obstinacy about taking the strong economic measures he should have taken come from the pernicious influence that the Chicago School has on his thinking.

Robert Reich’s blog has the post The President’s Jobs Plan (Not).

What did the President do in response to last week’s horrendous job report — unemployment rising to 9.2 percent in June, with only 18,000 new jobs (125,000 are needed each month just to keep up with the growth in the potential labor force)?

He said the economy continues to be in a deep hole, and he urged Congress to extend the temporary reduction in the employee part of the payroll tax, approve pending free-trade agreements, and pass a measure to streamline patent procedures.

To call this inadequate would be a gross understatement.

By commenting on his blog, I am trying to elicit from him a comment about the impact of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy.  I inferred from his book, “Aftershock…” that these tax cuts were partly responsible for the current lack of recovery of employment (jobs).

This has got to be one of the best and funniest spots I have ever seen from The Daily Show.

From the article McConnell: No Real Deficit Deal Until Obama Is Gone.

The Senate’s top Republican said Tuesday that he did not see a way for Republicans and Democrats to come to agreement on meaningful deficit reduction as long as President Obama remains in office.

Did Obama expect this level of thanks for trying to drag the Democratic Congressional Caucus in the Republican’s direction? Do they actually have to physically slap him in the face for him to get it?

On one point Boehner is correct. In the President’s press conference linked to in my previous post, Obama Dashes Hopes, you see him respond to questions by saying that the compromise he is willing to make is not his ideal. Nobody asks him for a straight forward description of what his ideal would be. This progressive, for one, would really like to know where he stands.

I found a sort of quote of a line I remember Obama once said. Supposedly to the Israeli prime minister and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Obama said, Although I’m not a cop on the beat like Rudy Giuliani, I’m no patsy either.

I think Obama is proving otherwise.

I found the article, The U.S. Has Waged A War On Jobs, on the CNN/Fortune web site.  Surprisingly, it is not the expected diatribe against government.

As long as Wall Street and venture capitalists continue to reward corporations for off-shoring and downsizing, we continue to play the fool when we express shock that the U.S. economy is not creating many new jobs.
…

One can speculate on how this situation came to be — the role of business schools and their emphasis on maximizing shareholder value, the weakening of organizations that represent employee interests (e.g. unions), a growing preoccupation with deficits over economic growth, and so forth. But the implication seems inescapable: as long as we wage war on jobs, we shouldn’t be surprised when we don’t create many of them.

This is a nice complement to what I have been posting on this blog about what the true jobs killer is.

I would add to the author’s speculation as to causes, the issue of the free rider problem.  The investors are getting a free ride from the environment that exists in the United States for formulating business ideas and getting them funded, but many of the benefits to people below the executive office go to other countries.  It won’t be long before the fruitful environment shifts from the United States to the countries receiving the current benefits.  Then the cycle will start again with the old winners becoming the new losers, and a new set of winners arising.

As is well noted, any individual playing the free rider game benefits, but the society as a whole loses.  Unfortunately, there is no reason why any individual should forgo the benefit of being a free rider.  For any single individual to give up the benefit would not be profitable.  That person’s benefit would just be given to another free rider, and the society wouldn’t be any better off.  We need to figure another way to make it beneficial to not be a free rider.  Societies have been trying to  figure this out for thousands of years.

Somehow, I don’t think that A Solution to the Free Rider Problem — Mind Reading is truly a solution.

The article Another Decade of Bush Tax Cuts Will Cost More than Twice as Much as the First Decade is from Citizens For Tax Justice.

Extending the Bush tax cuts from 2013 through 2022 would cost $5.5 trillion.

This total includes $1.1 trillion in additional interest payments on the debt.

These numbers put into perspective the President’s efforts to come up with $4 trillion  in cuts to the deficit.  What would the public’s reaction be if they had access to these numbers?

The article Corporate Tax Escapees and You is from Ralph Nader.

Next time you hear Republicans like Eric Cantor, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell repeat their statement that corporations are overtaxed and need a break, you can tell them that “had these 12 companies paid the full 35 percent corporate tax, their federal income taxes over the three years would have totaled $59.9 billion.” CTJ director, Bob McIntyre noted that these 12 companies are “just the tip of an iceberg of widespread corporate tax avoidance.”

Of course, most Americans suspect as much, even if they don’t have the exact figures. A recent Gallup poll asked the public’s opinion on where they stand on the tax cuts for the rich and the tax breaks for the corporations. By a 45% margin, they opposed tax cuts for the rich and by a 55% margin, they opposed tax cuts for corporations.

So what are Barack Obama and the Democrats waiting for? They have the undeniable facts and overwhelming public sentiment behind them. Why do they let Cantor, Boehner and McConnell continue to mouth falsehoods without rebuttals of the truth?

Read the details at Murdoch’s Company Improperly Targeted PM Gordon Brown, Could Face Criminal Prosecution In U.S..  Here is the premise of the hazard in the United States:

But Murdoch may soon have bigger problems on his hands. Legal experts told the AP today that his company could face criminal prosecution in the U.S. for his U.K. papers’ alleged bribery of British police officers, which would be a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

That would be progress.  Maybe Obama could then come out and say what his real political desires are and stop giving in to the Republicans.

The story Director hopes new film will be ‘Brokeback Mountain’ for atheists says,

Director Matthew Chapman hopes that his new movie will do for atheists what Brokeback Mountain did for the gay community.

There is a video of an interview with the director and some clips from the movie.

The topic may be intriguing, but, unfortunately, it doesn’t look like a very interesting movie that I would want to see.

Well, if you look at the trailer it isn’t quite as uninteresting as the CNN interview would have you believe.

Form the story Arizona lawmaker points loaded gun at reporter’s chest, here are two paragraphs:

While the loaded pistol had no safety and the laser pointer was centered on the reporter’s chest, Klein explained that there was no need to worry.

“I just didn’t have my hand on the trigger,” she said.

The reporter disarmed her and shot her with her own pistol because he was afraid for his life.  Not really, just making up poetic justice.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you actually had to know something about guns in order to get a permit to carry one.