Word: economists
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...long ago as 1982, the economist Mancur Olson made the argument, in The Rise and Decline of Nations, that as a democracy matures, special interests grow more entrenched. Their intense dedication to their own specific needs, Olson wrote, often trumps the broader, but less focused, interests of society. And that was before the rise of cable news and talk radio. It was before the utterly corrupting effect of televised advertising on politicians really kicked in - the need to raise money (from interest groups, mostly) and to exercise extreme caution lest one of your votes be used to decapitate...
...Office (CBO), declared on July 16 that the measures thus far produced in the House and Senate failed to bring the "fundamental change" needed to bring down health costs in the long run. So the following Monday, he summoned Elmendorf, former CBO director Alice Rivlin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Jonathan Gruber and Harvard University's David Cutler to the Oval Office to go over the bills and find other ways to wring out savings. The next day, Obama met with moderate Blue Dog Democrats who have stymied the health-care progress in the House. Drawing on advice from...
...inch smaller, on average, than the average woman. Taller people say they are more content, and are less likely to report a range of negative emotions like sadness and physical pain. "Happiness is just one more thing that taller people have going for them," says Angus Deaton, a Princeton economist and co-author of the study, who stands a smug 6 ft. 4 in. (Full disclosure: I, too, am about 6 ft. 4 in., but I will refrain from mocking shrimps in this story...
...flags. Throwing a baseball at your dad's crotch? "Two flags," Mr. Six chirps. Riding a Six Flags roller coaster? "Six flags," Mr. Six tells us in a voice that sounds like a cooing father on speed. "More flags, more fun." (Read "Advice from an Economist...
...many economists believe that policymakers will not aggressively rein in monetary policy and stimulus measures, out of fear of squashing Asia's fragile recovery while the global economy remains weak. "There is close to a zero possibility that the Chinese government will do anything this year that constitutes tightening," says Andy Rothman, a Shanghai-based economist for the brokerage CLSA. "The recovery is only in its early stages." And without a major shift in thinking, the easy-money conditions will stay in place - so even if there's no bubble now, there's a good chance one may be forming...