How Kevin McCarthy lost his Speakership job; SubStack management has gotten itself into the business of boosting vicious racist idiots; FT video on “semiconductor supremacy”; very briefly noted; &...
Press Secretary: Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.
POTUS: I just have a few remarks.
First, I would like to congratulate the Republican caucus in the House for their bold action in ousting the Speaker of the House for the first time in American history.
America has seen world wars. It has seen civil war. It has seen a Great Depression and numerous other financial panics. It has seen the promulgation of Jim Crow laws that basically made apartheid the law of the land in a third of the country. It has seen the overturning of those laws. It has seen abortion made a universal right, then that right taken away. It has seen alcohol banned, then re-legalized. It has seen numerous assassinations, riots, mass murders, and gun violence that has claimed well over a million American lives since 1968.
And in all that time, in all those crises, in 246 years of self-government of the people, by the people, for the people, no one has ever thought to depose the Speaker of the House without any backup plan.
I salute the House Republicans for their vision and creativity.
Lesser minds might think, "What caused Republicans to finally pull the trigger on something that has never happened in all our history? Was it war? Plague? Economic devastation? The Second Coming? Nuclear meltdown? Chinese invasion? Mass murder committed by the Speaker?"
Those lesser minds fail to appreciate the subtlety and genius of this GOP caucus. You see, they detected a far greater evil that they leapt to oppose. And that evil was - accidental cooperation with Democrats.
They could resist the urge to oust a Speaker over, say, the attack on Fort Sumter. They could hold their fire during Watergate. They refrained all through the Great Depression. Lack of legal drink for fourteen long years did not cause them to change horses in midstream. *They even willingly submitted to be led for many years by an ultimately convicted pedophile wrestling coach.*
No, it was Speaker McCarthy's failed attempt to pin what he thought was an inevitable closure of the federal government on Democrats, by putting forward what he thought was a poisoned chalice - a 45-day funding extension that provided no support for Ukraine - that doomed him. For Democrats drank that poisoned chalice down in one gulp, but the only one poisoned was Kevin.
To a political Svengali-Swami-Guru such as Matt Gaetz, this was just cause for Speakercide.
Again, lesser minds might struggle to understand how a representative reported to have taken underaged girls across state lines for immoral purposes (New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/.../matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking... ) could possibly invoke "Save the Children" against Democrats.
But that's all blood under the bridge. Not that many of these Republicans have ever seen blood up close. Their Messiah, The Former Guy, has told them that all U.S. military service members are "suckers" and "losers," and they have, for the most part, avoided military service like... well, not the plague, they don't avoid those. But like something awful. My dog Commander has shed more blood of trained armed people than almost any Republican House member I know of.
So I submit to the greater wisdom of the House Republicans.
But I just have one question.
If the House is out of business... how will you impeach me?
Maybe you need to pick your next leader from amongst your swelling stable of former wrestling coaches implicated in molestation scandals. Gym Jordan, I guess someone else will have to run the fake impeachment hearings! https://www.nbcnews.com/.../referee-says-he-told-rep-jim...
Jill and I eagerly await the resumption of this fantasy-fiction serial. The Writers' Strike kind of left us with an empty pipeline for fantasy fiction nighttime entertainment.
Best of luck to the House Republicans... and God Help America.
Nothing wrong with humor, nor yours applied above. Just sad Commander put out of the big house. Now an old man, I regret having no national service. So poking at anyone's service or lack there of would be kind of hypocritical of me. However, Republicans <again> have brought on the mess we find ourselves - they need to go away to make room for a decent opposition party, as we don't seem to know how to collaborate in a multi-party system... I did have a good laugh and it was all your fault!
Krugman: Yes. A big AI induced shift in the aggregated supply curve would look to fiscal policy like an increase in benefits in the NPV's of its spending calculations which for any given discount rate would mean deficits are less bad or even good. Now could AI raise discount rates enough to reverse that?
Quiggin: Considering that there is incomplete (though positive) overlap between policies to promote public health and per capita growth, I don't know why the two outcomes should be considered together.
Bloomberg and Recession: Could be. 5-year TIPS have moved down while 10 year have remained near target which could signal a short recession.
Why does Yellen PERSIST in not creating those intermediate TIPS! And why do we still not have a NGDP futures market or an NGDP Trillionth security that Wong and Olic could short and make money from their inside knowledge about the coming recession?
Econ History: The main purpose of using the Atlas of Population History by McEvedy and Jones was not accuracy of population numbers. (Though for historians of particular eras that may be a central concern). The main purpose was the way Michael Kremmer used it: If the population level were proportional to income level, then there was probably a big break in the income levels in the 19th century. Thus, there was a permanent change in the long-term growth trajectory - endogenous growth with permanent growth-rate effects of whatever happened then. That is how Kremmer ingeniously steered new growth theory toward new economic history. A fantastic way of making that point.
WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING
October 4, 2023
Press Secretary: Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.
POTUS: I just have a few remarks.
First, I would like to congratulate the Republican caucus in the House for their bold action in ousting the Speaker of the House for the first time in American history.
America has seen world wars. It has seen civil war. It has seen a Great Depression and numerous other financial panics. It has seen the promulgation of Jim Crow laws that basically made apartheid the law of the land in a third of the country. It has seen the overturning of those laws. It has seen abortion made a universal right, then that right taken away. It has seen alcohol banned, then re-legalized. It has seen numerous assassinations, riots, mass murders, and gun violence that has claimed well over a million American lives since 1968.
And in all that time, in all those crises, in 246 years of self-government of the people, by the people, for the people, no one has ever thought to depose the Speaker of the House without any backup plan.
I salute the House Republicans for their vision and creativity.
Lesser minds might think, "What caused Republicans to finally pull the trigger on something that has never happened in all our history? Was it war? Plague? Economic devastation? The Second Coming? Nuclear meltdown? Chinese invasion? Mass murder committed by the Speaker?"
Those lesser minds fail to appreciate the subtlety and genius of this GOP caucus. You see, they detected a far greater evil that they leapt to oppose. And that evil was - accidental cooperation with Democrats.
They could resist the urge to oust a Speaker over, say, the attack on Fort Sumter. They could hold their fire during Watergate. They refrained all through the Great Depression. Lack of legal drink for fourteen long years did not cause them to change horses in midstream. *They even willingly submitted to be led for many years by an ultimately convicted pedophile wrestling coach.*
No, it was Speaker McCarthy's failed attempt to pin what he thought was an inevitable closure of the federal government on Democrats, by putting forward what he thought was a poisoned chalice - a 45-day funding extension that provided no support for Ukraine - that doomed him. For Democrats drank that poisoned chalice down in one gulp, but the only one poisoned was Kevin.
To a political Svengali-Swami-Guru such as Matt Gaetz, this was just cause for Speakercide.
Again, lesser minds might struggle to understand how a representative reported to have taken underaged girls across state lines for immoral purposes (New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/.../matt-gaetz-sex-trafficking... ) could possibly invoke "Save the Children" against Democrats.
But that's all blood under the bridge. Not that many of these Republicans have ever seen blood up close. Their Messiah, The Former Guy, has told them that all U.S. military service members are "suckers" and "losers," and they have, for the most part, avoided military service like... well, not the plague, they don't avoid those. But like something awful. My dog Commander has shed more blood of trained armed people than almost any Republican House member I know of.
So I submit to the greater wisdom of the House Republicans.
But I just have one question.
If the House is out of business... how will you impeach me?
Maybe you need to pick your next leader from amongst your swelling stable of former wrestling coaches implicated in molestation scandals. Gym Jordan, I guess someone else will have to run the fake impeachment hearings! https://www.nbcnews.com/.../referee-says-he-told-rep-jim...
Jill and I eagerly await the resumption of this fantasy-fiction serial. The Writers' Strike kind of left us with an empty pipeline for fantasy fiction nighttime entertainment.
Best of luck to the House Republicans... and God Help America.
"My dog Commander has shed more blood of trained armed people than almost any Republican House member I know of."
<head-shake>
Not into the Earthling Humor?
Nothing wrong with humor, nor yours applied above. Just sad Commander put out of the big house. Now an old man, I regret having no national service. So poking at anyone's service or lack there of would be kind of hypocritical of me. However, Republicans <again> have brought on the mess we find ourselves - they need to go away to make room for a decent opposition party, as we don't seem to know how to collaborate in a multi-party system... I did have a good laugh and it was all your fault!
Now I regret not having a dog. As I recall that is its own kind of service, though well-compensated in the important ways.
Krugman: Yes. A big AI induced shift in the aggregated supply curve would look to fiscal policy like an increase in benefits in the NPV's of its spending calculations which for any given discount rate would mean deficits are less bad or even good. Now could AI raise discount rates enough to reverse that?
Quiggin: Considering that there is incomplete (though positive) overlap between policies to promote public health and per capita growth, I don't know why the two outcomes should be considered together.
Mann: I think prudence goes exactly the other way.
Oops. I should have read past the headline. I have no feeling for the BOE situation.
Bloomberg and Recession: Could be. 5-year TIPS have moved down while 10 year have remained near target which could signal a short recession.
Why does Yellen PERSIST in not creating those intermediate TIPS! And why do we still not have a NGDP futures market or an NGDP Trillionth security that Wong and Olic could short and make money from their inside knowledge about the coming recession?
Hanania on Substack: Ah, give the kid a break. He's still new to this punditing business. :)
Don't try to get understand McCarthy's thinking. You're probably overthinking it, and it's not applicable to anyone else.
Correction: Thus, there was a permanent change in the SLOPE of the long-term growth trajectory - endogenous growth...
Econ History: The main purpose of using the Atlas of Population History by McEvedy and Jones was not accuracy of population numbers. (Though for historians of particular eras that may be a central concern). The main purpose was the way Michael Kremmer used it: If the population level were proportional to income level, then there was probably a big break in the income levels in the 19th century. Thus, there was a permanent change in the long-term growth trajectory - endogenous growth with permanent growth-rate effects of whatever happened then. That is how Kremmer ingeniously steered new growth theory toward new economic history. A fantastic way of making that point.