Grasping Reality with Both Hands

Interesting Reads:

• Larry Summers: Trump’s “China deal” is only a good deal for China: "Past a certain point, exaggeration and hype become dishonesty and deception. In... almost everything... the Trump Administration is way past that point... http://larrysummers.com/2017/05/24/trumps-china-deal-is-only-a-good-deal-for-china/
• Ken Jacobs: The sick logic behind the Republican health care plan: "A 64-year-old earning $26,500 a year would see their premium costs go up by as much as $14,400 a year for a less generous plan... http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2017/05/25/the-sick-logic-behind-the-republican-health-care-plan/
• Khadeeja Safdar: J.Crew’s Mickey Drexler Confesses: I Underestimated How Tech Would Upend Retail: "Retail legend didn’t understand how speed and price would drive internet shoppers; 10 quarters of falling sales.... Now, competitors with high-tech, data-driven supply chains can copy styles faster and move them into stores in a matter of weeks..." https://www.wsj.com/articles/j-crews-big-miss-how-technology-transformed-retail-1495636817
• Tren Griffin: On Twitter: "Andreessen's point: there are sectors like this where innovation & productivity levels are > they have ever been. Not out of new ideas...." https://twitter.com/trengriffin/status/867546175829721088
• Ed Luce: Donald Trump’s epic betrayal of America’s middle class: "The president’s budget removes a vital safety net from those he pledged to support..." https://www.ft.com/content/f10fe6ca-4074-11e7-82b6-896b95f30f58
• Yochi Dreazen: Obama’s CIA chief just offered a Trump-Russia quote for the ages: "People who go along a treasonous path do not know they are on a treasonous path until it is too late..." https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/23/15681508/trump-russia-election-meddling-fbi-mueller-john-brennan
• Jonathan Cohn: It Turns Out Critics Of The GOP Health Care Plan Were Right All Along: "Yup, those promises to protect people with pre-existing conditions were lies..." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gop-health-care-plan_us_59265e95e4b061d8f81f37e2
• Changyong Rhee: Maintaining Growth in a Fast-Aging Asia: "As Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Singapore have shown, immigration can soften the blow from rapid aging.... These policies should be supplemented by productivity-enhancing reforms..." https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/asia-rapid-aging-old-before-rich-by-changyong-rhee-2017-05
• Minxin Pei: The TPP’s Second Act: "The conventional wisdom... that Trump has effectively ceded East Asia.... But a third group of countries appears to have opted for a self-help strategy... India and Japan..." https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/japan-india-tpp-new-trade-bloc-by-minxin-pei-2017-05
• John Schmitt: Equitable Growth in Conversation: Sandra Black http://equitablegrowth.org/research-analysis/equitable-growth-in-conversation-sandra-black/
• Daniel Gross: Why Robots Need Adult Supervision: "You can’t run a large enterprise relying entirely on humans. At the same time, the fact that computers can do so much means it is all the more important to monitor them in real time..." https://www.strategy-business.com/blog/Why-Robots-Need-Adult-Supervision?gko=1ab51
• Noah Smith: Taking on Nimbys in the Quest for Growth: "Cities power the economy but high land costs are a drag. California's plan to build more housing would help..." https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-05-17/taking-on-nimbys-in-the-quest-for-growth
• Andrew Watt and Laszlo Andor: Populism, Austerity And Democratic Deficit: "The policies imposed on Greece were stupid and may even have harmed those imposing them but they were not undemocratic...." https://www.socialeurope.eu/2017/05/populism-austerity-and-democratic-deficit/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
• Jonathan Chait: Trump Budget Based on $2 Trillion Math Error [Updated]: "Update: Asked about this absurd mistake, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s explanation does not inspire a great deal of confidence..." http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/05/trump-budget-based-on-usd2-trillion-math-error.html
• Sarah Kliff: The most devastating paragraph in the CBO report: "CBO estimates that about one in six Americans would live in states that apply for waivers from key Obamacare provisions.... Sick people in those places just would not have a lot of options..."
• Isaiah Berlin: Two Enemies of the Enlightenment: The Second Onslaught: Joseph de Maistre and Open Obscurantism http://berlin.wolf.ox.ac.uk/lists/nachlass/maistre.pdf

And Over Here:

• The Future of Education and Lifelong Learning: DeLong Opening DRAFT http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/05/the-future-of-education-and-lifelong-learning-delong-opening-draft.html
• The Benefits of Free Trade: Time to Fly My Neoliberal Freak Flag High!: Hoisted from the Archives http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/05/the-benefits-of-free-trade-time-to-fly-my-neoliberal-freak-flag-high-hoisted-from-the-archives.html
• Live from the Orange-Haired Baboon Cage: Eric Turkheimer, Kathryn Paige Harden, and Richard E. Nisbett: Charles Murray is once again peddling junk science about race and IQ: "Podcaster and author Sam Harris is the latest to fall for it..." http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/05/live-from-the-orange-haired-baboon-cage-ah-i-see-charles-murray-w-h-brady-scholar-at-the-american-enterprise-instit.html
• Should-Read: Kavya Vaghul: Weekend reading: the “fantasy budget” edition: "Greg Leiserson discusses... fantasy budgeting around policies and plans that have yet to be developed..." http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/05/weekend-reading-the-fantasy-budget-edition-equitable-growth.html
• Should-Read: avya Vaghul: Trump administration 2018 budget swaps heavy cuts to education for focus on school choice: "The more fundamental problem is that there isn’t much evidence that school choice programs, specifically vouchers, have substantial positive effects..." http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/05/should-read-kavya-vaghul-_trump-administration-2018-budget-swaps-heavy-cuts-to-education-for-focus-on-school-choice_.html
• Must-Read: Kevin Drum: Trump: I'll Put a Stop to Germany Selling Cars in the US: "This from Der Spiegel..." http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/05/must-read-trump-should-simply-not-be-allowed-out-of-the-countryand-not-be-allowed-to-talk-policy-inside-the-country-e.html
• Must-Read: Ben Bernanke: Some reflections on Japanese monetary policy: "The BOJ shouldn’t stop its determined pursuit of its inflation target..." http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/05/must-read-this-first-part-reads-as-though-ben-bernanke-is-not-talking-just-about-the-bank-of-japan-but-rather-about-the.html
• Should-Read: Nicholas MacPherson: Joseph Chamberlain sets the Tories a bad example: "On the big national issues of his day, he was on the wrong side of history..." http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/05/should-read-nicholas-macpherson-_joseph-chamberlain-sets-the-tories-a-bad-example_-on-the-big-national-issues-of-his.html
• Should-Read: Elizabeth Jacobs: Why enforcing U.S. labor standards may be more important than ever: "Effective enforcement of basic labor standards is key for functional capitalism..." http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/05/should-read-elizabeth-jacobs-_why-enforcing-us-labor-standards-may-be-more-important-than-ever_-effective-enforceme.html
• Should-Read: Nick Bunker: U.S. over-education and underemployment over the course of a lifetime: "Ammar Farooq also finds that almost half of the moves into underemployment—defined as having a job for which one is overqualified..." http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/05/should-read-nick-bunker-_us-over-education-and-underemployment-over-the-course-of-a-lifetime-equitable-growth_-am.html
• Should-Read: Haley Byrd: CBO on Health Care Bill: Sick People Could Face Higher Premiums and Even Be Priced Out of the Market: "Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.)... hadn't read the full report... said he saw it as “good news”..." http://www.bradford-delong.com/2017/05/must-read-crocodile-tears-from-house-republican-tea-party-caucus-chair-mark-meadows-haley-byrd-_cbo-on-health-car.html

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