Jim Hansen, Climate Code Red and the Atmospheric Singularity WorldChanging. “Climate policy is characterized by the habituation of low expectations and a culture of failure. There is an urgent need to understand global warming and the tipping points for dangerous impacts that we have already crossed as a sustainability emergency, that takes us beyond the politics of failure-inducing compromise. We are now in a race between climate tipping points and political tipping points.”
10 Myths About Canadian Health Care, Busted Alternet. This has gotten some play in an abbreviated form. If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to go read it.
Cutting to the Quick Gretchen Morgenson, New York Times. Why a steep yield curve may not do all that much to help banks.
Liquidity Looked in the Mirror but Insolvency Stared Back Richard Benson, Prudent Bear
When Self-Interest Isn’t Everything Robert H. Frank, New York Times
“Objectivity” or Spinelessness? Scott Horton, Harpers (hat tip Brad DeLong). The spinelessness in question is that of the New York Times.
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Re: In the Times view, however, Government officials are free to lie without contradiction.
I vote with my web and I ignore them and will never give them a dime.
Yves,
There’s another limitation on the fed cutting rates that the NYTimes missed. If the Fed cuts the fed funds rate below 1%, that starts to squeeze money market funds. They don’t lend as far on the yield and credit curves as banks do, so they have trouble covering costs at sub-1% rates. If money market funds start shutting down that would be deflationary.
YVES,
YOU NEED SOME UPLIFTING MUSIC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFKj7iX150Y
Why would anyone pay money to be insulted? Companies do it because they cannot survive without credit-rating agencies. Agencies are downgrading the ratings of thousands of companies and their bonds but charging those same companies for the dubious privilege. It means the borrowers must not only pay more for their money, they have to pay the agencies that have doubted their creditworthiness.
http://dofonline.co.uk/blogs/business/credit-rating-agencies-would-say-that-wouldnt-they4565/