Category Archives: Moral hazard

New York Times: Virtuous McKinsey Defiled by Dark Continent

McKinsey is unhappy that the New York Times did a serious investigative story on a major scandal in South Africa….when the Times pulled some of its punches.

Koch Money and the Unflappable Economist

Mirowski on the Koch brothers scandal at George Mason University.

Jim Chanos on Fraud: “Cryptocurrency Is a Security Speculation Game Masquerading as a Technological Breakthrough”

The legendary short seller Jim Chanos in a wide-ranging discussion of financial frauds, starting with cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin is the last thing he’d want to own in the event of a catastrophe.

Eyewitness Sketches Provide ‘Stormy’ Results, Can Lead to False Convictions

On the shortcomings of eyewitness memories, and in particular, forensic sketches based them.

How Tax Evasion Increases Inequality

Total tax evasion among the top 0.01% in Scandinavia is roughly 10 times the level of the population at large.

Trump SEC Fails to Pursue Aggressive Deregulatory Agenda (Albeit from Previous Pathetic Baseline)

WSJ reports Trump SEC has failed to pursue an aggressive deregulatory agenda; legislation necessary to disable securities framework further.

How Much Do New York Times Reporters Use Anonymous Sources?

An analysis of David Sanger’s work at the New York Times in 2017 gives a sense of how much reporters crib from anonymous “official” sources.

“Life in the Sweatbox,” Personal Bankruptcy, and the Narrative of Utilitarian Calculus

The false narrative that made personal bankruptcy law so hellish

Why CalPERS’ Private Equity Outsourcing Scheme Is Likely to Hurt Returns

Why CalPERS’ private equity outsourcing scheme is likely to leave the funds’ beneficiaries and California taxpayers worse off.

Fallout from Carillion Collapse Hits KPMG

Carillion collapse demonstrates Big Four auditing firms are not only too big to fail, they’re too big to replace.

Rewriting the History of the Vietnam War, to the Detriment of Everyone Save the Military-Industrial Complex

Identifying the main players behind Vietnam War revisionist history and how they have succeed in forging disastrous policies.

Ilargi: Is Capitalism Dead or Merely Dying?

None other than New Zealand’s prime minister has issued a blistering critique of capitalism. Can it be saved from itself?

Quelle Surprise! Pollution Pays!

A study of DuPont’s failure to clean up emissions of a toxic chemical shows pollution is economical rational. Too bad the remedies are lame.