Links of the Week - 25 September 2015

A weekly collection of links from the Conscience Warrior Newsfeed


17 Democrats Ran for President in 1976. Can Today’s GOP Learn Anything From What Happened?
Julian E. Zelizer

Kim Davis Is No Rosa Parks
John Culhane

The Last War
Matthew Duss

Unbuilt Highways of New York City and Robert Moses
Vanshnookenraggen

Power utilities are built for the 20th century. That’s why they’re flailing in the 21st.
David Roberts

The government is trying to make walking American again
Emily Badger

People like puppies, and it’s a big problem for the economy
Yian Q Mui

Larry Summers has become one of organized labor’s biggest advocates
Lydia DePillis

Will “decoherence” be the doom of American democracy?
Lee Drutman

Thoughts on Freeman’s Bargaining for the American Dream
Larry Summers

Links of the Week - 18 September 2015

A weekly collection of links from the Conscience Warrior Newsfeed


Overcoming the Advantage of Run-Pass Option Offenses
Brophy Football

How so many of the world’s people live in so little of its space
Ana Swanson

Fascinating maps show where people move in the U.S. when they come from overseas
Kennedy Elliott & Emily Badger

There's only one political dynasty in America
Mark Schmitt

How Trump Exposed the Tea Party
Michael Lind

This is the worst argument for the Fed to raise rates
Matt O'Brien

Is It Time to Tax Harvard’s Endowment?
Jordan Weissman

Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee's support for Kim Davis gets religious liberty all wrong
German Lopez

Superman makes the case for welfare
Matthew Yglesias

Next time someone tells you "all lives matter," show them this cartoon
German Lopez

Labor Market Tightness

Just a quick update:

With the fall in headline unemployment to 5.1% and the robust gains in monthly jobs numbers, many commentators are looking for the Federal Reserve to raise the target Fed Funds rate. This flies in the face, of course, of the other half of the Fed's dual mandate (stable prices), as headline inflation is still well below their alleged 2% target.

It is instructive, then, to look at other metrics. Below is a measure of unemployed persons per job opening. This, of course, does not include the marginally attached or those employed part-time for economic reasons.

This is very encouraging in and of itself, but anemic wage growth still indicates the time for tightening is a ways off.

Links of the Week - 11 September 2015

A weekly collection of links from the Conscience Warrior Newsfeed


A dangerously misleading idea threatens to derail the American economy
Matthew Yglesias

What Ails the American Startup?
Evan Soltas

Artificial Unintelligence
Paul Krugman

Tech nerds are smart. But they can't seem to get their heads around politics.
David Roberts

The macro/micro validity tradeoff
Noah Smith

“A small cloud, no bigger than a man’s hand…”
David Warsh

A Fact about China's Crash
Evan Soltas

Labor market tightness
The FRED Blog

President McKinley's policies were garbage, and he doesn't deserve an awesome mountain
Matthew Yglesias

Hard Knocks: Playing Defense With TCU’s Gary Patterson
Chris Brown

Links of the Week - 4 September 2015

A weekly collection of links from the Conscience Warrior Newsfeed


This study tried to improve our ability to predict major geopolitical events. It worked.
Zack Beauchamp

Pregnancy is painful, difficult, and dangerous. No one should be forced into it.
Amanda Taub

Donald Trump says the 'real' unemployment rate is 42%. He's really, really wrong.
Dan Diamond

The Voluntarism Fantasy
Mike Konczal

How does the NFL’s Roger Goodell stay in power? By acting like a dictator.
Michael C. Horowitz

The diversity of U.S. state economies
The FRED Blog

The Reactionary Soul

Paul Krugman

The Future of Macro

Ray Fair

A good use of moving averages
The FRED Blog

In landmark case, labor board will let more workers bargain with their employer’s employer
Lydia DePillis