08 | August | 2012

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Target gives $3 million a week to its communities. Doesn’t that mean its prices are too high, or its wages too low?

Mark J. Perry | August 8, 2012, 11:21 pm

The Minneapolis-based Target Corporation makes a big deal about its “caring for the community” and brags on its website and in its stores that “since 1946, Target has given 5% of our income—which today totals more than $3 million a … read more >

Carpe Diem

Markets in Everyting: 3D Printed Fetus

Mark J. Perry | August 8, 2012, 10:18 pm

Japanese company will 3D print your fetus for $1275.

Carpe Diem

Wednesday Evening Links

Mark J. Perry | August 8, 2012, 10:12 pm

1. Late Payments on Mortgages Hit a Three-Year Low of 5.5% in Q2, Lowest Since Q1 2009. America’s most economically successful state, North Dakota, leads the country with the lowest mortgage delinquency rate in Q2 for any state, at only … read more >

Pethokoukis

The link between slowing nominal GDP growth and financial crises

James Pethokoukis | August 8, 2012, 3:54 pm

Scott Sumner has argued that big drops in nominal GDP make financial crises worse, maybe even causing them. Here are two charts from economist Mike Darda of MKM Partners that back up that claim, with both showing sharps drops in … read more >

Photo Credit: fun3MD (Flickr) (CC BY 2.0)

Economics, Energy and the Environment

Will the U.S. face an India-style blackout?

Kenneth P. Green | August 8, 2012, 2:47 pm

India’s epic power blackout has brought some attention to the state of America’s energy stability, and various pundits and analysts are asking whether or not the U.S. is either headed for, or vaguely prepared for a catastrophic power outage of … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, AfPak

NBC not telling the truth about the war in Afghanistan

Ahmad Majidyar | August 8, 2012, 2:31 pm

Despite progress in Afghanistan over the past three years, a majority of Americans see the war in the country as unwinnable, and about two-thirds believe the U.S. should not be at war there. There are many reasons support for the … read more >

Society and Culture

Women’s Figures: A new edition

Karlyn Bowman | August 8, 2012, 2:28 pm

Is there a “War on Women,” as President Obama and his advisers suggest? One might think so if the figures the White House provides to support the claim were taken at face value. Fortunately, there is another way to look … read more >

Carpe Diem

Why Taxpayer Subsidies of Solar Are Diabolical

Mark J. Perry | August 8, 2012, 1:36 pm

From a “rare guest post” on Steven Landsburg’s The Big Questions blog by David Bergeron, president and founder of solar-powered refrigerator company Sundanzer: “Here is the real problem: Subsidies make solar appear viable today, so where is the motivation for … read more >

Pethokoukis

FHFA’s Ed DeMarco puts up a new obstacle to bailing out underwater homeowners

James Pethokoukis | August 8, 2012, 11:35 am

Ed DeMarco, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is unpopular with the Obama administration for his refusal to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to reduce principal on underwater home mortgages backed by two entities. Now DeMarco and the FHFA are trying … read more >

Economics, Pethokoukis

The anti-stimulus study that the Washington Post ignores

James Pethokoukis | August 8, 2012, 10:53 am

The WapPo’s Ezra Klein today, on Twitter, scolds the Romney campaign for ignoring pro-stimulus studies in its new economic policy white paper: And here is a bit from the WaPo story Klein refers to: “The negative effect of the administration’s … read more >

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