Matthew Yglesias on All Topics
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“We can maintain something like the tax rates that have prevailed for the past 40 years, or else we can maintain something like the policy status quo that’s prevailed for the past 40 years.”
“Worst-case scenario is that the administration holds firm on the concept of the freeze while remaining flexible about the specifics.”
“A Medicare cut (higher deductible, say) might slow the growth in health care costs whereas a Social Security cut has no bright side you could try to look at.”
“One thing the Bernanke reconfirmation controversy brings to mind is the fact that the Fed’s odd “dual mandate” makes it extremely difficult to say in any clear way whether or not a Fed chair has done a good job. If the Fed had an explicit mission to hit an inflation rate target, or if it was supposed to target a path of the price level, or (as Scott Sumner urges) it targeted nominal GDP, or anything else in particular than you could look back and evaluate past performance relative to the goal.”
“You don't need an economic policy that people approve of, you need an economic policy that produces results people approve of -- i.e., growth and jobs.”
“Defeats can't be the fault of the people who haven't been in the driver's seat since the seventies.”
“People tend to act as if the nation’s homeless shelters are littered with congressmen who lost their elections, but it just isn’t so.”
“It’s through increased opportunities to link-up with more prosperous and better-functioning parts of the world that Haitians have their best chance for prosperity.”
“Other than some kind of principle holding 'if Barack Obama is doing it, it must be secretly bad,' this is totally insane.”
“Hospitals and schools are shut down, the port and the airport don’t work, there’s just nothing left.”
“The insurance industry will be taking a permanent -- and massive -- hit by the removal of their pet subsidy.”
“We’re left with a political movement that insists on the need for dramatic pro-democracy measures, even while it also insists on completely ignoring the actual expressed views of the world’s Muslims.”
“Part of the context for Haiti’s earthquake is that, unbeknownst to most people, we were just now in the midst of a pretty hopeful episode in Haiti’s history.”
“Given that even with the various surges under way, the number of soldiers in Afghanistan is still going to be relatively small, it’s crucial that we focus our efforts on where we’ll do the most good.”
“A lightly-regulated insurance industry adds value by screening high-risk individuals out of the risk-mitigation pool. Once you regulate the insurance industry to ensure that sick people can get care, insurance companies aren’t providing anything, they’re just siphoning 3-4 percent off the top.”
Courtesy of Matt Yglesias
