tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post2914855207180258518..comments2024-03-28T03:16:14.104-04:00Comments on Noahpinion: Why does America have potholed roads, low taxes, and high inequality?Noah Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093917601641588575noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-79719408705013610592014-02-07T02:04:47.197-05:002014-02-07T02:04:47.197-05:00Sprawl. No space is more privatized than the insi...Sprawl. No space is more privatized than the inside of a car. Also, low-density means you have too much infrastructure spread too thin.chrismealyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05591805477096884764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-13798125001851635522014-02-05T23:11:12.664-05:002014-02-05T23:11:12.664-05:00The problem ain't the Confederacy, the problem...The problem ain't the Confederacy, the problem is slavery.<br /><br />People who had a grandparent who heard first-hand slave stories are going to believe the stories. And most are true: people who can abuse others, will. Slaves were perfect for abuse on every level.<br /><br />A recurring theme in the black community is "If the Man don't pay for it, don't do it." This runs counter to the Anglo-Saxon work ethic of "Do more, and they'll pay you more." Now put both those work ethics up against the economy of 2014, and tell me which one is more likely to be chronically unemployed. <br /><br />In a hundred years or so we will be sufficiently intermixed racially that everybody except Yale and Harvard grads will have ancestors who were slaves. Then we shall have a closer to equal society. Except for those damned Ivy League people....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-78032437754823227832014-02-03T13:55:56.084-05:002014-02-03T13:55:56.084-05:00If you're german (or you live in Germany), you...If you're german (or you live in Germany), you deserve an applause for this comment. I've not heard a single - balanced and fair - opinion like yours coming from Germany since, at least, the crisis began. I thought your answer would rather be - in fact, this is the average level I've found in many conversations, either with literate germans or with not-so-literate germans - «poor wasteful southerners, they still don't know what means working hard. Don't live beyond your means!». <br /><br />Even so, I have to say four things: 1) Southern Europe - at least, Spain - absolutely needs structural reforms, but with the ECB (the bank of ALL europeans) doing the rightful paper during a very tough recession. 2) Austerity has sense, but only if a central bank can, at least, offset its worst effects and only if it pursued under a balanced and fair «spirit» (exactly the opposite happening along the South). 3) The «german model» seems to have worked and seems to be working. This doesn't mean that it ALWAYS and EVERYWHERE has to work. Personally, I appreciate fiscal conservatism - though being intelligent, and that's not an oxymoron, I hope -. 4) The euro has to change a lot if Europe wants to be a «nice» place to live. The situation in Spain (too big to fail) is untenable in the long-run. I doubt France or Italy have a better position either. The ECB, of course, and by extent the intellectual framework upon which the EZ was built is to blame. Many things have to change.<br /><br />It's good seeing that still exists some rays of «keynesianism» (well, what you're saying is actually common sense, period) in Germany; I thought it was already an extinct specie, like euroskepticism in Spain (many europeans are masochists, aren't we?). If you ever visit us, we will reserve a very nice beach for you and we will cook a wonderful paella (not sure if there will be money for it, but we will try). Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-38563689893790808042014-02-03T09:49:14.465-05:002014-02-03T09:49:14.465-05:00You are certainly right that we had it much easier...You are certainly right that we had it much easier 10 years ago, than the countries that are now all forced into austerity.<br />But spending (and the chubby welfare system) has been cut quite a lot. There was no single election since the 90ies where debt and excessive spending was not a major talking point. The level may still be high, but it is lower than it once was. And we could definitely use some deficit spending, I'm all for it. But it's not on the agenda, there is no way this will happen. We even put the "debt break" into our constitution - stupid as hell if PK (and Noah) are only 10% correct.<br />German politicians are still firmly on the austerity path. They have been for so long that it will be hard to change. The narrative that the public believes (not me) is "we did fine with the Agenda 2010, so the PIIGS can do to". It will be very hard to convince them otherwise, and nobody currently is even trying.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-36235297700669163802014-02-03T08:53:41.295-05:002014-02-03T08:53:41.295-05:00The US doesn't actually seem to have low taxes...The US doesn't actually seem to have low taxes to me. In Chile I have lower taxes, I think. For about ~20% of my income I get good healthcare, a small pension, and pay the taxes that Chile needs to have decent roads/etc. Some infrastructure is bad, but I think that is cultural and not due to lacking money.Jonathan Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07421457165118515781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-9123129762341842022014-02-02T16:28:47.918-05:002014-02-02T16:28:47.918-05:00"personified by Senator Harry Byrd"
Not..."personified by Senator Harry Byrd"<br /><br />Note - Robert Byrd.Barry DeCiccohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04735814736387033844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-21769090354698124542014-02-02T15:51:53.666-05:002014-02-02T15:51:53.666-05:00Huben: "And why might you trust a CATO repor...Huben: "And why might you trust a CATO report before it has gotten reviewed for methodology by skeptics?"<br /><br />Noah: "It might turn out to be wrong, but I also included the data point that fewer Hispanics than whites receive government benefits, so the Cato result is hardly surprising."<br /><br />That's not a good answer; *anything* *might* turn out to be wrong, but some sources are more reliable than others.Barry DeCiccohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04735814736387033844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-85000260014889771352014-02-02T15:49:20.592-05:002014-02-02T15:49:20.592-05:00Noah: " Since taxes and means-tested transfe...Noah: " Since taxes and means-tested transfers probably reduce economic efficiency to some degree,..."<br /><br />Evidence?Barry DeCiccohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04735814736387033844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-1416969832163717562014-02-02T15:09:02.605-05:002014-02-02T15:09:02.605-05:00" One reason might be geographic diversity. W... " One reason might be geographic diversity. We're just so big and spread out that a LOT of bargaining is needed in order to get stuff done at the federal level, or even the state level."<br /><br /> Seems to me a big part of the problem here is our history of Federalism-fights over states rights etc. Without the 50 rival 50 state govts, I suspect the federal govt would be better at providing pubic goods. <br /><br /> We see this with Obamacare too where some states simply choose not to do the Medicaid expansion. The states right history correlates pretty clearly with the 'racial redistribution' issue you raise as well. Mike Saxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01360689916550576484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-55861827002440342382014-02-02T13:26:51.558-05:002014-02-02T13:26:51.558-05:00It's a mistake for Denmark (or any other North...It's a mistake for Denmark (or any other Northern European country) to take Muslim refugees. You have refugees whose cultural preferences have made their home countries unpleasant failures and they come and bring those cultural attitudes with them. Absalonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09131268683451462949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-4593429318100379042014-02-02T10:50:56.824-05:002014-02-02T10:50:56.824-05:00Firstly: Noah, this is a great post.
Secondly, to...Firstly: Noah, this is a great post.<br /><br />Secondly, to address the issue of racism in the North...it's there! It's real! It's a problem! But here's some data: <br /><br />http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/10/1159759/-Percent-of-White-vote-won-by-Obama-2012-by-state#<br /><br />The states in which the largest share of whites voted for Obama? Vermont, Rhode Island, Mass., Maine, Hawai'i, New Yawk, Connecticut, New Hampshire. Obama won more than half the white vote in all of them. Illinois, home to Chicago and its long history of institutionalized racism, gave 45% of its white vote to Obama. So did California, which BTW has a lot of white people.<br /><br />The states with the smallest share Obama-supporting whites? Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Utah, South Carolina, none of which gave gave 20% support among whites to Obama.<br /><br />In general, in the United States, white people as a whole are inclined to vote Republican; even working-class white voters are evenly split outside the south. Within the South, though, white people of all classes are tremendously disinclined to vote for the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party is the party that represents over 90% of black Americans. The South is the part of the county whose economy was fueled by black slavery from inception, and instituted vigorous brutal apartheid for another century after fighting and losing a terrible bloody rebellion in order to preserve their "right" to enslave. These are states that until very recently were represented by the likes of Strom Thurmond and Jesse Helms, not just racist individuals but individuals whose political platforms fundamentally centered on racism as a bedrock principle.<br /><br />Lastly, regarding Absalon's point about black immigrants, they are a curious case. Essentially, they tend to be similar to other immigrants in that they are self-selected and therefore exceptionally capable, entrepreneurial, and determined, but also face substantially higher barriers upon arrival because racist white people don't differentiate very well between different kinds of black people. This leads to the result you'd expect - black immigrants do substantially better than black natives, but not as well as other immigrants, and subsequent generations are more likely to show declining achievement than non-black immigrants are. Neither surprising nor overly complicated.<br /><br />I am curious as to whether there are studies that compare black immigrants to the US to similarly-situated black immigrants to Canada, Australia, western Europe, etc.Squarely Rootedhttp://squarelyrooted.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-9803600567297809222014-02-02T06:20:13.456-05:002014-02-02T06:20:13.456-05:00That's a myth. Germany has not been during the...That's a myth. Germany has not been during the last fifteen year near to the kind of austerity the US or Southern Europe are now immersed in. Besides, the ECB helped with low interests the German transformation - which fuelled bubbles in the South, at the same time -.<br /><br />I dare to say that the German Welfare system is one of the most chubby ones in Europe (which is saying a lot, comparing it with countries like Sweeden, France, etc.). And that's a good thing, if you can afford it. From an infraestructure point of view, Germany, despite the not-so-tough-as-thought reforms pursued under Schroeder, has very decent and admirable roads, bridges, etc.<br /><br />In fact, all this explains why Germany is a «rich» country and why Greece, for instance, it is not. Apart, if Germany could do a bit of fiscal stimulus to boost demans, that no doubt that would help very much Europe. So if you think you lack roads, tell Merkel!<br /><br />Regards from «austerion» SpainAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-16169015716339894802014-02-02T04:38:04.692-05:002014-02-02T04:38:04.692-05:00Hey, keep in mind that we Germans are fully into a...Hey, keep in mind that we Germans are fully into austerity since 15+ years... If you don't like the roads, wait till you see our schools...<br />That said, we still have a much better public transport system than any US city I ever visited, maybe except NY, not to talk about inter-city trains. And fewer (as in nearly 0) blackouts. So I don't think this contradicts Noah's point.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-41252631488186986022014-02-01T14:45:29.939-05:002014-02-01T14:45:29.939-05:00I agree with Krzys about German roads. They are su...I agree with Krzys about German roads. They are surprisingly bad, as are the road signs, which are often either nonexistent or seriously misleading, in sharp contrast with the French road system. This may be a matter of funding for German roads being decentralized to the Lander compared to the highly centralized system in France, where roads are in good shape and road signs everywhere are very clear. The mixed outcome in the US probably reflects our mixed financing system, with local funding support for roads varying a lot across states and local governments.<br /><br />Barkley Rosserrosserjb@jmu.eduhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09300046915843554101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-14296820567690406482014-02-01T14:40:02.584-05:002014-02-01T14:40:02.584-05:00Agreed. I'm from and live in the northeast and...Agreed. I'm from and live in the northeast and I find by and large the roads are good, whether state highways or interstate. Even in NYC, there is of course plenty of traffic but the roads themselves are fine. I would say the real problematic transportation infrastructure in the northeast is rail- and airport-related, but that is more about poor management of existing infrastructure than failure to spend money per se.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-73228592609819779362014-02-01T12:33:36.659-05:002014-02-01T12:33:36.659-05:00Actually, this is a long running argument that has...Actually, this is a long running argument that has existed at least since the 19th century in American history and political science. Again, that economists are "discovering" it only shows their silly contempt for the other "social sciences" (a term I have come to abhor). For example, in "Dominion of Memories" http://www.amazon.com/Dominion-Memories-Jefferson-Madison-Virginia/dp/0465003567, the historian Susan Dunn recounts the economic decline of Virginia in the 19th and first half of the 20th century as its elite first fought internal improvements and policies that would raise their taxes to d provide public services, first services and projects that would help middling and poorer white citizens, and then projects and policies that would provide benefits and services the emancipated black population. This continued to be the dominant interest of the ruling elite, even as it led to their loss of power and influence in the nation as whole. Similarly, in the early Civil Rights period of the 1950s and 60s, the white elite, personified by Senator Harry Byrd, would have preferred the destruction of the public schools then provide a quality education to the Commonwealth's Black citizens. See http://www.amazon.com/Race-Reason-Massive-Resistance-Twentieth-Century/dp/0820330256/ref=pd_sim_b_4<br /><br />Finally, Brad DeLong has a long quote from Keynes that you might find interesting and related to the this post: http://delong.typepad.com/sdj/2014/01/econ-2-further-reading-john-maynard-keyness-definition-of-what-economics-should-be.html. A pertnient quote: "It seems to me that economics is a branch of logic, a way of thinking; and that you do not repel sufficiently firmly attempts à la Schultz to turn it into a pseudo-natural-science.rickstersherpa@msn.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14489905720399087036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-56204567950901614182014-02-01T12:22:17.135-05:002014-02-01T12:22:17.135-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.rickstersherpa@msn.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14489905720399087036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-81487276480592243952014-02-01T11:16:08.818-05:002014-02-01T11:16:08.818-05:00Are you sure your assumptions are correct? America...Are you sure your assumptions are correct? America has potholed roads? Where? In northeast? Definitely, but roads in southeast, Florida or Texas are by and large excellent and the system is better than, say in Germany ( I drove extensively through both). Roads are horrible in NYC but that clearly nothing to do with low taxes.Krzyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15794655390770135247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-85773463469007643362014-02-01T08:51:58.752-05:002014-02-01T08:51:58.752-05:00Normally, i'm a fan. But you take Easterly et ...Normally, i'm a fan. But you take Easterly et al stuff and supposed findings much too easily and imbibe too much on clichés about Africa. If divisions are the issue on public goods, the critical question that needs to be answered is why "ethnic/racial." Societies are divided in many ways that could account for why groups might not want to redistribute - clan, tribe, class, sub-regional. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12599006340469818689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-29542234699774986422014-02-01T07:09:46.233-05:002014-02-01T07:09:46.233-05:00Anecdotically, the model fits the Scandinavian cou...Anecdotically, the model fits the Scandinavian countries, all very ethnically homogenous countries. It's fascinating with this clear distinction between blacks (and Hispanics) vs. immigrants in the US, it could also be at work in Canada and Australia. <br />In Denmark, we don't have the distinction, immigrants who came to work here in the 60es are often lumped together with refugees in the public debate. And, a common theme in the public debate is that immigrants/refugees are benefitting too much from the redistribution schemes. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-2078863435166994372014-01-31T23:54:33.395-05:002014-01-31T23:54:33.395-05:00Your first source about infrastructure does not ma...<i>Your first source about infrastructure does not make international comparisons.</i><br /><br />A new article I'm writing with Miles Kimball will include all the sources you could want, including international comparisons.<br /><br /><i>And why might you trust a CATO report before it has gotten reviewed for methodology by skeptics?</i><br /><br />It might turn out to be wrong, but I also included the data point that fewer Hispanics than whites receive government benefits, so the Cato result is hardly surprising.Noah Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09093917601641588575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-91413277896637646692014-01-31T23:51:08.688-05:002014-01-31T23:51:08.688-05:00I think this is right. But I think that black dist...I think this is right. But I think that black distrust of whites still stems from the Confederacy, even in the North. And I think that it will be easier for blacks and whites to learn to coexist in the North...though not easy in an absolute sense.Noah Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09093917601641588575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-16660028050400472782014-01-31T23:12:08.261-05:002014-01-31T23:12:08.261-05:00I think that it is inaccurate to identify racism (...I think that it is inaccurate to identify racism (and its political consequences) as wholly a Southern thing. I grew up in the North, and I can tell you from personal experience that the North is very segregated and that many Northern whites are quite racist. Indeed, as someone who reads Ta-Nehisi Coates, you should have some knowledge about how whites in the North have used violence to keep Chicago segregated and to expropriate wealth from African-Americans.I believe that even in the Northeast, the Republican party gets 50% of the white vote. Stop and frisk also comes to mind as an example of the enlightened attitudes of Northern whites. Which is not to say that the South isn't worse, just to point out that Southern culture doesn't explain or excuse the very persistent phenomena of segregation and racism in the North.<br />-PaulAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-38111845422040905562014-01-31T20:07:06.899-05:002014-01-31T20:07:06.899-05:00Re: Delong
"http://equitablegrowth.org/2014/0...Re: Delong<br />"http://equitablegrowth.org/2014/01/30/1852/the-united-states-economy-today-in-the-transpacific-mirror-thursday-focus-january-30-2014"<br /><br />Did Delong check with you on this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17232051.post-50790433803532822542014-01-31T19:43:23.989-05:002014-01-31T19:43:23.989-05:00And where do black immigrants from places like Hai...And where do black immigrants from places like Haiti fit in your analysis?Absalonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09131268683451462949noreply@blogger.com