It's been quite a while since we looked in on Sweden's COVID performance to see how they did compared to other countries. Here are the numbers: Sweden is a little better than average, though still behind the other Nordic countries. In any case, this doesn't demonstrate that Sweden's loose approach to countermeasures was ideal, but ...continue reading "Sweden continues to look pretty good on COVID-19"
The New York Times tells us yet again that American education is in crisis: A survey of National Education Association members at the beginning of the year revealed an unsettling truth: More than half of the respondents said they were looking for a way out. That’s an astounding number of unhappy teachers. If they all ...continue reading "Is it worth another round on the mythical teacher crisis?"
I'm visiting my sister-in-law, Virginia, in Virginia, at the moment, so this week you get a picture of her dog, who is not named Virginia. Say hello to Watson.
The BLS released 2021 figures for total factor productivity today: I'm on vacation, so I don't feel like diving too deeply into this, but TFP is generally taken to measure productivity improvements from the adoption of improved technology. This means that the two industries that drove most of the efficiency gains from technology during the ...continue reading "Raw data: Total factor productivity was up in 2021"
I'm on another of my short photography vacations this week. Can you figure out where— Oh forget it. I'm in Virginia, and tomorrow is catblogging day and then I'll be home. So I won't have time to post any more pictures immediately. Wednesday was "wander around DC like a tourist" day, and this is a ...continue reading "Lunchtime Photo"
I see that Nancy Pelosi has decided to step down from Democratic leadership in the House. Good. I have nothing but immense respect for Pelosi, one of the most effective speakers in history. But it's time for younger leadership. Steny Hoyer is also stepping down, and I hope Jim Clyburn does the same (or stays ...continue reading "Nancy Pelosi steps down as Speaker"
I've mentioned before that the official definition of rent inflation is all but useless since (a) it's always about six months behind and (b) it uses figures for all rents, not just new rentals, which are all that really matter. So what happens if you take core inflation but then swap out the official rent ...continue reading "Inflation is melting away"
This is a picture of feet. In particular, these feet are crossing a glass footbridge that connects two galleries in our new Orange County Museum of Art. Perhaps you think I should have been paying more attention to the art itself? No worries. I've got some pictures of that too. You just have to be ...continue reading "Lunchtime Photo"
Everywhere we went in Paris, Marian was greeted by a giant M. Such a friendly folk, those Parisians. (This one is for the Dugommier metro station on Line 6.)
Over at MarketWatch, Jeffrey Lee Funk and Gary Smith present a list of Silicon Valley's biggest losers: I don't have any real comment on this except yikes. I didn't quite realize you could lose this much money. I'm such a hayseed.
A reader asks what I think of the theory that Republican losses in the midterms were partially due to Republicans killing off their own voters by railing against COVID-19 vaccines. He points to this piece by Jonathan Last as an example: Lots of factors were at play. Including one that doesn’t get talked about much: ...continue reading "Did vaccine denial play a role in Republican midterm losses?"
This is epic. Too bad we couldn't get it before the election. .@VaughnHillyard: "Could I say something about Kari Lake, you guys?" pic.twitter.com/UvhwEtOkPD — MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 15, 2022
This is it. Today the world population is officially 8 billion people. The United Nations has declared that the world's population will pass 8 billion people on 15 November, but future growth is expected to slow as fertility rates fall across the globe https://t.co/oSbblnhHQu — New Scientist (@newscientist) November 10, 2022
Over at National Review, Jason Richwine comments on one of my hobby horses: Early in his first term as Florida governor, Ron DeSantis pressed the legislature to mandate universal E-Verify, the online tool run by the Department of Homeland Security that allows employers to confirm that their employees are legally authorized to work in the ...continue reading "Businesses hate E-Verify. Should Ron DeSantis try to pass it anyway?"
The New York Times says the price of farmland in South Dakota is shooting up, so I thought I'd show you all a picture of what this beautiful land looks like. It's a shame that— Oh, wait. This isn't South Dakota. It's the Quail Hill Open Space Preserve about a mile from my home. The ...continue reading "Lunchtime Photo"
Kevin's Three Laws of Politics: Politics is always and everywhere the business of persuading the public. Winning power is fine. But in the long run, politics is marketing. You're doomed unless you can steadily draw the public in your direction. This law is #1 for a reason. The Median Voter Theorem is holy writ. Yes, ...continue reading "Seeing the political forest, not just the trees"
Here you go: Over the past two years, an S&P 500 index fund has been a far better investment than Bitcoin. But even for those who got in early five years ago, Bitcoin has done only a bit better than the S&P. Where's the fun in that? If you're going to end up in the ...continue reading "Today’s deep economic analysis"
It's a been a week and we still don't know the final status of my personal electoral shitlist. But things are looking good! Alex Villanueva is 18% behind with 67% of the vote counted. Scott Baugh is 2.6% behind with 70% of the vote counted. Kari Lake is 1.1% behind with 93% of the vote ...continue reading "Shitlist Update"
What did Democrats do this year to get such unexpectedly good results? Before we all get too attached to our favorite theories, let's take a look at just how well they actually did: The Democratic share of the two-party House popular vote in 2022 was one of the worst of the past two decades. This ...continue reading "Surprise! Democrats didn’t do well in 2022."
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