But let’s not forget the man who actually showed leadership on the issue. It was vice president Joe Biden who forced his master’s hand, by stating his support of gay marriage on Meet the Press. For this, Mr Biden — not someone whose policy preferences I share, in general — should be given full credit.

As for the impact on the election, I suspect it will be close to zero. If anything, it might aid Mr Obama, by making his base more enthusiastic. Given the economic distress, I doubt that gay marriage is an issue that will make swing voters pick one candidate over the other.

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Andra intressanta bloggar om: politik, usa, obama, joe biden, hbt

Am I painting too dark a picture?

In Greece, parties marching under re-designed swastikas and hammer-and-sickles won over 30% of the vote. The Radical Left and Communist Party on the one hand, and the neo-nazi Golden Dawn on the other, will all enter the Greek parliament with substantial electoral support. It is easy to understand the frustration of the common man, and the appeal of populist forces. But it is shameful to turn to hardcore communists, and nazis, no matter the circumstances.

And in France, the worrying numbers are from the first, indecisive, round. The fascist National Front captured nearly 20% of the vote, with the communist Left Front getting another 10%. And indeed, the effect on the more centrist Nicolas Sarkozy (who railed against immigrants) and next president Francois Hollande (with his sharp-left rhetorics) is easy to see.

These are worrying times. People who have cast their vote on either of these parties should be ashamed. Politicians in power, both in national governments and on the EU level, must realize that they cannot simply wash their hands.

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Andra intressanta bloggar om: politik, europa, eu, grekland, frankrike, nazism, kommunism, fascism

Mr Cowen’s final remark makes me giggle.

Still, given that Krugman is a Nobel Laureate in economics, and Paul a gynecologist, the score could have been more lopsided than in fact it was.

Imagine a two-round political debate with the following format. Round 1 is the standard round-table debate, where politicians debate issues picked by the hosts. Then, after a break, in Round 2 a panel of ideologically diverse economists and other experts get to challenge the politicians on their statements. It just might encourage some caution and more careful reasoning. But I suspect we may have to wait a while for something like that  …

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Andra intressanta bloggar om: politik, ekonomi, ron paul, paul krugman, tyler cowen

In the video, Congressman Ron Paul debates economist Paul Krugman, mainly on monetary policy. Worth watching, although it would have been better if Mr Paul had been calmer, allowing Dr Krugman to lay out his thinking.

While I’m not in Mr Paul’s corner, I think his strongest point — that governments and central banks lack knowledge, and that market failures do not imply that government can do better — is important, and should be given more weight.

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Andra intressanta bloggar om: politik, ekonomi, ron paul, paul krugman

Southern Europe has had low productivity growth and Northern Europe high productivity growth.  Normally, a country getting into trouble like that of Southern Europe would have a devaluation and use exports as their growth strategy.  But locked in at the high exchange rate, S. Europe can’t do that.  Without growth and with the credit contraction from the banks trying to reduce their leverage because of the banking crisis, these countries’ deficits are awful and likely to get worse.  Even the most savage austerity really isn’t going to fix this problem.

We know a lot about how very different economies can be held together in a monetary union.  Choose one: 1) The rich guys subsidize the poor guys permanently. 2) A massive exodus of people goes from the poor guys to the rich guys or 3) the poor guys experience massive, extended unemployment and stagnation as they try to grind down everyone’s wages and do the equivalent of a devaluation.

He predicts reoccuring financial blow-ups, followed by new subsidies from the rich countries. At least for as long as the richer members are willing to pay for it, and given current trends I doubt that will last much longer.

Spain, and other similar countries, desperately need to grow. Lower labour costs, to boost exports, is the most obvious way to achieve that in the short run. (In the long run they need structural reforms.) Voters will not accept large wage cuts, and the only alternative is to leave the euro and print money, like they have in the past.

As I have stated earlier: I am surprised by how much pain the people of the Southern European countries are willing to suffer, to save the euro. Or rather, how much pain their governments, pressured by the EU machinery, are willing to inflict on them.

It would be better if they left the euro in an organized fashion, rather than the whole system falling apart.

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Andra intressanta bloggar om: politik, ekonomi, eu, euron

Quite simply, democracy is having its say. The French soon may elect a left-wing candidate who, in essence, wants to exempt France from fiscal rules and place more fiscal risk on Germany. The Dutch can no longer form a governmental consensus on the budget. The Irish will be putting the fiscal compact up for a referendum, and the Greeks are holding an election in May. Even in Germany there could be problems holding together the ruling coalition.

In general, voters are unwilling to give up their say over policy, or to regard the European Union or euro zone as necessarily superior to national interests. When it comes to the specifics, it appears increasingly likely that at least one national electorate will pull the plug on the entire set of bailouts and austerity programs.

I’m a little surprised that Greece and Spain have put up with the pain the eurozone is dishing out. But the voters haven’t had their say — indeed, eurocrats are doing what they can to keep the electorate out of things — and it’s not a stable situation.

I am not optimistic about the euro, or the effects it will have on the European Union. Still, it is very difficult to see what’s ahead of us.

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Andra intressanta bloggar om: politik, ekonomi, eu, euron

My results:

1. Gary Johnson (R Libertarian) – 94%

2. R. Lee Wrights (Libertarian) – 87%

3. Ron Paul (R) – 84%

4. Fred Karger (R) – 80%

I’ll be the first to admit that I had never heard of R. Lee Wrights or Fred Karger. Obviously, these four are not exactly realistic contenders for the position. From what I know of him, I do like Gary Johnson, and sympathize with some of Ron Paul’s positions.

Overall, the questions posed cover too little ground to make I Side With truly interesting. Feel free to share your results in the comments!

Update: I previously mislabelled Gary Johnson as a Republican. While he used to be — indeed he started the election cycle as a Republican contender and also governed New Mexico as a Republican — he has since switched to the Libertarian party.

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Andra intressanta bloggar om: politik, usa, politiktest

An example from the president himself, as reported by the Wall Street Journal:

The U.S. president said it would be an “unprecedented, extraordinary step” for a majority of the nine justices to overturn a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically–elected Congress.

The president, of course, knows better than this. There is nothing unprecedented about the court considering the constitutionality of a law passed by Congress, whether by strong majority or a single vote. Indeed, it is a crucial task of the court to protect America against majoritarian tyranny, by enforcing the limits defined in the constitution.

Given that Mr Obama knows this, why would he make such a statement? I suspect we need to look no further than November, and the election that is looming on the horizon. Taking this position has two effects, at least. One: exciting the left-wing base that carried him to victory in 2008, and that has been disappointed that he has not turned more sharply to the left. Two: implying the importance of him being re-elected, so that he can alter the (conservative) majority among the justices. In this latter sense, it could actually help him if the law was overturned.

On the other hand, a substantial majority of Americans believe that the law, with its individual mandate, is indeed unconstitutional. Should it be overturned, the sensible route for Mr Obama to take, is that of flexibility, looking towards the centre to find an alternative solution. It would be difficult to patch the current law into working order, with the individual mandate gone.

My knowledge of American constitutional law is too limited to say whether the law will be struck down or not. I do hope that it is, and that — unlikely as it is — the issue of health care starts moving towards being handled by the states. The opportunity for different solutions, between which citizens can “choose” (by moving), is a great benefit of federalism — one that is too often neglected, even in America.

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Andra intressanta bloggar om: politik, usa, sjukvård, obama, scotus

Indeed, the concept behind Tacocopter is very simple, and very American: You order tacos on your smartphone and also beam in your GPS location information. Your order — and your location — are transmitted to an unmanned drone helicopter (grounded, near the kitchen where the tacos are made), and the tacocopter is then sent out with your food to find you and deliver your tacos to wherever you’re standing.

The problem? Regulation.

The U.S. government is single-handedly preventing you from ordering a taco and having it delivered to you by a totally sweet pilot-less helicopter.

Whether you think the Tacocopter is awesome or silly, this points to a genuine problem. Government regulation has grown significantly over the past 50 (or 100) years, and it is getting in the way of innovation, slowing down the pace at which we discover things that could make our lives better. It seems particularly harmful in areas such as medicine, or energy, but since innovation is about discovering the unknown, there is no way to tell what we are missing.

Lawmakers need to keep the longer term in mind when regulating us. Otherwise we risk staying in the great stagnation for quite a while.

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Andra intressanta bloggar om: politik, ekonomi, teknik, tacocopter

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Andra intressanta bloggar om: politik, ekonomi, vetenskap