USA Today (November 9)
“Innovation is the key to moving from dirtier fuels to cleaner ones.” To the joy of environmentalists, President Obama rejected the proposed Keystone pipeline to carry oil from Canadian tar sands to the U.S. “The main factor behind Obama’s decision is something environmentalists hate even more than Keystone: hydraulic fracturing, or fracking,” which has added over 3.5 million barrels per day to U.S. domestic production. “The lesson for climate change is obvious… If we want to keep oil (and coal) in the ground, we need to make other forms of energy cheaper. That means nurturing technologies such as natural gas extraction. It also means promoting another technology that environmentalists love to hate: nuclear energy.”
Tags: Canada, Climate change, Coal, Environmentalists, Fracking, Fuel, Innovation, Key, Keystone, Nuclear energy, Obama, Oil, Pipeline, Tar sands, Technologies
LA Times (November 8)
“So are we better off with or without the TPP? If Congress ratifies it, that won’t turbocharge the U.S. economy. If Congress blocks the deal, that won’t stop globalization. And like any trade agreement, it creates winners and losers.” The strongest argument for the agreement may be its geopolitical role, but the costs to many Americans have become “clearer than their benefits…. The president still has a lot of persuading to do.”
Tags: Benefits, Congress, Costs, Economy, Geopolitical, Globalization, Ratify, TPP, U.S.
The Economist (November 7)
El Niños’ “weather effects, both good and bad, are felt in many places” but rich countries gain more from mighty Niños, on balance, than they lose.” In contrast, poor countries are the big losers. Poor governments and individuals can seldom afford disaster insurance. “Since the poorest are least likely to recoup their losses from disasters linked to El Niño, minimising their losses needs to be the priority.” As countries like Ethiopia have shown, low cost measures carried out in advance can play a major role in alleviating the devastation that often accompanies El Niño.
Tags: Devastation, Disaster insurance, Disasters, El Niño, Ethiopia, Losses, Poor countries, Priority, Rich countries, Weather
New York Times (November 6)
“Support for making marijuana legal is increasing around the world, and that is a good thing…. Laws banning the growing, distribution and possession of marijuana have caused tremendous damage to society, with billions spent on imprisoning people for violating pointlessly harsh laws.” Moreover, “marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, and can be used to treat medical conditions like chronic pain.”
Tags: Alcohol, Ban, Damage, Distribution, Legal, Marijuana, Pain, Possession, Prison, Society, Support, Tobacco
Wall Street Journal (November 5)
“The drumming you hear in Washington, Frankfurt and Tokyo is the accompaniment to the Central Bank Limbo, as the world’s monetary maestros line up to see how low they can go. The Bank of England (BOE) joined the queue Thursday with its announcement that a rate increase will again be delayed.” BOE Governor Mark Carney warned a year and a half earlier “that a rate rise could come ‘sooner than markets currently expect.’” Nevertheless, “Britain’s monetary-policy committee reverted to dovishness at its meeting this week.”
Tags: BOE, Carney, Central bank, Dovish, Frankfurt, Limbo, Markets, MPC, Rate increase, Tokyo, Washington
Financial Times (November 4)
It now “seems likely, and indeed desirable, that the BoJ will be forced to expand its programme of quantitative easing before too long.” The Bank of Japan revised both its inflation and growth forecasts downward, and extended its horizon for achieving its inflation target. “Disappointing outcomes do not mean that the BoJ’s combination of an inflation target and using QE has failed, but that it needs to be more enthusiastically pursued. The BoJ can and should contemplate going further.”
Tags: Bank of Japan, Forecasts, Growth, Inflation, Outcomes, Quantitative easing
Chicago Tribune (November 3)
The trailers for Spike Lee’s new movie “Chi-Raq” are embarrassing politicians by depicting Chicago’s bullet-ridden streets and comparing them with Iraq. “The politicians have a bigger problem than they anticipated. Yes, Spike Lee’s movie will embarrass Chicago. But it won’t embarrass Chicago as much as the slaying of Tyshawn Lee already has embarrassed Chicago in news accounts now appearing worldwide.” On November 2, 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee became “the latest young Chicagoan pronounced dead of gunshot wounds.”
Tags: Bullets, Chi-Raq, Chicago, Embarrass, Gunshot wounds, Politicians, Spike Lee, Tyshawn
Washington Post (November 3)
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare, is beginning its third year “amid fierce criticism from the law’s detractors.” The ACA has, in some regards, performed better than expected, though weaknesses remain. “Instead of wasting more time on repealing the law or important individual components, such as the ‘Cadillac tax,’ Congress should be looking at changes that would help the ACA finish the phasing in process.”
Tags: ACA, Cadillac tax, Congress, Criticism, Detractors, Obamacare, Phase in, Repeal
Bloomberg (November 1)
“China should dethrone its GDP target.” While many expect the Government to lower its GDP target to around 6.5% in the coming five-year plan, it would be better to scrap the target altogether. “The government should do all it can to promote rapid sustainable growth— but now that China is a semicapitalist economy, what that number turns out to be is beyond official control.” Suggesting otherwise, ultimately undercuts Government’s authority with wasteful local investment and data fudging. “Scrapping the GDP target outright would be best.”
Tags: Authority, China, Data fudging, Economy, GDP, Government, Growth, Investment, Official control, Semicapitalist, Target, Waste
The Economist (October 31)
“Bitcoin’s shady image causes people to overlook the extraordinary potential of the ‘blockchain,’ the technology that underpins it.” Blockchain technology “lets people who have no particular confidence in each other collaborate without having to go through a neutral central authority” and Bitcoin’s innovation carries a significance stretching far beyond cryptocurrency. This “machine for creating trust” could eliminate the need (and cost) for institutions like banks and clearing houses that handle many existing transactions.
Tags: Authority, Banks, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Clearing houses, Confidence, Cryptocurrency, Innovation, Potential, Significance, Technology, Transactions
