tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41220281164305364242012-01-22T11:29:17.277-08:00Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.comBlogger2681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-59630975186576619912012-01-22T11:28:00.000-08:002012-01-22T11:29:17.291-08:00

THE iECONOMY: How U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work Apple once bragged that its products were made in America. But it has since shifted its immense manufacturing work overseas, posing questions about what corporate America owes Americans. The transformation of the global economy is perhaps more profound than anything else in the world today. Certainly more significant than terrorism, Iranian nukes or

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-9879904651032057222012-01-19T14:58:00.000-08:002012-01-22T11:08:27.847-08:00

EDUCATION LIFE PREVIEW: A Sharper Mind, Middle Age and Beyond How to subtract 10 years from your brain’s age? Get a college degree. Another case of correlation being tied up with causation. Until an experiment controls for the fact that educational performance might be influenced by the same mental traits which make one less liable to senility, there is no way to conclude that educational levels

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-56580645417562241042012-01-09T13:52:00.000-08:002012-01-09T13:52:50.093-08:00

Swiss Central Bank Chief Tenders Surprise Resignation Philipp M. Hildebrand has been under fire for personal currency trades he and his wife made last year. The rule of law is stretched thin to the point of farcical flexibility when it is possible to privately conduct what one publicly opposes. Even if there is no criminal act, it seems to undermine the very fabric of society for insiders to use

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-33193228178521971852012-01-02T11:46:00.000-08:002012-01-02T11:46:00.996-08:00

It needs not be shown how self-interest can be used to counter self-interest. Bernard Mandeville envisioned a world where self-regard promoted decorum and civility. Adam Smith showed how self-interest produced a collective improvement for mankind and Madison built upon the idea by David Hume that separation of powers can generate the common good from even venial motives. But, what these

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-84841430145357203332012-01-01T11:44:00.000-08:002012-01-01T11:44:11.574-08:00

F.D.A. Is Finding Attention Drugs in Short Supply The Food and Drug Administration has received complaints about drug shortages for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and has pointed a finger at the Drug Enforcement Administration. Who needs patents when you have guns? Through its quota system, the DEA has eliminated the incentive to supply generic prescription drugs which it deems

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-28401768602237091832011-12-12T15:33:00.000-08:002011-12-12T15:34:57.244-08:00

Recession Crimped Incomes of Richest Americans The share of income received by the top 1 percent fell to 17 percent in 2009 fell from 23 percent in 2007. There are facts. There is analysis. Facts inform and support analysis, but a given set of data has the potential to be interpreted many ways. A truly scientific enterprise seeks to create critical tests so as to eliminate any alternative

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-66386553165683830322011-12-06T10:02:00.000-08:002011-12-06T10:02:05.980-08:00

‘Micro’ Tax on Financial Trades Gains Advocates The so-called Robin Hood tax — a tiny levy on trades in the financial markets that would take money from the banks and give it to the world’s poor — has attracted an array of influential champions. It's like two political ships passing in the night. One side is focused on a stock trade tax as a 'relatively painless' form of much needed revenue and

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-41620649409030165772011-11-23T15:48:00.000-08:002011-11-23T15:48:27.407-08:00

Financial Finger-Pointing Turns to Regulators In the whodunit of the financial crisis, the latest defense, surfacing in a fraud case filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, is that federal regulators are to blame. At the same time that authority has become more concentrated it has become less transparent. Bank regulators, the fed and the treasury all have the authority to intervene in

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-12443740517892440482011-11-22T12:14:00.000-08:002011-11-23T16:17:33.060-08:00

In the natural state of society, we have what in game theory is called a condition of competitive exclusive. Success makes one more likely to be successful by making it harder for the loser to compete. The rich get richer when there is a positive feedback loop between one instance of success and the future conditions for competition. This creates what game designers call compound disadvantage..

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-61673776712687209352011-11-20T17:08:00.000-08:002011-11-20T17:09:48.915-08:00

Afghanistan Has Big Plans for Biometric Data Officials’ avowed goal is to fingerprint, photograph and scan the irises of every living Afghan. It's hard to understand the implications of a comprehensive biometric identification program. It is after all, just a more robust form of identification, where in the past, things like branded numbers, passports, government issued IDs, clothing and other

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-75714145868351629052011-11-16T09:21:00.000-08:002011-11-20T17:09:14.455-08:00

MEMO FROM GERMANY: Success and Advice Cast a Giant as a Villain, Not a Model, in Europe Germany’s continued prosperity has helped fuel anger in countries like Greece and Spain against what is increasingly viewed as harsh domination of Europe’s economic rules. Behind the Euro zone crisis, the US-China currency war and the Bank Bailouts lies an issue of global integration that is willfully

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-38425845913131056672011-11-13T10:09:00.000-08:002011-11-13T10:09:49.140-08:00

After a Romney Deal, Profits and Then Layoffs Mitt Romney’s business career is a cornerstone of his campaign. But his brand of capitalism had human costs and some messy financial consequences. There seems to be something deeply problematic about a corporation's owner's capacity to incur debt for the entity in order to buy himself out. Investors need exit options and ultimately creditors need to

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-41143275163253565812011-11-11T11:02:00.000-08:002011-11-11T11:08:00.469-08:00

Europe’s Banks Found Safety of Bonds a Costly Illusion The debt crisis was fed by governments that borrowed too much, regulators that let banks treat the bonds as without risk and investors who viewed the bonds of all countries as solid. The Asian currency crisis of 1998 -> The Sub-Prime Mortgage crisis of 2008 -> The European Sovereign Debt crisis of 2012 -> Some BRIC crisis years from now.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-61907525819520086142011-11-09T16:04:00.000-08:002011-11-11T16:05:28.661-08:00

Recriminations are easily dodged in a complex system. When every outcome is collectively created by everyone, it's just as easy to pass the buck onto others, deny culpability or plead mitigating circumstances as it is to find the opportunities for individual advancement that might get you in trouble in the first place. I think that the reason that I study complexity is because I do not believe

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-2587188297760778292011-10-26T12:36:00.000-07:002011-10-26T12:36:16.609-07:00

China Takes a Loss to Get Ahead in the Business of Fresh Water The Chinese government hopes to become a force in yet another environment-related industry: supplying the world with desalinated water. Airlines, Wind Energy, Automoblies, Solar Energy, now, Water. All the resources of the west are being transferred to the east at a fraction on the dollar because each CEO of each company sees an

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-59413292973666334742011-10-22T09:43:00.000-07:002011-10-22T09:44:21.418-07:00

Wall St. Protest Isn’t Like Ours, Tea Party Says Where Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party differ is in where they place the blame. In politics, like celebrity and philosophy, others define you. Those who innovate rarely understand what gives them an identity. It is almost always their opponents who find the "right" labels. Even Lady Gaga, the consummate label escape artist, is labeled by her

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-67295077844690204052011-10-18T10:43:00.000-07:002011-10-18T10:43:25.384-07:00

I cannot speak for others, but I can say that I now believe that a great deal of the 'problem' with our current system arises from a form of political and economic organization on a national / international level which our constitutional form of government was never intended to support. The national government was never supposed to have as much power and influence as it currently has. States,

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-50665570752271672822011-10-03T09:49:00.000-07:002011-10-03T09:49:52.892-07:00

TransCanada Pipeline Foes Allege Bias in U.S. E-Mails E-mails released Monday show a sometimes collaborative relationship between lobbyists for the company building the pipeline and officials in the State Department. Large projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars with sweeping environment consequences across at least a handful of states can be negotiated between a handful of executives of

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-14816789793681021262011-09-29T07:44:00.000-07:002011-09-29T07:50:45.715-07:00

Companies Use Immigration Crackdown to Turn a Profit Private security companies have turned the detention of unwanted immigrants into a multinational industry with a history of abuse. It seems that a privately run detention center is no better than a privately run prison as they are currently structured. What seems to be missing in all this hoopla about privatization though is the nature of the

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-48689933378254050062011-09-19T09:06:00.000-07:002011-09-19T09:09:56.532-07:00

ON EDUCATION: When Free Trips Overlap With Commercial Purposes The Pearson Foundation has paid to send state education commissioners to meet with their international counterparts in London, Singapore and, just last week, Rio de Janeiro. Theodore Roosevelt is credited with saying that we need to respond to big business with big government, an equally powerful force to keep it in check. By the end

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-68285629644361804532011-09-02T13:42:00.000-07:002011-09-03T13:43:32.202-07:00

China Benefits as U.S. Solar Industry Withers Some American, Japanese and European solar companies still have a technological edge over Chinese rivals, but seldom a cost advantage, analysts say. California subsidizes 30% of the cost of renewable energy. Germany imposes an energy prioritization system and compensates buyers. China provides free land and low interest rate investments. One side

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-46086191658294383022011-08-06T04:51:00.000-07:002011-08-06T04:51:03.313-07:00

S&P receives billions from banks like Lehman Bros. S&P rates sub-prime mortgages AAA Economy collapses due to housing defaults US spends trillions to avert depression S&P downgrades US due to debt levels

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-74071577271139558962011-03-20T20:03:00.000-07:002011-03-20T20:04:21.735-07:00

Often designers try to represent a set of behaviors. Instead of creating them by a formal set of rules, they formalize the rules they think they see. Unfortunately, the representation of reality by formal rules ends up feeling nothing like reality.Since much of what we notice in the world is an emergent property of unnoticeable heuristics, reality escapes referential realism. A good designer

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-38215580953162283702011-02-15T18:22:00.000-08:002011-02-15T18:25:12.357-08:00

Over the past two days, audiences have marveled at Watson's display of language recognition and lightning fast answers to Jeopardy questions. It has a pretty smooth, calm and casual voice for a computer and it turns out to correctly identify both the nature of the queries as well as the answers to them nearly 9 times out of 10. Meanwhile, its champion human competitors sit helpless to interfere

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-15248163975955291562011-02-12T18:19:00.000-08:002011-02-15T18:21:39.126-08:00

I recently discovered that the employees cannot control the temperature in the individual stores for Starbucks. The thermostat box is locked and the temperature is adjusted by corporate. What this has produced in the winter time is a dramatic fluctuation in the warmth of the store between midday and night. Sometime around 430 or 5pm, the store drops in temperature quite dramatically.Ostensibly

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-3420734704287906502011-02-11T18:09:00.000-08:002011-02-15T18:19:28.286-08:00

I plan to start a list of descriptions of trends in our society. These trends are changes in behaviors, practices and beliefs which I have extrapolated from my anecdotal observations, reading and what other people tell me. Whenever possible, I will try to include a description of the evidence from which I extrapolate larger phenomena. But as is unfortunately the case with my mind, a lot of

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-66007153462302007222011-02-07T12:09:00.000-08:002011-02-07T12:49:52.859-08:00

Is it possible that protests on the streets of Egypt will derail the bull market in the United States? ...Food price inflation could be a carrier of contagion. In developing countries like Egypt, where food accounts for a major slice of average income, such inflation is becoming a major problem. Hoarding, exacerbated by civic unrest in Egypt and elsewhere, could lead to greater price spikes, the

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-88849658828127517032011-02-06T17:03:00.000-08:002011-02-07T12:05:31.987-08:00

US Ex-VP Cheney: We should be grateful to Mubarak for the years of friendship between Egypt and the United StatesUS Envoy Wisner: Mubarak deserves the opportunity to write his legacy before he leavesEgyptian VP Suleiman: The disorder in Egypt is due to foreign intervention and subversionEgyptian PM Shafiq: Mubarak will serve out his term in order to ensure stability and securityLies combine with

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-47460279096428978732011-01-09T23:25:00.000-08:002011-01-09T23:33:54.029-08:00

The drug-discount program was created in 1992 under the Public Health Service Act. The law directed the secretary of health and human services to sign agreements with the companies that set maximum prices for drugs sold to certain health care providers. They included community health centers; AIDS, tuberculosis and family-planning clinics; hospitals that serve large numbers of poor people; and

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-71000027044508104022011-01-04T22:56:00.000-08:002011-01-04T22:57:58.150-08:00

What if people only see what they want to see?What if people really don't see what doesn't benefit them?People are said to discount discordant views, rationalize their behavior and view new information in line with their pre-existing opinions. But all of this seems to imply that people interpret what is presented to them. What if they don't even see it in the first place?What if everyone really

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-60176002085721766902011-01-02T23:02:00.000-08:002011-01-04T23:43:54.683-08:00

Boeing earns about 70 percent of its commercial plane sales from foreign buyers, and is the single biggest exporter of manufactured goods in the United States. Every $1 billion in sales — and some of these deals carry a price tag of as high as $10 billion — translates into an estimated 11,000 American jobs, according to the State Department.“That is the reality of the 21st century; governments

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-479599310956355932010-12-14T09:46:00.000-08:002010-12-14T10:05:14.859-08:00

To many manufacturing companies, the tax deal has the effect of both reducing their own burdens and increasing orders from other businesses that will have incentive to buy equipment and supplies.“These are catalysts for job creation,” said Monica McGuire, a policy analyst at the National Association of Manufacturers.-- David Kocieniewski, "Tax Breaks Bring Hope for Hiring", New York Times,

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-30996966290907597312010-11-29T11:17:00.000-08:002010-11-29T11:41:02.910-08:00

Does everyone have a propensity to lie, or is it rather the case that certain people lie all the time and others never lie at all?A parking lot altercation today gave me a rare opportunity to catch someone else in a lie without them knowing it. I currently have to repark my car constantly in the mall parking garage in order to avoid getting a ticket. While I was heading towards the mall

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-52424701944345818962010-10-03T12:28:00.000-07:002010-10-03T12:30:41.783-07:00

No amount of evidence will convince people of what they do not believe or cannot understand. It is only possible, though unlikely, that in retrospect, people will come to realize the validity of prophecy as it impacts their life. But, it is always only them who integrate the prophecy. Not you. So, you must attend to their psychology and all that it entails in your presentation. A mystery,

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-69669221279286684422010-09-18T15:02:00.000-07:002010-09-18T15:03:34.488-07:00

Can there be nirvana without dharma?Can there be nirvana with dharma?! Why does enlightenment always entail imperative?Would anything alive survive evolution without one?

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-48932767826623680662010-09-05T12:10:00.000-07:002010-09-07T17:13:34.188-07:00

The Open has also succeeded because of the recession. As corporate sponsors — who make up the biggest chunk of the event’s revenue — have cut their marketing budgets, they have focused their spending on fewer but more trusted events. -- Ken Belson, "Prospering in a Recession, the Open Bucks a Trend", New York Times, 9.04.2010Does volatility destroy the big boys or make them stronger? It seems

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-15458783677525644662010-08-26T14:53:00.000-07:002010-08-26T14:55:24.808-07:00

It is surprising what happens when you try to remake fate around others who are ambivalent about it themselves.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-1251034136987988832010-07-24T16:40:00.000-07:002010-07-24T16:52:18.506-07:00

Elizabeth is Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard law professor who dreamed up the idea for the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, which became law when President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank law this week.Whether or not she is named to run the bureau may depend on how willing the president is to anger the banks yet again, and whether he is willing to risk a big confirmation battle in the Senate.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-50804732261767186212010-07-19T16:36:00.000-07:002010-07-19T16:58:12.546-07:00

British Petroleum 2005: Texas City Oil ExplosionBritish Petroleum 2010: Deepwater Horizon Oil SpillGlaxoSmithKline 2004: PaxilGlaxoSmithKline 2010: AvandiaJohn Paulson's Earnings 2007: $3.7bGoldman Sachs Net Profit 2009: $12.2bGoldman Sachs-SEC Abacus Settlement 2010: $550mUS Unemployment Rate March 2009: 8.5%US Unemployment Rate May 2010: 9.7%Finance Unemployment Rate March 2009: 6.8%Finance

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-16823893425601023712010-07-14T14:40:00.000-07:002010-07-14T15:37:27.196-07:00

All too often in my own life, I see people who make decisions based upon old assumptions. Without a clear view of the future, it is extremely easy to think that what worked in the past will continue to do so into the future. In fact, some would say that it is prudent to do so when you lack any evidence which would call your assumptions into question. But the past is that evidence. The past is

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-38147569599776670332010-07-10T11:36:00.001-07:002010-07-10T11:38:54.783-07:00

Not only are books written after the fact, they are written after the facts are deemed significant.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-20287402451285568312010-07-09T12:51:00.000-07:002010-07-10T13:03:03.851-07:00

Brent Kessel, a financial planner in Pacific Palisades, Calif., and the author of “It’s Not About the Money,” says he believes that most questions about salary spring from the schoolyard. “There is so much comparison going on there,” he said. “Who is best looking? Who is most popular? And money just plugs right into that system. Who has the richest parents?”He has not yet answered his oldest

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-50465672619400693882010-06-24T15:04:00.000-07:002010-06-24T15:15:27.788-07:00

In its most significant ruling on free speech rights in terrorism cases, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld the constitutionality of a federal law that makes it a crime to provide “material support” to foreign terrorist groups. ...The court’s majority recognized not only that some such aid can be diverted to harmful effect, but also that even non-fungible forms of well-intentioned aid (such as

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-13801885827843627012010-05-25T16:45:00.001-07:002010-05-25T16:46:17.137-07:00

In a competitive environment, those who do not compete do not survive.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-15767987079030542802010-05-24T14:01:00.000-07:002010-05-25T16:47:01.280-07:00

The report from the Institute for International Finance said all national regulators should have the power to intervene early in a banking crisis, including the right to replace senior management at troubled firms; to order capital increases or restructuring via debt-equity swaps; to identify business units vital to the financial system and transfer those to third parties where necessary; and to

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-18074261047113393172010-05-21T17:24:00.000-07:002010-05-21T18:17:50.316-07:00

There is something unsettling about cop cars that can scan the license plates of everyone around them and city cameras that run facial recognition software on the population in real time. In an economic sense, the technology probably pays for itself. People are fined for illegal behavior they used to get away. And in a political sense, the technology probably reduces crime. People are less

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-34052495184502236122010-05-19T17:25:00.000-07:002010-06-24T15:21:32.461-07:00

Beginning in 2002, Goldman had advised officials at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to raise funds by issuing auction-rate securities. Auction-rate securities are stock or debt instruments with interest rates that reset regularly (usually weekly) in auctions overseen by the brokerage firms that sell them. Municipalities, student loan companies, mutual funds, hospitals and museums all used

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-74314676719775903552010-05-14T11:32:00.000-07:002010-05-14T12:25:54.377-07:00

In March Henry Blodget, the editor in chief of Business Insider, wrote: “Perhaps it’s time to float a new theory: We’re already in the gutter. What we click on accurately reflects what we’re interested in, no matter how much we think and protest and hope to the contrary.” A few days afterward, Blodget engaged in an entertaining multiplatform spat over the issue with the Reuters columnist Felix

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-39945253941606384672010-05-12T11:34:00.000-07:002010-05-14T13:34:55.006-07:00

Accumulation of institutional knowledge/power begets misalignment of interests and misalignment of interests exacerbate the accumulation of institutional knowledge/power. Regulatory oversight ends up supplanting the proper alignment of interests as a corrective measure for the arbitrary distribution of wealth and value across society whenever society is confronted with the evolutionary pressure

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-45813167936567909282010-05-11T12:13:00.000-07:002010-05-14T12:14:48.485-07:00

Every second is a sensory adventure in which the world which is me unfolds.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-38487435691184939442010-05-10T13:05:00.000-07:002010-05-24T14:09:07.010-07:00

As trading has been dispersed among a dozen electronic exchanges, the S.E.C. and other market regulators have maintained no centralized database of stock trades, order sizes or prices. That has made it more difficult for regulators to piece together what exactly happened on Thursday, May 6th.The S.E.C. has been warned in recent months by market participants, publicly traded companies and other

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-39814778040012019122010-05-10T12:29:00.000-07:002010-05-14T12:36:29.632-07:00

We do something because our environment has turned out to be beneficial to us after we do it. We have no idea why we do it and we do most of it without even realizing it. What more, there's no guarantee that our enviroment will continue to be beneficial to us after we do all that we do. So, we are always caught unprepared for the present.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-12216242383425963782010-05-05T07:17:00.000-07:002010-05-05T07:20:56.550-07:00

Bailout: [beyl-out] n. - Instead of everyone equally being caught off guard with losses as a result of an economic crash, the rich and powerful are given time to wind down their positions at the expense of taxes assessed throughout society, foreclosures on the properties of the fledgling middle class and huge stockmarket losses for the un-initiated. Given the fact that the irrational exuberance

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-91569926858845868032010-05-05T07:09:00.000-07:002010-05-05T07:16:25.038-07:00

Debt is a curious thing... although it fuels employment by increasing the flow of money, it makes the creditor richer at the expense of the debtor. More money is being transfered from the latter to the former than was initially given. As long as there is a risk of default, then that interest payment is the value that makes the expectation value relatively equal for both parties. But, once the

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-24759662048336153162010-05-05T07:01:00.000-07:002010-05-14T12:28:21.569-07:00

Beware of strangers bearing gifts. The Germans and French are not providing you with a bailout for your benefit, but for theirs. While you are busy paying usury rates for your previous profligacy, all their banks with high exposure to your debt will quietly wind down their positions. Right now, you have them caught off guard, so deep in the mess that they had a hand in creating that they are

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-61452779405839553482010-05-04T11:09:00.000-07:002010-05-05T07:06:42.597-07:00

Assertion: Political organization is the emergent property of an evolving systemArgument:I am an individual, but my actions effect others and theirs in turn effect me. We have each developed an extremely complex set of pneumonic rules that translate into mutually advantageous behavior. But, fundamentally, all those actions are conducted unilaterally. It is mere coincidence of these unilateral

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-66738522103489340142010-05-03T12:43:00.000-07:002010-05-14T12:45:28.495-07:00

If I could tell you the coincidence of interests that produced this I could tell you the fate of the universe.Even though I can tell you neither, that does not imply that they are not both the product of it.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-51008836620234319172010-05-03T11:49:00.000-07:002010-05-14T12:55:57.768-07:00

My dispositon is a neurological adaptation to my environment to date (most likely a complex Bayesian inference). As others are like me, and so far the neuroplasticity of humans has proven highly ecologically advantageous, it is quite unwise to presume that the behavior that arises from their dispositions is misguided. No matter how irrational it may seem, there is always an iceberg of

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-12579497765537372392010-04-24T12:36:00.000-07:002010-04-24T12:45:10.899-07:00

When things break, their object like existence independent of us becomes more apparent. For a moment, we see what we have done to make them what they are because they no longer fulfill the function integral to their identity. [Heidegger] In talking about the objective consequence of behavior rather than use terms like good or bad, I guess you could say that I am trying to break morality. It

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-16093629941698946892010-04-22T12:43:00.000-07:002010-04-22T12:46:07.310-07:00

President Barack Obama embraced both the financial regulation bill passed by the House last year and the version emerging in the Senate. Mr. Obama laid out five elements that “must be included” in the final bill:¶Instituting a system to shut down large financial firms that begin to fail “with the least amount of collateral damage to innocent people and businesses.”¶Imposing the so-called Volcker

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-25950089220278354022010-04-20T20:32:00.000-07:002010-04-20T20:53:12.478-07:00

Assessing the battle to overhaul the nation’s financial regulations recently, Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, left no doubt about the consequences if Congress cracked down on his bank’s immense business in derivatives.“It will be negative,” he said. “Depending on the real detail, it could be $700 million or a couple billion dollars.”With so much money at stake, it is not

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-20839566500466084972010-04-19T13:43:00.000-07:002010-05-14T13:44:37.908-07:00

Things do not 'take care of themselves'. If you 'focus on your studies', you will never learn how to make things happen for yourself.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-61114381429267834612010-04-18T13:41:00.000-07:002010-05-14T13:42:30.005-07:00

Do what other people say and you will subordinate your own livelihood to theirs. Do what other people want and your own livelihood will only increase.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-53776343666314530652010-04-11T12:10:00.001-07:002010-04-11T12:15:50.835-07:00

It is easy to accuse the philanderer of placing money and self-importance above responsible behavior. It is easy to see every indiscretion as the result of a choice which the agent of lax morality could have made differently. And, whereas it may be true in the world of counterfactuals that every 'wrong' act begins with a choice, in the world of evolutionary reality, the environment plays a

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-51308519216791258812010-04-02T17:33:00.000-07:002010-04-20T20:54:53.640-07:00

The net effect of Lithuania's austerity measures on the country's finances was a savings equal to 9 percent of gross domestic product, the second-largest fiscal adjustment in a developed economy, after Latvia’s, since the credit crisis began.But austerity has exacted its own price, in social and personal pain.Pensioners, their benefits cut, swamped soup kitchens. Unemployment jumped to a high of

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-17266422330575516282010-03-28T12:15:00.001-07:002010-03-28T12:15:52.369-07:00

The Democrats are the pro-poor party. The Republicans are the pro-rich party. Both try to court the middle class in their rhetoric but eviscerate it by their policy. America has no real pro-middle class party because the nuances which are required to advance the interests of the middle class in a complex system of unintended consequences are difficult to understand, let alone explain. And now the

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-20095111111134901202010-03-24T00:19:00.000-07:002010-03-24T00:23:17.605-07:00

Governor Schwarzenegger,In order to preserve the sovereignty of our state of California, I encourage you to direct our attorney general to join the lawsuit against the Health Care Act filed yesterday by 12 other states.I believe fully in universal government funded health care, but I believe in democracy more. This bill will help many people in our state, including, probably myself, but it comes

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-61156078976622264862010-03-18T14:54:00.000-07:002010-04-20T20:55:29.263-07:00

Canada, Greenland, and several indigenous communities, which led the effort to defeat the proposal to protect the polar bear, contended that the bear population was healthy and could sustain limited hunting and trade in pelts and body parts.While there is near-universal agreement that the bluefin stocks are in danger, Japan’s argument resonated with other fishing nations, which were uneasy about

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-21087993636747897402010-03-14T13:48:00.000-07:002010-05-14T13:51:00.853-07:00

If you don't expect anything, you can't be disappointed.If you don't trust anyone, you can't be betrayed.It is impossible not to expect things and trust people. It is a part what makes us human. And so, you will be disappointed. You will be betrayed.Will that deter you?

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-70599406870634570752010-02-11T12:50:00.000-08:002010-04-20T20:55:53.012-07:00

But Google’s promise to build the demonstration ultrahigh-speed network is also the latest example of the Internet search company using its money and industry clout to help shape the future of the Internet to its liking. -- Miguel Helft, "Google Set to Showcase Fast Internet", New York Times, 2.10.2010All organisms, or entities with metabolic processes, reshape the environment they live in.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-99027319671071712010-02-03T13:09:00.000-08:002010-04-20T20:56:14.282-07:00

Walking away, Benjamin Koellmann knows, is not without peril. At minimum, it would ruin his credit score. Mr. Koellmann would like to attend graduate school. If an admission dean sees a dismal credit record, would that count against him? How about a new employer?Most of all, though, he struggles with the ethical question.“I took a loan on an asset that I didn’t see was overvalued,” he said. “As

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-73906398068701276822010-01-09T12:32:00.000-08:002010-04-20T16:31:03.634-07:00

Britain is not alone in finding it hard to work out how to send business the right signals. Emission control policies that are effective, efficient and politically palatable have proved elusive everywhere." -- "Why investors have been deserting clean energy", The Economist, 12.05.2009Copehagen failed and the next convention will fail to reach an agreement on controlling climate change or pass

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-87379980363960952272010-01-04T14:20:00.000-08:002010-03-07T14:22:16.243-08:00

Just a few observations from books on the subject:1. self-consciousness causes verbal, tonal and non-verbal incongruence2. mirror neurons make us imitate other people3. mirror neurons make us feel as we gesture as well as gesture as we feel4. our subconscious picks up much more information than our conscious mind5. our feelings indicate to us many things that we are not consciously aware of

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-13122397543571985052009-12-19T14:26:00.000-08:002010-03-07T14:27:53.016-08:00

It has been said that even a tyrant must extend his neck to his barber. In society today, even a captain of industry must share the road with his fellow citizens, drink the water everyone else consumes, walk down a public street and otherwise partake in what he creates.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-56526536235141150922009-12-18T14:23:00.000-08:002010-03-07T14:26:15.283-08:00

We all think we are the exception and behave accordingly. If other people let us, there is no limit to the type of exception we will take.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-57834107734588469982009-12-17T10:58:00.000-08:002009-12-17T15:05:18.717-08:00

Dr. Peter W. Preuss division at the E.P.A. which analyzes environmental risks, has also written, but not yet published, a much tougher assessment of arsenic, the most common contaminant that companies are forced to clean up at Superfund sites. The chemical is a case study in the complexities of establishing risk levels and how industries fight regulatory efforts.In 2000, the E.P.A. proposed

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-18950456349159315962009-12-15T20:38:00.000-08:002009-12-17T11:07:39.793-08:00

The nash equilibrium of adversarial systems is mutual immoderation. Although the pareto efficient outcome involves mutual cooperation between the parties, the willingness to compromise and a moderate disposition at the outset suffers exploitation from more extreme positions. As a result, adversarial systems tend to radicalize positions over time, often at the cost of everyone involved (except

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-80785766854910957472009-11-18T12:42:00.000-08:002009-11-18T12:43:46.576-08:00

After a nine-year investigation, the European Commission ruled in May that Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, had used improper rebates and incentives to convince computer makers to use its processors over those of a rival, Advanced Micro Devices. -- Kevin O'Brien, "European Commission Criticized for Evidence Gathering in Intel Case", New York Times, 11.18.2009How elastic is demand around

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-4721674178772080682009-11-05T13:08:00.000-08:002009-11-18T12:44:09.106-08:00

Given that Mr. Kerviel was able to exceed trading limits and evade detection for so long, as well as Société Générale’s handling of Eurex’s November warnings, “we can easily infer that the internal controls were either inadequately designed or have not been operating effectively and efficiently,” said Francis Hounnongandji, a corporate governance expert who is also president of the French chapter

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-59948521861717601062009-11-03T14:04:00.001-08:002009-11-03T14:11:46.484-08:00

The Supreme Court on Monday appeared reluctant to allow judges to take on a major role in policing the compensation of mutual fund investment advisers. But some justices nonetheless suggested that pay arrangements could be so outsized that the courts may have to step in. -- Adam Liptak, "Justices Scrutinize Advisers Pay", New York Times, 11.2.2009.There is a danger in telling a free people (or

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-11714864360729667562009-10-27T12:35:00.000-07:002009-10-27T12:39:04.644-07:00

With this much money at stake, critics and some analysts say, the sugar subsidy system is like a cookie jar waiting to be pilfered. Europe’s antifraud division, called OLAF, reported that from 2005 to 2008, 67 million euros worth of sugar subsidies were tainted by irregularities and fraud. Many countries have been penalized millions more over the last few years for lackluster sugar inspections.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-41194070827508696252009-10-21T12:11:00.000-07:002009-10-21T12:18:07.305-07:00

“Over a period of eight years, State Street bankers committed unconscionable fraud by misappropriating millions of dollars that rightfully belonged to California’s public pension funds,” California’s attorney general, Jerry Brown, said in a statement. “This is just the latest example of how clever financial traders violate laws and rip off the public trust.”...Mr. Brown contended that although

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-39238896467345684372009-10-16T11:47:00.000-07:002009-10-16T12:54:39.516-07:00

The E.P.A. has come under scrutiny recently for not punishing tens of thousands of polluters over the last decade, and many of the lawmakers at the hearing on Thursday are longtime critics of the agency’s vigilance. In September, a New York Times investigation found that companies and other workplaces had violated the Clean Water Act more than 500,000 times in the last five years, but fewer than

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-66907242826157201342009-10-14T13:32:00.000-07:002009-10-14T13:34:08.564-07:00

Evolution explains what does exist and what will exist, not what is optimal or what is fair. Those who succeed today make it through to tomorrow. Those who don't, die off along with whatever heritable traits they carry. Strictly speaking though, only genes can succeed in evolution. Individuals are merely carriers for a complex composite of genes which are engaged in a competition with each

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-46983492914777356252009-10-13T13:03:00.000-07:002009-10-13T13:05:40.087-07:00

The subdivision of labor eventually creates a supply chain that is so extensive that it becomes impossible for consumers to independently assess the quality of the products sold to them or for producers to be held accountable for injuries that result from their particular negligent contribution to the defect. At this point, it is tempting in order to avoid litigation, curb hucksters and preserve

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-32745638127965412942009-10-09T13:19:00.000-07:002009-10-09T13:27:39.251-07:00

Senator John McCain had President Obama on his side in calling for a halt in production of the cargo plane, the C-17, to save money for other military priorities. But thousands of jobs were also at stake. The giant aerospace company’s efforts — it has 23 lobbyists — paid off. This week, the Senate voted to keep the program alive, and a House-Senate conference will make the final call soon on how

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-47100047075917670422009-10-05T20:18:00.000-07:002009-10-05T20:21:59.643-07:00

By early 2007, at the very top of the credit market bubble, Thomas H. Lee Partners of Boston took a bit more out of Simmons. It created a holding company that it used to issue $300 million more in debt, which paid an additional $238 million dividend to the private equity firm. With that, THL had recouped its entire $327 million equity investment in Simmons and booked a profit of around $48

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-63892112183281364602009-09-24T13:38:00.000-07:002009-09-24T13:40:18.850-07:00

Landowners and the group Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn challenged the state’s plan to use eminent domain to acquire private property at Atlantic Yards on behalf of Mr. Ratner, who has received more than $300 million in cash subsidies and tax breaks.The Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court dismissed the suit, saying, in part, that the public would benefit from the affordable housing at

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-45975950604812349602009-09-22T13:33:00.000-07:002009-09-22T13:35:51.522-07:00

When the man was described as unattached, 59 percent of the single women were interested in pursuing him. When that same man was described as being in a committed relationship, 90 percent were interested. The researchers write: According to a recent poll, most women who engage in mate poaching do not think the attached status of the target played a role in their poaching decision, but our

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-45426873281026384392009-09-16T11:45:00.000-07:002009-09-16T11:47:03.616-07:00

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told a House committee on Wednesday morning that he was phasing out the royalty-in-kind program administered by the agency’s Minerals Management Service. The program allows oil companies to pay the government in oil and gas rather than in cash for the right to drill on federal lands. Recent audits have shown that the government has failed to collect tens of millions

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-75366388571387257852009-09-10T13:09:00.000-07:002009-09-10T13:16:49.413-07:00

After failing to find a buyer for the Corus Bancshares of Chicago, regulators are moving to cleave the bank in two and sell its banking operations and condominium loans separately. The hope is to clinch a deal by the end of the month.Some big-time real estate investors are circling, among them Thomas J. Barrack, who first made his fortune in the aftermath of the savings and loan crisis; Barry S.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-63095858264344445482009-09-02T11:03:00.000-07:002009-09-02T11:36:28.059-07:00

“As long as the marketplace does not distinguish between modestly effective drugs and dramatically effective drugs, there won’t be an incentive to shift resources to a greater emphasis on a larger benefit,” said Dr. Neal J. Meropol, an oncologist at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia who has been studying drug prices.Many executives dispute this, saying they would produce drugs offering

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-20827516259413710272009-06-12T19:13:00.000-07:002009-07-29T19:14:59.184-07:00

Governance (whether by morality or by law) exists to restructure individual incentive structures to solve common pool resource problems. From property to currency, many of the basic social functions that are taken for granted require some mechanism to resolve individual interests that do not lead to social/group advantages. Sometimes, it is done through conventions and norms, like reciprocity.

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-42787476360828492912009-06-11T02:11:00.000-07:002009-07-20T02:16:51.153-07:00

If bureaucratic administration is, other things being equal, always the most rational type from a technical point of view, the needs of mass administration make it today completely indispensible. -- Max Weber, "The Types of Legitimate Domination", Max Weber on Economy and Society, 1968 Both the tone and substance of Weber's analysis indicate a deductive, as opposed to agent-based model,

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-9092311222755308252009-06-10T02:18:00.000-07:002009-07-20T02:20:56.701-07:00

As specialization increases wealth & power, but also complexity, the gradual expansion of common-pool resources due to the spillover effects associated with more frequent and complex interactions between individuals in society calls for greater regulation, management and governance. However, apparatuses of regulation must themselves be coordinated and monitored. Since the incentive structure of

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-20304398310036316962009-06-08T11:57:00.000-07:002009-06-08T12:04:18.528-07:00

Hey Joseph,Much in line with the conclusion of your blog post on May 18th, your quote today in the New York Times mentions the presence of implicit rules or norms governing individual behavior in Wikipedia. However, this quote (and blog entry) seems oddly juxtaposed with the central message of the article, that wikipedia has governance. With ArbCom recently making a number of rulings regarding

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-91598132014738246972009-06-03T13:04:00.000-07:002009-06-04T10:42:54.078-07:00

Torts and greed are too often a Problem.It is tempting to romanticize conditions wherein both are not prevalent.It is equally tempting to react against publicized abuses with vindictiveness.But, perhaps there is an invisible hand at work.What effects does litigiousness have on the system that is society?What effects does 'financial innovation' have on the system that is society? What is the state

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-89513507814545832972009-06-02T09:06:00.000-07:002009-06-04T10:43:41.677-07:00

As long as it is personally deleterious to practice self-restraint and other people have the capacity to fill the void of individual deference, voluntarily acting responsibly is neither expedient nor effective regardless of how catastrophic collective indulgence may be. Yet, nevertheless, contrary to the most fundamental tenants of classical economics, there are many instances where the

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-23534774452362446182009-06-01T13:33:00.000-07:002009-06-02T06:59:57.975-07:00

Critics in both the financial world and Congress say relying on clearinghouses would be problematic. They also say Mr. Geithner’s plan contains a major loophole, because little disclosure would be required for more complicated derivatives, like the type of customized, credit-default swaps that helped bring down A.I.G. A.I.G. sold insurance related to mortgage securities, essentially making a big

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4122028116430536424.post-27878554601675182322009-05-26T13:13:00.001-07:002009-05-26T13:13:56.949-07:00

Reallocation of productive capacity and labor-force adjustments are intrinsic to business cycles within a materially progressive economic system. The dislocation, unemployment and uneven communal development experienced in their wakes arise from the exacerbation of the cycle. Efforts to smooth out the volatility of the boom-bust cycle would go a long way towards alleviating the 'problems' of

Richard Clifford Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01247851569105757824noreply@blogger.com0