Dear Irrational, what will matter most to voters?
Tweet 
Like The identifiable victim effect in action
On Sept 14th 2008 the front page on the New York Times described some of the outcomes of Hurricane Ike as it traveled across Texas. In the previous 24 hours, Hurricane Ike distorted much of Galveston with a wall of water, flooding numerous coastal towns and leaving extensive damage across Houston. From the report it was clear that a few people died as a consequence of Hurricane Ike but it was not yet clear how many people died. It was clear however, that thousands and thousands are now homeless, that over three million people were left without electricity, and that the devastation has been incredible. (more…)
Never ask me to make any predictions
When John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, my first reaction was that the race was over and the Democrats will win for sure.
Here was my reasoning:
First, McCain has been running on the “old and experienced” ticket and now he was making a choice that would make it impossible to make such claims any more. (more…)
New heights of dishonesty in the government
Every time I think that cheating in the public sector cannot possibly get worse I get amazed.
Here is a report from the New York Times, that I find just unbelievable.
The basic story is that the Interior Department agency responsible for collecting oil and gas royalties has been caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal — including allegations of financial self-dealing, accepting gifts from energy companies, cocaine use, and sexual misconduct.
I am not going to summarize it but here are my 2 reflections:
1) Will Congress actually do something with these reports and take some action to correct the situation (I suspect not)?
2) Was it relatively easy for the Interior Department agency that collects oil and gas royalties to be dishonest given the general lack of morality in the oil and gas industry? In other words, does the lack of ethical behavior in the corporate world also transfer to the government branches that are dealing with these sectors? I suspect that the answer is “yes” and this is very troubling — since the government agencies that need to be more honest are the ones dealing with more corrupt industries.
Sadly yours
Dan
Music to go with each chapter
What If Modern Advertisers Created the Stop Sign?
Belichik, a bad apple?
In the aftermath of Spygate, reading the deluge of blog postings—especially those by bloggers outside of New England—may have led one to the conclusion that Bill Belichik was a calculated cheat who took planned risks and in the process tarnished the sacred reputation of a national treasure. This is, of course, not the first time that someone in a position of power has engaged in regrettable behavior, and it is also not the first time that the public and the media has rushed to label such behavior as the act of an unethical individual—a “bad apple.” We suggest that this rush to label such behaviors as the actions of one unethical individual often obscures rather than informs our understanding of such behavior, and more importantly it provides no lessons to help us understand and think about how to prevent such behaviors in the future. (more…)
The "Not My House! Sentiment"
A recent study conducted by Zillow finds what they call a “Not My House! Sentiment,” where despite the evidence that 77% of U.S. homes actually declined in value in the past year, 62% of homeowners believe their own home’s value has increased or stayed the same.
How can this be? (more…)
Deconstructing consumer confidence
Why are Americans so gloomy? It may be all about the yoked dog and ‘learned helplessness.’
We have a market paradox on our hands. Consumer confidence is close to a 40-year low, suggesting that the economy is in worse shape now than in times that seemed far darker, such as the early 1980s, when both inflation and unemployment crept into double digits. Yet many of the current economic indicators, including inflation and unemployment, are rather positive — or at least not as negative as consumer sentiment implies. (more…)