Favorite Rejects 2021-10-20

The Real Noah Smith 🧨 @latenitenoah

Korea: Here's a movie that's just robots crushing puppies for 90 minutes Americans: OMG it's a metaphor for capitalism isn't it Korea: Here's a series called "Pointless Stabbing, Constant Screaming" Americans: OMG, capitalism, again Koreans: <raking in money> That's right

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

This was in Oryx and Crake

Wesley Yang @wesyang

Striking, somewhat awkward analogy https://t.co/ZUPGWl6DIw https://t.co/fDFFIGKDYk

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

It does seem like we should be talking about legal immigration more if we're worried about labor shortages.

Derek Thompson @DKThomp

WHERE HAVE ALL THE WORKERS GONE? https://t.co/uzlchcYNK5 JPMorgan guesstimate: 35%: financial cushion with unemployment benefits, stimulus, savings 20%: early retirees 10%: immigration and visa issues 10%: rise in self-employment 25% "other": COVID fears, child care constraints https://t.co/eZuR1mlXgU

Kim-Mai Cutler @kimmaicutler

🙄 affluent coastal homeowners demanding property tax breaks over funding the climate policy that will prevent their assets from being destroyed by floods, hurricanes and fires.

Manu Raju @mkraju

Another big sticking point that remains: How to deal with the demand by northeast Democrats to restore state and local tax deductions that were capped in the 2017 GOP tax law. "No SALT, no deal," Rep. Tom Suozzi, a New York Democrat, said leaving the caucus meeting

Mario Bava's Zack Sunday @BudrykZack

Trying to convince Raychel to let us put up the Michael Clayton yard sign

Daniel W. Drezner @dandrezner

Remember, there is no problem that Josh Hawley cannot make worse.

foxbusiness.comSen. Josh Hawley bill takes aim at supply chain crunch, requiring 50% of value of a good to be produced in USRepublican Sen. Josh Hawley is rolling out a measure amid the supply chain crisis that would identify key goods critical to U.S. national security and impose local content requirements for them.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Backloading compensation with big pensions also depresses entry level salaries and discouraged people from giving it a try as a career.

Josh Barro @jbarro

This is a problem with how we compensate police AND teachers -- the pension structures that reward specific career lengths (often 20 years for police, 30 for teachers) lock people into jobs they don't like, aren't suitable for, and might otherwise leave...

Market Urbanism @MarketUrbanism

Wow. The near-ban on new hotels across NYC is moving forward. Of all the dumb shit this city does, this one is the most surprising to me https://t.co/qY7B7ipxAy

Sally Goldenberg @SallyGold

A few days ago the city's vote on hotel permits seemed uncertain. After lots of 11th-hour arm twisting/lobbying, it passed 9-2, with one opponent skipping the mtg and another who'd previously raised concerns calling it "Sophie's Choice" before voting yes. https://t.co/FqqO1z2fDi

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

This is just way worse and more unforgivable than anything Joe Manchin has said or done — taxing rich people and corporations is super-popular and it's a rare thing that genuinely does deserve to be a party litmus test.

Grace Segers @Grace_Segers

Sinema has told lobbyists she is opposed to any tax increases on the wealthy or corporations. Via @aduehren @RichardRubinDC https://t.co/5FbjVE8PQy

Alan Cole @AlanMCole

A mostly (but not entirely) rhetorical question: Why don't they limit the mortgage interest deduction more and grab a ton of revenue that way? Republicans did it.

wsj.comWSJ News Exclusive | Sinema’s Opposition Stymies Democrats’ Planned Tax-Rate IncreasesDemocrats considering alternatives that would raise money for their social policy and climate package without touching top rates

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

RCV is such fool’s gold, go proportional or go home.

Teddy Schleifer @teddyschleifer

NEWS: A group of reformers are trying to raise $100 million to push through changes to election rules in a dozen states. Open primaries and ranked choice voting. Has support from major donors, like Reid Hoffman and the Sobrato dynasty. More @PuckNews: https://t.co/3Z6DAmQwmq

Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal

Okay, this is pretty funny.

Hayes Brown @HayesBrown

My Plan To Pass Voting Rights™️ Step 1: send Sinema an invite to a secret fundraiser in Anchorage Step 2: have a tugboat pull Manchin’s yacht as far as it can while he’s sleeping Step 3: convene the Senate at 3 am; tell three GOP senators it’s a surprise party for Trump

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Do people really think Manchin could be brought around to standard progressive views on climate change if someone would credibly promise him a $500,001 annuity? Given the amount spent on climate organizing and advocacy, seems like a no-brainer.

Tom Scocca @tomscocca

Well it’s less puzzling if you remember he’s protecting $500,000 in annual personal profit from his coal brokerage https://t.co/EAF7EUQ42P

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

This is not at all a good characterization of neoclassical economics. BUT, the thread goes on to highlight some good and important trends in economics education.

Cory Doctorow @doctorow

Neoclassical economics is a hell of a drug. It has no theory of prices, no account of inflation, and its models all presume the existence of a perfectly rational "homo economicus" who is a "utility maximizer" with perfect information. 1/ https://t.co/A5PhehydHM

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

I'm pretty hawkish toward China in general, and I never thought engagement would make them liberalize. But I disagree with this very strongly. China brought a billion people out of abject poverty in record time, and our engagement helped them do it. That was worth it.

Elbridge Colby @ElbridgeColby

John Mearsheimer: "Engagement [with China] may have been the worst strategic blunder any country has made in recent history: there is no comparable example of a great power actively fostering the rise of a peer competitor. And it is now too late to do much about it." https://t.co/27xq81Oyeg

Noah Smith 🐇 @Noahpinion

Essentially all our plans for government investment and industrial policy are on hold while we wait for Manchin to gut the reconciliation bill

Bloomberg Next China @next_china

A bipartisan push to make the U.S. more competitive with China and bolster domestic chip production risks falling by the wayside as Congress grapples with a packed year-end agenda https://t.co/zP7lRsQUq9