New book out from Marginal Revolution cofounder.
The review suggests the book is fatalistic about rising inequality implying that little can or should be done about it. In America's not too distant future America's ever increasing poor will live in favelas common to large Brazilian cites like Rio or Sao Paulo. There is of course the option of redistribution. This is the age old false premise provided by the economic and political right. First they take forever to realize the problem, then they deny anything can be done about it- you can't stop globalization.
I can think of a lot that could be done to stop Tyler's vision from becoming a reality.
For starters:
All of the OECD could get together and reform taxes so that Apple has to pay more than 1.9% taxes on $10B in profits and Mitt Romney can pay more than 13% and be prevented from living/working (running for Prez) in the US after he transfers his estate to the GC.
Tyler Cowen (and his revolutionary brothers in arms at the National Review and the Heritage Foundation) isn't an economist - he is an insurance executive,who tells his employees (the Marginal Revolution echo chamber) "Here's how we will handle the problem of inequality (insurance claims). Deny its existence. Defer doing anything about it. (No hint the book has any current suggestions for diminishing inequality- because conveniently nothing can be done) Discount (defend in court so client will settle for less) the payments (Tyler envisions an America where the state supplies very little in services to the poor- Brazilian favela level service). (Many of Tyler's ilk argue the poor are getting too much already in America and this is mainly their fault.)
Americans thought they were in a country where they were created equal. Turns out that they didn't read the fine print of the constitution (insurance contract) - some are more equal than others -money can't by love but a better level of equality can at least be rented.
I suggest Tyler uses the huge off shore protected profits from his book in order to bullet proof a new Escalade and move to a gated community -that's how the rich in Brazil roll. If Tyler Cowen's policies are followed and he gets his way America may just get a (marginal) revolution from the middle class - akin to those started by middle class whites in Brazil earlier this year. Tyler made need a history lesson for how growing inequality ends.
This is what I said in February.
"What is striking, and frightening, is the extent to which, at least in the U.S.-China trade relationship, the knee-jerk, populist fears intellectuals tend to deride actually turned out to be true." Cold comfort for the unemployed. Meanwhile the economics profession continues to cheerlead trade liberalism and ignore the need to compensate those hurt by trade in order to retain efficiency. I want to see my science actually fight/lobby/extoll for compensation measures, the same way it does for "free markets" and the same way it shills for the finance industry; then we might be once again seen as relevant.
Cowen's book fits in nicely with the above description.
The review suggests the book is fatalistic about rising inequality implying that little can or should be done about it. In America's not too distant future America's ever increasing poor will live in favelas common to large Brazilian cites like Rio or Sao Paulo. There is of course the option of redistribution. This is the age old false premise provided by the economic and political right. First they take forever to realize the problem, then they deny anything can be done about it- you can't stop globalization.
I can think of a lot that could be done to stop Tyler's vision from becoming a reality.
For starters:
All of the OECD could get together and reform taxes so that Apple has to pay more than 1.9% taxes on $10B in profits and Mitt Romney can pay more than 13% and be prevented from living/working (running for Prez) in the US after he transfers his estate to the GC.
Tyler Cowen (and his revolutionary brothers in arms at the National Review and the Heritage Foundation) isn't an economist - he is an insurance executive,who tells his employees (the Marginal Revolution echo chamber) "Here's how we will handle the problem of inequality (insurance claims). Deny its existence. Defer doing anything about it. (No hint the book has any current suggestions for diminishing inequality- because conveniently nothing can be done) Discount (defend in court so client will settle for less) the payments (Tyler envisions an America where the state supplies very little in services to the poor- Brazilian favela level service). (Many of Tyler's ilk argue the poor are getting too much already in America and this is mainly their fault.)
Americans thought they were in a country where they were created equal. Turns out that they didn't read the fine print of the constitution (insurance contract) - some are more equal than others -money can't by love but a better level of equality can at least be rented.
I suggest Tyler uses the huge off shore protected profits from his book in order to bullet proof a new Escalade and move to a gated community -that's how the rich in Brazil roll. If Tyler Cowen's policies are followed and he gets his way America may just get a (marginal) revolution from the middle class - akin to those started by middle class whites in Brazil earlier this year. Tyler made need a history lesson for how growing inequality ends.
This is what I said in February.
"What is striking, and frightening, is the extent to which, at least in the U.S.-China trade relationship, the knee-jerk, populist fears intellectuals tend to deride actually turned out to be true." Cold comfort for the unemployed. Meanwhile the economics profession continues to cheerlead trade liberalism and ignore the need to compensate those hurt by trade in order to retain efficiency. I want to see my science actually fight/lobby/extoll for compensation measures, the same way it does for "free markets" and the same way it shills for the finance industry; then we might be once again seen as relevant.
Cowen's book fits in nicely with the above description.
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