"Queen of the Social Sciences"?

I came across this quote the other day by Abba Lerner in Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson:

"Economics has gained the title Queen of the Social Sciences by choosing solved political problems as its domain."

Here's a little background to the quote. The authors believe economics has traditionally ignored politics, but in order to solve world inequality some basic political problems need to be solved. Easy enough. Because economics has ignored politics no one can come up with a convincing explanation for world inequality. The prevailing hypotheses are based on: geography, culture and ignorance. All of which the authors argue are less than satisfactory. 

What's your take on the quote? Thought I'd post this for you guys to ponder over presents and egg nog. 

Happy Holidays.

Should Australia be our model?

Should the US Reform the Student Loan System? | Portfolio Investing Blog: Portfolioist

Common Sense and efficiency are 2 concepts that hardly ever come together in Government except, perhaps, for our tax payment plan.

Debt Monetization and the FED.

WARNING! A little technical. But rewarding if you open up a separate tab of Google and start searching terms. I know, I am there with you. 

So first, here is the link. 

Link

The author of the blog is David Beckworth, an assistant professor of economics at Western Kentucky University

The blog post discusses a few things that I believe are pertinent to the discussion of the Macroeconomics and debt talks. Specifically, is the FED the bad guy here?. A brief overview of Operation: Twist. 

A rebuttal to chew on, here. 

A further blog post made by the same author, here a little bit later addressing said rebuttal. 

I encourage all to read the comments left under the posts and leave some here as well. Please, discussion and key concept questions are crucial. 

Fiscal Cliff. What is it?

Washington Post

FAQ for all your questions. It is, perhaps, a little more in depth than the last post. I hope you guys like it.

Resource: Political Breakdown

http://thepoliticalbreakdown.tumblr.com/post/36405022379/breakdown-the-fiscal-cliff

Not specifically Econ related, but I digress, it is still important to note how the Government handles our money which I believe is why a lot of us are here anyway.

The linked website is a resource for impartial views on various topics related to our governance. Notice, the first topic is about the Fiscal Cliff. I don't know about you, but I definitely feel better about myself knowing that I can listen to NPR and say "Hey! I know some of those words!"

George

Student Loan Bubble: Fact or Fiction?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-11-27/scariest-chart-quarter-student-debt-bubble-officially-pops-90-day-delinquency-rate-g

According to the latest data collected, The US has a total of 1 Trillion dollars in Student Loan Debt.

Edit:
http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/50b62f7769bedd754700000a-522-476/student-tuition-earnings.jpg

There is a reason why they call it the "Dismal Science"

POPSCI: MIT Predicts That World Economy Will Collapse By 2030

From Popular Science:

"The study, initially completed at MIT, relied on several computer models of economic trends and estimated that if things didn’t change much, and humans continued to consume natural resources apace, the world would run out at some point. Oil will peak (some argue it has) before dropping down the other side of the bell curve, yet demand for food and services would only continue to rise. Turner says real-world data from 1970 to 2000 tracks with the study’s draconian predictions: “There is a very clear warning bell being rung here. We are not on a sustainable trajectory,” he tells Smithsonian."

Saul Levmore: Monopolies as an Introduction to Economics

Fall '12: First Meeting! 10/29, 6pm in Friedmann Hall's 5th Floor Conference Room

Hello Economics Enthusiasts,

Mirele, Eric, are going to hold the first face-to-face meeting this upcoming Monday, 29 October at 6pm in the Friedmann Hall 5th floor conference room.  We will be discussing the trip to the Chicago Board of Trade, tutoring, and the "round table" talks some of you have asked about / suggested.  

It would be great to see everyone there, but if you can't make it remember you can always pass the word along to friends (e.g. forward them this e-mail). Lastly, don't forget to take advantage of our tutoring hours, M-Th, 2-3 in Friedmann 5404; Eric, Mirele, and I can help you and your classmates on a lot of different topics, but also know a lot of other people (professors, MA/PhD students) who love getting back to basics and helping the junior classes. Especially for those of you in Econometrics, getting with the student statisticians we have in-house to help with SAS can be a life-saver. 

See you Monday!

Jeff van Geete

#WMUESA is at WMU Business Bash!

Make sure you come see the Economics Students' Assocation's table at the 2012 WMU Business Bash, today from 11-3! (If you don't see us there don't worry - we have have class today! You can still sign up for news and online video forums and tutoring at the ESA table.)

Remember: all this semester we are encouraging students to get on Twitter and start conversations about economic news, events, questions, and rants (in 140 characters :D). *TAG* your tweets with #starttalkingecon, or write us direct @WMUESA. Today's topic: "Do students using FAFSA dollars to increase their 'endowment level' facilitate Universities' inflating the costs of higher education?"

In other news, if there are any students who require tutoring but can't make the allotted times at the bottom of this page, you can email one of the tutors to set up a Google Hangouts tutoring session. In fact, with digital whiteboards, todo lists, and no need to travel it's almost easier than meeting!

See you soon!