Things Are Better

The Romney campaign is pushing the question: are you better off than you were four years ago? I don't mind the campaign pushing this as a rhetorical question, and it makes sense if they are trying to turn this into a referendum rather than a choice election. (Conventional Wisdom says that's a good thing to do with an incumbent.) But it seems the media is picking it up as a real question that people should think about. That's a problem. There are a million things someone might be asking with "how are you doing?" but any substantive way of taking this question will include one's prospects. Somebody on Death Row could have a fleeting moment of happiness the day before being executed. They're still doing pretty bad. Four years ago was the beginning of a global financial crisis, the collapse of the banks, the collapse of the auto industry, the bursting of the housing bubble, massive unemployment, high amounts of private debt, etc. Given that those things are being remedied, however slowly, instead of immediately on the horizon means yes, no matter how you "feel" at the moment, you are better off than you were four years ago.

Quick Criticism Of Chomsky

Oxford neuroscientist Dorothy Bishop has the scoop.

Douthat On FDR

"Franklin Delano Romney," that is. I don't really believe it, but worth thinking about.

Science

Mitt Romney is good looking.

"Mitt Romney is better looking than almost everyone reading this blog.  Back in 2008, I wrote about how Sarah Palin’s looks put her in the 95th percentile of politicians.  Romney has even Palin beat—he scores above the 99th percentile."

Reason #958,742 We Needed Health Insurance Reform

Here.

"And that number keeps swirling around my head: $23,800. For a bug bite.

Everybody did everything right. There’s nobody to blame here except maybe the damned bug. And that single random act — save for some lucky timing and California’s silly determination to look after its citizens — would have blown a hole in the side of our savings that would have taken years to fix. OK, kids, which of you wants to skip college?"

People Have Short Memories

The press often emphasizes how unpopular the ACA (Obamacare) is. It's true it's not very popular, but what is not often emphasized is that making changes to health care was very popular before the ACA was enacted, both by citizens and parts of the health care industry. Don't forget that our health care system is pretty bad for a rich country, and there's still a lot of work to do to make it better.

Kids Should Learn Multiple Languages

Just one more reason.

Ryan's Budget Is Really Bad For Poor People

Not exactly sure why there is so little coverage of just how drastically Ryan's budget hits poor people. One guess is that people don't think Congress would actually go through with it. But then why all the fawning about his seriousness?