Ezra Klein and Public Employees

Klein argues that public employees haven't had their pay rise much in the past two decades.  That may be true, but public employees saw a big jump in the value of their jobs in the past 3 years. When I started working for the Federal government I knew the rewards for my efforts were reasonable salary, good health insurance, good retirement benefits, and job security, discounting any psychic returns of serving the public (JFK's "ask not...").  I was giving up the possibility of great pay and fast advancement.

My point is there was a trade-off.  You watch these whipper-snappers like Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Ken Lay and now Mr. Zuckerberg come along and make their billions, the whiz-kids and quants on Wall Street making their big bonuses, and you know you traded the chance to make that money in favor of security, etc.  The Great Recession means those go-go careers are a whole lot riskier than they appeared to be in the past, thus my security is more valuable.

A Counter-Cyclical Argument for Direct Payments

House Ag committee writes to House Budget justifying the continuing need for farm programs, including the direct payments, on the basis of the cyclical nature of the agricultural economy. Chris Clayton reports:

The agriculture economy is highly cyclical. When record-high prices fall - which they inevitably will do - having sound farm policy in place is vital not just for producers but for the entire national economy. In addition, it is important to note that while high prices have lead to a 51 percent increase in gross cash income in agriculture over the past nine years; this has been met by an increase in cash expenses of 57 percent. In sum, recent high prices have not made the family enterprises that make up our farm sector any less vulnerable -indeed it has just raised the stakes in what is still an exceptionally risky business.

Thoughts on Earthquakes and Government

Charles Kenny has a very good Foreign Policy article discussing the interrelationship of death rates, government regulation, enforcement and corruption, wealth, and cost-benefit ratios with respect to earthquakes. He notes 10 million children die before the age of 5 each year.

It's Always More Complicated Than You Think: Farrowing Pens

The title of the post reflects one of my firm beliefs.  For example, someone visiting our farm would see a herd (small) of black and white cows. I would look at the same animals and see individuals, simply because I had a history with them.

PETA and the Humane Society have campaigned against farrowing pens.  Musings from a Stonehead has a post presenting the other side of the story. Of course, if Walt Jeffries of Sugar Mountain Farm reads the post, he may have a third point of view.

25 Years Since Microsoft's IPO

That is, Bill Gates has been the richest person in the world for only about the last 20 years, until Mr. Slim took his place. Time flies.

When Self-Interest Trumps Good Governance

Politico runs a story on the proposed redistricting of Virginia. Essentially it protects incumbents. Personally I like the result, if the story is accurate, because I trade Rep. Moran for Rep. Connolly (both Democrats, but Connolly is less flaky than Moran).  But from the point of view of governance it's a bad deal.  Virginia seems to be trending Democratic, but the 2010 election was big for Republicans.  So protecting incumbents means freezing an 8-3 Republican margin in the House and a split in the state legislature (Reps the House of Delegates, Dems the Senate). A much better result in my goo-goo (good government) eyes would be lots more competitive districts, which would mean more interesting politics and a better expression of the popular will.

On the (Lack of ) Value of Husbands

From an Atlantic article on a study of longevity, hat tip Marginal Revolution:

For example, women who got divorced often thrived. Even women who were widowed often did exceptionally well. It often seemed as if women who got rid of their troublesome husbands stayed healthy—most women, it seemed, can rely on their friends and other social ties. Men who got and stayed divorced, on the other hand, were at really high risk for premature mortality. It would have been better had they not married at all.

Butter

John Phipps links to a post on the history of butter, which the Romans disdained, and apparently it's no longer on the bad food list.  My mother would be glad to know that; she thought milk and eggs the perfect foods.

Scariest Paragraph Re: Boston and Earthquake

From  a Post article on earthquakes:

"We do tend to focus on the expected events. We're going to get blindsided by unusual events. . . . But uncommon events happen," Hough said. "The analog that's worrisome is Boston. Put a 6.1 [earthquake] under Boston. You have all that un-reinforced masonry."

A Sentence To Be Rethought

Gail Collins has fun in the Times trashing Newt, but she got carried away with the last sentence in this paragraph:

Of course, Gingrich is being a better husband this time around. He’s 67! By then, most men have not just finished sowing their wild oats. The oats have been harvested, ground up, reprocessed and turned into soggy cornflakes.