The Obvious Made Clear

Worry About Things That Matter Where Something Can Be Done

Avoid shiny object syndrome:

Corporate Political Spending and State Tax Policy: Evidence from Citizens United Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, and business professionals.

The Issue Is Administrative Competence: Science Example

https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2022/07/science-as-a-source-of-social-alpha.html

Program ROI Is Not The Only Measure; Sustainable Magnitude Is Key

"The paper shows that adding “psychosocial” elements–“life skills training” or “community sensitization on aspirations and social norms”–to anti-poverty programs might be cost-effective addition to anti-poverty programs and have a high rate of return. But that is not how, in fact, poverty has been substantially reduced in any country, ever."

https://lantpritchett.org/development-work-versus-charity-work/

Where's My Flying Car?

Besides administrative competence, "If our society remains suspicious of high energy expenditures, at least part of the reason is a lack of vision of what we might realistically do with superabundant energy."

https://www.thecgo.org/research/energy-superabundance/

This affects poverty, productivity, food supply, transportation and...

The Issue Is Administrative Competence, Part XV

Killing 4 birds with one stone - Econlib Suppose that you wish to achieve the following 4 objectives: 1. Helping Vladimir Putin win the war in Ukraine. 2. Worsening global warming. 3. Worsening the budget deficit. 4. Enriching oil refiners at a time when supply is constrained and they are already earning extraordinary profits. What is the....

The Issue Is Administrative Competence. Again.

A reinfection red flag Why a new report is so troubling