Media Innumeracy at the New York Times
Interestingly, that gap shrinks reliably as voting increases. In other words, the higher the youth voting rate, the closer the youth rate is likely to be to the overall rate. Continue Reading →
Tag Archives: new york times
Is Algebra Necessary?
Let’s see. Let x be the number of digital rentals and y be the number of sales. We know x + y = 2,000,000. We also know $6x + $15y = $15,000,000. Any student in my economics principles class who could not solve this would not pass the course. But, for the edification of Times reporters, here’s the solution. Continue Reading →
Hypocrisy at the New York Times
So when will the Times editors come clean and admit that they are being hypocritical about the minimum wage? I’m not holding my breath and you probably shouldn’t either. Continue Reading →
Journalists Should Not Be Allowed to Use Data
Mr. Irwin, do the world a favor. The next time you’re tempted to work with data, hire a real economist as a consultant. Continue Reading →
Mr. Appelbaum Misses the Forest
The underlying concept is, however, simple. If you increase the cost of any activity, people will reduce the quantity of that activity that they perform. The cost of labor has increased (see “disparate impact analysis” from the Labor Department). Regulations have multiplied. And the economy stagnates. The only people surprised by this are those who willfully ignore the facts. Continue Reading →
Intellectual Dishonesty at the New York Times
After their previous February 9 editorial on the same subject I sent the editors a long e-mail citing the Neumark, Salas, and Wascher paper and pointing out that this paper refutes both of the studies — including the one cited above. Continue Reading →
The Minimum Wage Yet Again
David Neumark, J.M. Ian Salas, and William Wascher (NSW) used the same data that both ADR and DLR used. Their paper “Revisiting the Minimum Wage − Employment Debate: Throwing Out the Baby With the Bathwater?” (January, 2013. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 18681). In fact, the title is too kind. ADR and DLR have apparently thrown out the baby and kept (and published) the bathwater. Continue Reading →
The Minimum Wage Again
The Times is just plain wrong. The true minimum wage is zero. That’s what you make when you lose your job because the minimum wage was raised. Continue Reading →
The Times Has Discovered That Costs Matter in Obamacare
“The Chapmans acknowledge that they are better off than many people, but they represent a little-understood reality of the Affordable Care Act.” … Perhaps this was “little-understood” by the geniuses who run the New York Times. But many economists, including me, pointed out that costs and prices would inevitably rise given the mandates and rules included in Obamacare. Continue Reading →
Unable to Open a Checking Account? Thank the Government
Are you unable to open a checking account? You may thank the government (as well as the media, particularly the New York Times). The two have waged a war against overdraft fees for the last decade. There have been many new regulations and actions designed to increase the cost and reduce the revenue banks receive from overdraft fees. Any economist can tell you that when you put a price ceiling in place, a shortage will develop. In this case, the shortage is expressed as fewer bank accounts being opened, particularly for people likely to re-bounce (a term I just invented). Continue Reading →