Category Archives: Uncategorized

Very Sad News

Thomas Doerflinger, the author of this blog, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on August 23rd. We invite you to read his own account of his career here. A memorial service will be held in New York City on Oct 13. … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Our Wages Are Stagnant and Our Budget Is Tight—so Let’s Eat Out Tonight !

Who are you going to believe, the Bureau of Labor Statistics or your own lying eyes? Based on wage data from the BLS, it has become a settled, uncontroversial, widely-recognized “fact” that wages have not increased in the U.S. for … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dumb SEC Rule and the “Land of Limitations”

Before 2009 wage stagnation and rising inequality were all the fault of George W. Bush and his “tax cuts for the rich.” Now that these problems have become much worse under Barack Obama, they are “America’s problem” and “a long-term … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The China Syndrome (Part II) . . . . and the Crumbling BRICs

Two years ago I wrote a bearish post on China titled “The China Syndrome: Will GDP Growth Top 5%?”.  I argued a “soft landing” was unlikely because: A) It would inevitably be tough to shift from export-and-investment driven growth to … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Why Interest Rate Psychology Will Change By Late 2016

Wall Streeters disagree about when the Fed will start to tighten (September?, December?) but most agree that once it gets started the pace of tightening will be exceeeeeeedingly gradual. An overleveraged US in a weak world economy supposedly requires easy … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Sowell Solution

Time:   1944 Place:   Junior High School 143 in uptown Manhattan, not far from Harlem Action: Mrs. Sennett, a Guidance Counselor, is giving a classroom full of ninth graders advice about which NYC high school they should attend next year She … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Flawed Framework for the AP U.S. History Curriculum

In a previous incarnation I was a professional historian, so I was intrigued by conservatives’ charge that the new AP History Framework for high school students has a leftist bias, depicting “a nation founded on oppression, privilege, racism, and heedless … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

U.S. Stocks: Look for Stronger Performance in Second Half of 2015

At the end of 2014 we explained why “stocks are expensive, offer mediocre risk / reward.” The weak 2.5% price rise so far this year is consistent with that call. But stocks should be stronger in the second half because … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Wright Stuff

On May 30, 1899 an impecunious 32-year-old man who, along with his brother, ran a small bicycle shop in Dayton Ohio wrote to the Smithsonian Institution, with a request: “I have ben interested in the problem of mechanical and human … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Princeton University’s ATO Breakthrough

“Our research demonstrates conclusively that as a liberal education becomes more expensive it is also becoming less liberal and less educational.” T.J. Maxx PhD   I would have to respectfully disagree with Dr. Maxx. America’s great universities are pushing back … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment