Is Ted Cruz Satan? Discuss.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

- Summers has certainly made mistakes. I'm right there with you on the regulations of derivatives.

- Consensus economics has largely failed the country and the people who vote for Trump over the last many years.

- Some of the things for which Sebby faults Summers are obviously not his fault, and there are important ways in which we would be better off if Summers were listened to more.

- Sebby's fondness for deriding Summer's weight is Trumpian.

It is Trumpian. But Summers is Trumpian. They're perfectly matched egomaniacs known for boorish commentary.

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Deification of pure academics pontificating about real world processes is dangerous. This buffoon just recently argued that we should rid the world of $100 bills. This is a direct assault on our freedoms. Why? Well, of course, because Larry, who is right on everything in theory, knows what's best for us. Nevermind his track record and gross inexperience in working within the private economy he knows so well...

I need you to explain why this is a bad idea.

TM

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

It is Trumpian. But Summers is Trumpian. They're perfectly matched egomaniacs known for boorish commentary.

??

Whether you agree with them or not, one is an accomplished academic and economist, the other is a fucking clown.

TM

[Adder]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

have never proven themselves in the private sector, inflicting their economic policy suggestions on us. These same criticisms could be aimed at Milton Friedman.

Here's the thing. If you pay any kind of attention to macroeconomics (which I really only do casually with some blogs and economist twitter accounts), it does not take long to realize that understanding the microeconomics of running a business has fuck all to do with understanding macroeconomic policy.

And, of course, the last 8 years have done a ton to show us how much of macroeconomics is still very much up in the air.

Deification of pure academics pontificating about real world processes is dangerous.

The whole issue is that no one understands the real world process. The academics are attempting to. Someone running a business isn't.

This buffoon just recently argued that we should rid the world of $100 bills.

I don't think that originated with him, and I have no idea why this is something that bothers you so much. Especially as this is not a economic issue, but rather a crime-reducing one. I don't particularly care one way or the other, but the notion that moving large amounts of illicit cash could be made harder doesn't seem beyond the pale.

This is a direct assault on our freedoms.

Huh? Your freedom to have cash in a particular denomination?

And I rightly resent, quite deeply, that a person so wrong so often still insists on joining the big policy debates.

Everyone who opines on macroeconomics is wrong all the time. The Great Recession and subsequent policy has demonstrated just how little we actually understand it. But it's not people like Summers have been the most undermined. New Keynesian thinking has done okay, but RBC has been kind of blown out of the water.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

one is an accomplished academic and economist

And as far as I can tell, a reasonably well respected one pretty much across the spectrum (i.e., I haven't seen many rants directed his way in the parts of the economics blogosphere I follow).

I mean, he's not Woodford, but he's also not at all Laffer.

[Pretty Little Flower]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

Mos Def and Talib, Kanye, Lupe, The Roots, and countless others all owe them their careers (or at least a major part of their sound), but none surpassed them.

Yup:

Talib: https://www.instagram.com/p/BDTAJ7iDYij/
Questlove: https://twitter.com/questlove
Common: https://www.instagram.com/p/BDTScvaNmlK/
Pete Rock: https://twitter.com/PeteRock/status/712592840510062592
DJ Premier: https://twitter.com/REALDJPREMIER/st...47376901316608
I actually love this Snoop Dogg tribute: https://twitter.com/SnoopDogg/status/712533114917150720
Redman: https://twitter.com/therealredman/st...18836315488256

On and on.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Pretty Little Flower

All the time, Tip.

My love of hip hop and funk fed off each other. Sometimes I would first hear a hip hop song with a crazy sampled riff, and only later discover the funk tune that originally contained the riff (for example, Daily Dose #3 -- I had heard Public Enemy's "Timebomb" a thousand times before I discovered that the guitar sample was from the Meters' "Just Kissed My Baby"). Other times, I would hear a hip hop song and immediately recognize the underlying funk sample (Daily Dose #4 - I knew Tribe Called Quest was sampling Funkadelic the first moment I heard the song).

Yet part of what I loved about groups like Tribe and De La Soul was that they did not feel constrained to sample James Brown, Sly, P-Funk, and the Meters over and over. In fact, there appeared to be no limitations on where they would find their inspiration (De La's first album sampled everything from Steely Dan to Schoolhouse Rock; Tribe's first sampled Lou Reed, Stevie Wonder, and so much more). Tribe was also one of the first to truly incorporate jazz riffs in a way that did not seem forced at all. The Green Dolphin Street sample in We Got the Jazz was brilliant and for those who still think there is no artistry in hip hop, let that song alone be irrebutable proof that you are wrong. Hiring jazz great Ron Carter for one of the cuts on Low End Theory was also way ahead of the curve. Tribe's music and the lyrical interplay between Q-Tip and Phife Dawg sounds as fresh and relevant today as it did in 1989 (with the occasional exception of lines like "Mr. Dinkins, will you please be our mayor").

As Thurgreed would argue (and few would disagree), Q-Tip was the source of most of the musical and lyrical genius of the group. It is no accident that Q-Tip was just named the Kennedy Center's first Artistic Director for Hip-Hop culture. But on songs like Check the Rhime, the back and forth between Phife and Tip was magic.

Sadly, Phife has died at 45, probably from health problems related to his lifelong struggle with diabetes. So today's Daily Dose goes out to him. Minnie Riperton's "This Love I have" is really more a soul song than a pure funk song, but the opening riff that was sample by Tribe on Check the Rhime is straight up funky:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYUhMb74bjw#t=13

Check the Rhime by Tribe. R.I.P. Malik Taylor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3PW2dXh0dk

If you have any love for Ron Carter, try to find a copy of Piccolo somewhere. It's an amazing album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk8RPRAery0

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

I need you to explain why this is a bad idea.

TM

1. Enables more oversight of all transactions.
2. Assists in moving toward cashless system, which allows greater bank control (negative rates, etc.).

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

??

Whether you agree with them or not, one is an accomplished academic and economist, the other is a fucking clown.

TM

Wrong is wrong. When you're wrong on policy a lot, shut up and go away.

That he's academically accomplished is irrelevant. Robert McNamara was brilliant. Most of the neocons were smart.

Adder's point about about macroeconomics being a field where people are wrong all the time says it all. Anyone practicing in this area is probably pretty intelligent, but also "respected" largely if not solely for his theoretical analysis. Judged purely on results, a guy like Summers might not be worthy of more respect than a guy who's figured out how to consistently pick the ponies.

Summers is also dangerous because he has a Rasputin effect. Politics and bureaucracy aren't fields attracting exceptionally intelligent sorts as a rule. The elected and powerful in these areas are often entirely reliant on experts like Summers, Rubin, Friedman, Laffer, etc. The abstract musings of these exalted policy sages, which might otherwise never leave the university or think tank, too often find their way - undistilled - into the real world. There's no cure for this, of course. But we should remind ourselves from time to time that people like Larry Summers are often just intellectually "riffing," and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

1. Enables more oversight of all transactions.

Why? Amounts that trigger review won't change.

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

2. Assists in moving toward cashless system, which allows greater bank control (negative rates, etc.).

Why? We are all moving in that direction already. What makes you think hundred dollar bills are what's keeping us in a cash-based system? How often does anyone use hundreds?

TM

[Pretty Little Flower]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

How often does anyone use hundreds?

TM

Ask YC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5w21_Vphbg

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

Why? Amounts that trigger review won't change.

Why? We are all moving in that direction already. What makes you think hundred dollar bills are what's keeping us in a cash-based system? How often does anyone use hundreds?

TM

Some people like them because it's less bulk when you are making $9900 withdrawals on a regular basis, but, really, the packages of twenties and fifties are just as easy to count and are much less frequently marked.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Summers is also dangerous because he has a Rasputin effect.

You're vastly overstating his influence.

The elected and powerful in these areas are often entirely reliant on experts like Summers, Rubin, Friedman, Laffer, etc.

One of these things is not like the others...

[Adder]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

How often does anyone use hundreds?

I dislike when the ATM gives me a hundred and feel bad passing it to the guy at the sandwich shop around the corner.

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Wrong is wrong. When you're wrong on policy a lot, shut up and go away.

That he's academically accomplished is irrelevant. Robert McNamara was brilliant. Most of the neocons were smart.

Adder's point about about macroeconomics being a field where people are wrong all the time says it all. Anyone practicing in this area is probably pretty intelligent, but also "respected" largely if not solely for his theoretical analysis. Judged purely on results, a guy like Summers might not be worthy of more respect than a guy who's figured out how to consistently pick the ponies.

Summers is also dangerous because he has a Rasputin effect. Politics and bureaucracy aren't fields attracting exceptionally intelligent sorts as a rule. The elected and powerful in these areas are often entirely reliant on experts like Summers, Rubin, Friedman, Laffer, etc. The abstract musings of these exalted policy sages, which might otherwise never leave the university or think tank, too often find their way - undistilled - into the real world. There's no cure for this, of course. But we should remind ourselves from time to time that people like Larry Summers are often just intellectually "riffing," and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

Listen, what I feel about Larry Summers' performance as an adviser is not really relevant to my point. What I'm trying to understand is why you feel the need to put Trump and Summers (or Trump and anyone who has any legitimacy in any field at all) in the same boat.

You are right that people who are considered experts in their field based on dedicating their lives to the study of a topic are often sought out to assist elected officials who can't possibly be in such a position when it comes to the numerous subjects on which they need to form an opinion and make decisions. And yes, experts are often wrong. But it is beyond irresponsible for you to put a fucking buffoon who is an expert in zero things, including his own business, in the same category as any expert. It's just a ridiculous exercise.

Consider:

"Wow, Bill Belichick really drew up an awful offensive scheme for the Super Bowl. Denver was all over them on every play. He got everything wrong. We should hire Donald Trump to be our head coach next year. He's very rich, and although he has absolutely no experience with football, he can probably figure it out. And if he can't, he'll just hire smart people to assist him."

TM