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n2doc's JournalA must read for Sanders supporters
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016142809The New Inequality Debate
More mainstream economists now find that the income mal-distribution reflects the political sway of elites, not economic imperatives.
by Robert Kuttner
more at link
The New Inequality Debate
More mainstream economists now find that the income mal-distribution reflects the political sway of elites, not economic imperatives.
Robert Kuttner
More and more mainstream economists have lately discovered a phenomenon that their discipline too often assumes away. They have discovered power. And this fundamentally changes the nature of the debate about inequality.
In the usual economic model, markets are mostly efficient. Power is not relevant, because competition will generally thwart attempts to place a thumb on the market scale. Thus if the society is becoming more unequal it must be (a favorite verb form) because skills are receiving greater rewards, and the less-skilled are necessarily left behind; or because technology is appropriately displacing workers; or because in a global market, lower-wage nations can out-compete Americans; or because deregulation makes markets more efficient, with greater rewards to winners; or because new financial instruments add such efficiency to the economy that they justify billion-dollar paydays for their inventors.
Increasingly, however, influential orthodox economists are having serious second thoughts. What if market outcomes and the very rules of the market game reflect political power, not market efficiency? Indeed, what if gross inequality is not efficient, and there is a broad zone of indeterminate income distributions consistent with strong economic performance? What if greater liberalization of financial markets produced tens of trillions of costs to the economy, benefits that are hard to discern, and billion-dollar paydays for traders that don’t comport with their contributions to general economic welfare? Evidence like this is piling up, and hard to ignore.
ANTHONY ATKINSON'S NEW BOOK, Inequality: What Can Be Done?, is both emblem and evidence of this shift in mainstream economic thinking. Atkinson, of the London School of Economics and Oxford’s Nuffield College, is the dean of economists who study inequality. After an exhaustive compilation of data and trends, Atkinson bluntly attributes rising inequality directly or indirectly to “changes in the balance of power.” Thus, he adds, “Measures to reduce inequality can be successful only if countervailing power is brought to bear.”
more
http://prospect.org/article/new-inequality-debate-0
Clinton Courts Youth With Celebrities, but Many Prefer Sanders
IOWA CITY, IOWA—
Hillary Clinton has a lot of celebrity pals on her side, like actress Lena Dunham and singers Katy Perry or Demi Lovato, the latter of whom belted out hits at a campaign concert at the University of Iowa.
It's a play to help the former secretary of state connect with younger voters. But so far, the star power isn't swaying the college set. Many say they prefer her rumpled 74-year-old rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, regardless of whether he got star power behind him or not.
"Bernie appeals more to my cool," said Alex Bare, 19, a University of Iowa student who plans to caucus for Sanders, but said he likes Clinton and came for the free concert in Iowa City Thursday. "He refuses to take money from super PACs. That's a really bold move and for me, that makes him cool."
The push for younger voters comes amid an intensifying battle for the Democratic nomination. While Clinton and Sanders are locked in a tight race in Iowa, and Clinton has held the lead nationally, Sanders has a clear advantage among younger voters.
A recent Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa poll forecast that Sanders will have 59 percent of Democratic caucus-goers 45 and under, compared to the 27 percent expected to back Clinton. And in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll Sanders led 60 percent to 31 percent among Democratic primary voters under 45.
more
http://www.voanews.com/content/ap-clinton-courts-youth-celebrities-many-prefer-sanders/3163361.html
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Terrifying 7.5 centimetre funnel web spider nicknamed 'big boy' found in bushland with venom dripping from its fangs
Biggest ever funnel web spider turned in to a hospital in Newcastle, NSW
The spider, nicknamed 'big boy', measures an incredible 7.5 centimetres
A bushwalker found the arachnid with venom dripping from its killer fangs
Australian Reptile Park will milk 'big boy' as part of its anti-venom program
By LIAM QUINN
PUBLISHED: 19:21 EST, 24 January 2016 | UPDATED: 20:31 EST, 24 January 2016
A massive funnel web spider named 'big boy' has been found and turned in to a hospital.
The huge spider, which measured 7.5 centimetres across, was dropped off by a terrified local at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, New South Wales.
The horrifying creature had venom dripping off its deadly fangs when bushwalker stumbled across it.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3414915/Huge-funnel-web-spider-Newcastle-taken-Australian-Reptile-Park.html#ixzz3yMyV7pk3
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'Behemoth' Daddy Longlegs Discovered in Oregon
Scientists have unearthed a monstrous new arachnid lurking in the woods of southwest Oregon — and it's a beast.
The new daddy longlegs species, dubbed Cryptomaster behemoth, towers over other creatures of its kind. And like its cousin, the equally elusive Cryptomaster leviathan, the new species is incredibly difficult to find, because it hides out beneath the logs and leafy debris that blanket the forest floor.
The Cryptomaster leviathan was discovered in 1969 at one location in the coastal town of Gold Beach, Oregon. The mysterious creature belonged to one of the most diverse suborders, called Laniatores, which contains at least 4,100 species. (Daddy longlegs belong to the arachnid order commonly known as harvestmen, so-called because they often emerge during the fall months during the harvest.) [In Images: 4-Eyed Daddy Longlegs Helps Explain Arachnid Evolution]
Though the 0.15-inch-wide (4 millimeters) body of the creature is relatively small compared to that of tarantulas or other arachnids, the daddy longlegs towers over other creatures in its Laniatores suborder. As a result, its discoverers gave it the species name leviathan, after the serpentlike sea creature that prowls the deep in the Bible. The genus name Cryptomaster is a nod to the creature's elusive and reclusive nature.
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This hunt led them to the discovery of a completely new daddy longlegs species, also relatively huge, called Cryptomaster behemoth. (The behemoth, like the leviathan, is a biblical beast.) Both have the unusually short legs characteristic of arachnids of the Laniatores order.
http://news.yahoo.com/behemoth-daddy-longlegs-discovered-oregon-143645998.html
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray running against U.S. Sen. Rand Paul
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray will file to run for the U.S. Senate Tuesday morning as a Democrat, declaring his candidacy to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul on the day of Kentucky’s filing deadline.
Gray, 62, told the Herald-Leader Monday night that he decided to challenge Paul last week, and he “absolutely” believes he can win despite the state’s rightward lurch and widespread disapproval of President Barack Obama.
“I feel like that there’s an environment in Washington that’s toxic, and people across the country, and including Kentucky, are looking for alternatives,” Gray said.
The chairman of Gray Construction, a successful family business, Gray is in his second term as mayor. He said both experiences have taught him “that leading isn’t just about talking — you’ve got to listen as well.”
Gray’s entry into the race makes him the most prominent Democrat to come forward to challenge Paul, whose listing presidential campaign has made him vulnerable to defeat, Gray said.
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article56605288.html#storylink=cpy
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