I’m going to be on CNN’s Your $$$$$ this weekend (it airs Saturday at 1 p.m. ET and Sunday at 3 p.m.) talking with Ali Velshi and John Rutledge about the economy and the presidential campaign. Rutledge is what I’d call a legit supply-sider, a guy who believes fervently that low taxes on capital are crucial to economic growth, but doesn’t …
Not exactly new column: Obama and the Economy
You’ve (maybe) read the first draft. Now the not-all-that-different rewrite is in the issue of Time with the fat kid on the cover and online here. It begins:
When Barack Obama says a John McCain Administration would amount to a third term of George W. Bush, he’s not just blowing smoke, especially when it comes to economic policy. Yes,
…
Mobile to challenge Savannah in the battle for chicken-feet export dominance
An alert friend has called my attention to the fact that I was quoted, by name (!), in what appears to be the lead editorial in today’s Anniston Star. The Star is a small but venerated Alabama newspaper that has over the years employed the likes of Jim Yardley, Robin DeMonia, Seth Lipsky, Adam Nossiter and Rick Bragg. The editorial is …
Maternity Leave in Progress: sayonara for now
So after much agonizing over what I ought to do with WiP during my leave, I did what I always do and punted to someone with more brain cells: in this case, Time.com chief pooh-bah Josh. I offered two options:
1. Keep going, albeit at a slower pace and in a more personal vein.
2. Hang an Out of Office shingle.
As a brand new dad …
Office pests don’t discriminate
You’ve heard that Fox News is infested with bedbugs; just last week,
A Fox News employee filed a lawsuit Thursday against the owner of the building she works in and the maintenance company who cleans it after she says she was bitten by bedbugs at work.
The employee is claiming post-traumatic stress syndrome (seriously). Now it turns …
If only presidential press conferences sounded like this
LA Times columnist TJ Simers interrogates Phil Jackson before Game 3:
“I believe you’re getting paid $10 million for moments like this,” I said at his pre-game news conference.
“How would you even know that stuff?” he replied. “You’re not the IRS.”
“Is it more than that?”
“Do I ask information about you?” Jackson said.
“I don’t make
…
Positive thinking leads to…job dissatisfaction?
As grouchy as I act, I admit that I am inside an incorrigible optimist. I tend to think things will work out, not because I believe in karma or whatnot but because the laws of probability dictate generally okay outcomes. I tend to believe I can make a crappy situation better. And I tend to think even the biggest jerk loves his mama. …
Obama’s other economic advisers: Reich, Bernstein, Volcker
The addition of Jason Furman to Barack Obama’s economic team has gotten some attention. Furman was John Kerry’s economics spokesguy in 2004, but more to the point he’s about as centrist as centrist Democrats come, thinks Wal-Mart is swell, and is a protege of Bob Rubin. So I figure it’s worth mentioning that, during the conference call …
The not-so-discreet charm of standard-issue political reporting
The mainstream media get a lot of flak for focusing so much on political horse races and neglecting the big issues. I tend to agree with this criticism, and when I’m not bloviating about soccer I try to devote most of the space in this blog and in my Time column to more or less substantive discussion of economic and business …
Yes, it will all end in tears for Oranje. But still: 3-0 against Italy
The last time the Netherlands played Italy in a game that mattered, I missed all but the tragic ending. It was the semifinals of the 2000 European championships, and I had somehow gotten the idea that it was an evening game. The Curious Capitalist family (although I guess we weren’t the Curious Capitalist family yet then) was staying in …
A survival guide for our summer interns
Last week, our annual batch of summer interns arrived at TIME. This I know because an e-mail was sent out yesterday announcing their arrival. But because I’m working from home until I expel a small person from my womb, the most I know about this year’s group may be their three-line e-mailed bios.
That’s a shame. I love interns. I so …
More dads want to stay home
When I write about work-family issues, I deliberately try to avoid assigning them only to women. That’s because I know too many men among my peers who struggle with the same things: spending more time with their kids; arranging flexible work options; doing quality work while raising kids who don’t set fire to the guidance couselor’s …