The Transport minister Lord Adonis said at the weekend that an international rail interchange could be built at Heathrow, in compensation for the environmental damage a new runway would cause. He was taking over an idea produced by the Conservatives, who said that they would build a new high-speed rail line to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds instead of the third runway - thus obviating the need for more short-haul flights to provincial cities. The "Heathrow Hub", costing £4.5bn, would extend the high-speed rail network from the Channel Tunnel line at St Pancras station into the rest of Britain. John Stewart, of the campaign group Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise, said the Government was "in disarray" about the project. "They never talked about a rail link until the Tories brought it up," he added. "To add it on at the last minute is just a cynical ploy."
The Transport minister Lord Adonis said at the weekend that an international rail interchange could be built at Heathrow, in compensation for the environmental damage a new runway would cause. He was taking over an idea produced by the Conservatives, who said that they would build a new high-speed rail line to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds instead of the third runway - thus obviating the need for more short-haul flights to provincial cities. The "Heathrow Hub", costing £4.5bn, would extend the high-speed rail network from the Channel Tunnel line at St Pancras station into the rest of Britain.
John Stewart, of the campaign group Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise, said the Government was "in disarray" about the project. "They never talked about a rail link until the Tories brought it up," he added. "To add it on at the last minute is just a cynical ploy."
The British political world is finally turning on its head. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
So, this is just the usual political bs of bidding about nonsense to avoid dealing with other problems. keep to the Fen Causeway
Now, either the economist knows this, which they should, and are lying. Or they don't know it and reveal themselves to be not just ideologically blind, but incapable of basic fact checking. keep to the Fen Causeway
Users of Wikipedia have seen off a threat that the website would be forced to carry advertisements or charge for access, after one of the most successful online fundraising campaigns ever. The free online encyclopaedia was struggling to raise $6m (£4.1m) to cover its running costs for 2009 and launched a campaign seeking donations on 3 November.
Users of Wikipedia have seen off a threat that the website would be forced to carry advertisements or charge for access, after one of the most successful online fundraising campaigns ever.
The free online encyclopaedia was struggling to raise $6m (£4.1m) to cover its running costs for 2009 and launched a campaign seeking donations on 3 November.
Motorcycle gangs have long kept the police busy with violence and drug trafficking. But now investigators are alarmed by a new threat: Militant neo-Nazis are rising through the ranks of the Hells Angels in Germany.
China's government has launched a nationwide campaign against major Web sites "to clean up a vulgar current on the Internet". The Financial Times reported on Monday that China is arming censors with more advanced filtering software.
A huge underground thermal lake has been discovered below a Turkish bath in the Hungarian capital, Budapest. Divers have spent weeks exploring its hidden depths while the government discusses opening the lake to the public.
A huge underground thermal lake has been discovered below a Turkish bath in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
Divers have spent weeks exploring its hidden depths while the government discusses opening the lake to the public.
I'd hope it won't be opened to the public... as geologists plead for the same. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Today, the most fervent attention in biofuel development has shifted from soil to the sea, and specifically to marine algae. Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, along with researchers at UCSD's Division of Biological Sciences, are part of an emerging algal biofuel consortium that includes academic collaborators, CleanTECH San Diego, regional industry representatives, and public and private partners. Scripps scientists see algae as a "green bullet," science and society's best hope for a clean bioenergy source that will help loosen broad dependence on fossil fuel, counteract climate warming, and power the vehicles of the future. [...] Marine algae, as Mitchell is quick to point out to anyone who asks, are the most efficient organisms on Earth for absorbing light energy and converting it into a natural biomass oil product, the biofuel equivalent of crude oil. "Algae yields five to 10 times more bioenergy molecules per area, per time, than any terrestrial plant," said Mitchell, a native of oil-rich Houston, Texas. "Nothing else comes close." From a sustainability perspective, algae hold the upper hand against other biofuel candidates, such as corn and soybeans. Algae can be grown on barren desert land using salt water, averting competition with agricultural cropland and the need for large amounts of precious fresh water for irrigation. Since they require carbon dioxide for growth, algae are inherently carbon neutral, and they can suck up CO2 directly from industrial pollution sources. Furthermore, algae can feed off the nutrients in discarded wastewater. Adding yet another layer to their allure, the rich protein left over from algae harvests can be converted to animal feed.
Today, the most fervent attention in biofuel development has shifted from soil to the sea, and specifically to marine algae. Scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, along with researchers at UCSD's Division of Biological Sciences, are part of an emerging algal biofuel consortium that includes academic collaborators, CleanTECH San Diego, regional industry representatives, and public and private partners.
Scripps scientists see algae as a "green bullet," science and society's best hope for a clean bioenergy source that will help loosen broad dependence on fossil fuel, counteract climate warming, and power the vehicles of the future.
[...]
Marine algae, as Mitchell is quick to point out to anyone who asks, are the most efficient organisms on Earth for absorbing light energy and converting it into a natural biomass oil product, the biofuel equivalent of crude oil.
"Algae yields five to 10 times more bioenergy molecules per area, per time, than any terrestrial plant," said Mitchell, a native of oil-rich Houston, Texas. "Nothing else comes close."
From a sustainability perspective, algae hold the upper hand against other biofuel candidates, such as corn and soybeans. Algae can be grown on barren desert land using salt water, averting competition with agricultural cropland and the need for large amounts of precious fresh water for irrigation.
Since they require carbon dioxide for growth, algae are inherently carbon neutral, and they can suck up CO2 directly from industrial pollution sources. Furthermore, algae can feed off the nutrients in discarded wastewater. Adding yet another layer to their allure, the rich protein left over from algae harvests can be converted to animal feed.
Yes, I know, another magic bullet story... The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman
"We have to act now to address this crisis and break the momentum of the recession, or the next few years could be dramatically worse," Obama told reporters after a separate meeting with top economic advisers. He plans to deliver a speech on the economy on Jan. 8. The plan would aim to boost consumer demand by providing tax breaks worth $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples. The change would come by altering tax-withholding rules so workers would see an immediate increase in their take-home pay. Cutting the [federal distinct from state and city] payroll tax "would be more efficient" in helping the economy, Michael Darda, chief economist for MKM Partners LP, said on Bloomberg Television. He cautioned that "there is no silver bullet." ... Obama, 47, said he wants lawmakers to finish most of their work on the plan, including tax cuts and spending, by the end of this month or no later than the first week of February. The president-elect is asking that tax cuts make up 40 percent of the plan, Democratic aides and a transition official said. Majority View Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Obama told the lawmakers that economists are suggesting a U.S. stimulus plan may have to be as large as $1.3 trillion. Obama "has indicated that there's at least 20 economists that he's talked with, and all but one of those believe it should be from $800 billion to $1.2 trillion or $1.3 trillion," Reid said after the meeting. ... The president-elect met with his economic advisers, including Treasury Secretary-designate Tim Geithner and Lawrence Summers, whom Obama picked as his director of the National Economic Council. Obama, who takes office Jan. 20, was accompanied to the Capitol by Vice President-elect Joe Biden. Meetings Today Obama plans to meet again today with advisers including Geithner and Summers on budget issues and health-care costs. Obama pledged "unprecedented transparency" as policymakers hash out the stimulus plan. He said he is considering publishing online "very detailed information about all the projects that are taking place."
The plan would aim to boost consumer demand by providing tax breaks worth $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples. The change would come by altering tax-withholding rules so workers would see an immediate increase in their take-home pay.
Cutting the [federal distinct from state and city] payroll tax "would be more efficient" in helping the economy, Michael Darda, chief economist for MKM Partners LP, said on Bloomberg Television. He cautioned that "there is no silver bullet." ...
Obama, 47, said he wants lawmakers to finish most of their work on the plan, including tax cuts and spending, by the end of this month or no later than the first week of February. The president-elect is asking that tax cuts make up 40 percent of the plan, Democratic aides and a transition official said.
Majority View
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Obama told the lawmakers that economists are suggesting a U.S. stimulus plan may have to be as large as $1.3 trillion.
Obama "has indicated that there's at least 20 economists that he's talked with, and all but one of those believe it should be from $800 billion to $1.2 trillion or $1.3 trillion," Reid said after the meeting. ...
The president-elect met with his economic advisers, including Treasury Secretary-designate Tim Geithner and Lawrence Summers, whom Obama picked as his director of the National Economic Council. Obama, who takes office Jan. 20, was accompanied to the Capitol by Vice President-elect Joe Biden.
Meetings Today
Obama plans to meet again today with advisers including Geithner and Summers on budget issues and health-care costs.
Obama pledged "unprecedented transparency" as policymakers hash out the stimulus plan. He said he is considering publishing online "very detailed information about all the projects that are taking place."
Krugman is seriously disturbed
True, true.
I believe, he actually believes ceteris paribus. This is a key feature of his selective memory profile. Remember this "wonkish" note in December, targeting total value stimulus? His earlier claim that macroeconomics is no fashionable?
GDP next year will be about $15 trillion, so 1% of GDP is $150 billion. The natural rate of unemployment is, say, 5% [U-3, +5% U-6]-- maybe lower. Given Okun's law, every excess point of unemployment above 5 means a 2% output gap. Right now, we're at 6.5% unemployment and a 3% output gap - but those numbers are heading higher fast. Goldman predicts 8.5% unemployment, meaning a 7% output gap [to obtain ~5% "natural unemployment rate]. That sounds reasonable to me. So we need a fiscal stimulus big enough to close a 7% output gap.
Right now, we're at 6.5% unemployment and a 3% output gap - but those numbers are heading higher fast. Goldman predicts 8.5% unemployment, meaning a 7% output gap [to obtain ~5% "natural unemployment rate]. That sounds reasonable to me.
So we need a fiscal stimulus big enough to close a 7% output gap.
That sounds like an imaginary, utterly arbitrary, number to me.
Fact of the matter is the Obama has promised tax cuts since the onset of his campaign. Tax increases of any sort was disinformation to color the contest as if among opposition parties which do not exist. To be fair, Mr Obama did briefly entertain popular expectations of new marginal rates on HHs income greater than $250K as well as capital gains.
More important, two cornerstones of Obama's platform called for promoting (i.e. market making) universal health care "coverage" (i.e. commercial insurance products) and automatic 401(k) enrollment of all employees through payroll contribution (i.e. recapitalizing MMFs). None of which is feasible given the current tax structure and refundable credits available to the lesser eight deciles: disposable income does not exist. So ...
"adding" $500 - $1000 to pre-tax income is a nifty incentive --literally, switching cost-- to improve participation rates. Obama-writers did dwell on this "participation" in campaign literature ...
By the by, I'm guessing about 15% of the remainder will be couched in business tax credits for health info technology (HIT) installation, hardware CapEx and service contracts. That is Bush's baby, too. Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
Bit by bit we're getting information on the Obama stimulus plan, enough to start making back-of-the-envelope estimates of impact. The bottom line is this: we're probably looking at a plan that will shave less than 2 percentage points off the average unemployment rate for the next two years, and possibly quite a lot less. This raises real concerns about whether the incoming administration is lowballing its plans in an attempt to get bipartisan consensus. In the extended entry, a look at my calculations.
In the extended entry, a look at my calculations.
