The Battle Against Covid-19 is Not Over

Vietnam detects highly contagious new coronavirus variant as infections surge
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/29/vietnam-hybrid-variant-covid-virus/
 
Think like a virus to understand why the pandemic isn’t over yet – and what the US needs to do to help other countries
https://theconversation.com/think-like-a-virus-to-understand-why-the-pandemic-isnt-over-yet-and-what-the-us-needs-to-do-to-help-other-countries-161400 

Meritocracy in Education

Today’s anti-Asian racism usually disguises itself as ‘diversity’
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/28/todays-anti-asian-racism-usually-disguises-itself-diversity/
Today’s anti-Asian racism is usually expressed in less sulfurous language — in the progressive patois of a “culture” of “diversity.”
Thomas Jefferson High School (TJ), a selective STEM magnet school with a national reputation for excellence, has what the school board in suburban Fairfax County, Va., considers a problem: Too many Asian American students excel on the admission test. The current TJ student body is 73 percent Asian American, 17.7 percent White, 3.3 percent Hispanic or Latino, 1 percent Black and 6 percent other. So, the board has decided to eliminate the test. Admissions will be based on a “holistic” assessment of applicants, meaning whatever admissions officials want it to mean.

A Progressive Assault on Selective High Schools
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-progressive-assault-on-selective-high-schools-11606349353 

Meritocracy, Not Democracy, Is the Golden Ticket to Growth
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-16/china-knows-that-meritocracy-is-the-key-to-boosting-economic-growth
Adrian Wooldridge notes:
“The war against merit is producing real consequences. San Francisco’s Lowell School is one of the most successful schools in the country and has given thousands of poor immigrant children (among others) a chance of an elite education. The San Francisco Board of Education has now banned it from using admission tests and introduced a lottery system instead, with the school commissioner, Alison Collins, pronouncing that meritocracy is “racist” and “the antithesis of fair.” Elite schools in New York and Boston are also under threat. Programs for the gifted and talented are being dismantled across the country. Universities have been reducing the importance of standardized admissions tests, with some going so far as to make testing optional, and putting more emphasis on “holistic assessment” instead. Companies are introducing formal or informal quotas in the name of “equity” (which is increasingly taking the place of equality of opportunity as a measure of justice)”.  

Labor Supply Constraints May Limit Florida's Growth Potential

Florida May Lose Some of Its Boomer Shine
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-27/florida-retirement-towns-may-lose-some-of-their-shine
Labor shortages could squeeze the nation's most popular retirement destinations, providing new opportunities for places like Tennessee and North Carolina to cater to seniors. 

Fixing US Financial Plumbing

The Fed Is Mopping Up Its Own Mess in Reverse Repo
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-28/fed-is-mopping-up-its-own-mess-in-reverse-repo
 
Fed Aims to Radically Transform Funding Markets
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-25/fed-aims-to-radically-transform-funding-markets 

Quality of Teachers Matters

Teachers Matter: Understanding Teachers' Impact on Student Achievement
https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR4300/RR4312/RAND_RR4312.pdf

 

Fear and Loathing in the Classroom: Why Does Teacher Quality Matter?
http://ftp.iza.org/dp14036.pdf
Abstract
This work disentangles aspects of teacher quality that impact student learning and performance. We exploit detailed data from post-secondary education that links students from randomly assigned instructors in introductory-level courses to the students' performances in follow-on courses for a wide variety of subjects. For a range of first-semester courses, we have both an objective score (based on common exams graded by committee) and a subjective grade provided by the instructor. We find that instructors who help boost the common final exam scores of their students also boost their performance in the follow-on course. Instructors who tend to give out easier subjective grades however dramatically hurt subsequent student performance. Exploring a variety of mechanisms, we suggest that instructors harm students not by "teaching to the test," but rather by producing misleading signals regarding the difficulty of the subject and the "soft skills" needed for college success. This effect is stronger in non-STEM fields, among female students, and among extroverted students. Faculty that are well-liked by students—and thus likely prized by university administrators—and considered to be easy have particularly pernicious effects on subsequent student performance. 

HT: https://conversableeconomist.blogspot.com/2021/03/measuring-teaching-quality-higher.html

Related:

https://vivekjayakumar.blogspot.com/2020/09/college-education-quantity-versus.html
https://vivekjayakumar.blogspot.com/2015/10/ernst-and-youngs-bold-experiment.html
https://vivekjayakumar.blogspot.com/2020/07/higher-education-and-elite.html

Singapore - Safe Haven for the Ultra-Rich

The Super-Rich Are Choosing Singapore as the World’s Safest Haven
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-05-26/singapore-during-covid-is-city-of-choice-for-billionaires-and-their-families 

Monetary Policy Tightening - Timing Matters

The Fed Is Suffering from Tantrum Paranoia
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-26/the-fed-is-suffering-from-tantrum-paranoia

The Ghost of Arthur Burns
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/fed-sanguine-inflation-view-recalls-arthur-burns-by-stephen-s-roach-2021-05

Morgan Stanley CEO Sees Fed Hiking Before His Economists Predict

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-25/morgan-stanley-s-gorman-sees-fed-raising-rates-early-in-2022

 
The Inflation Risk is Real
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/24/inflation-risk-is-real/
 
My take:
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/554058-should-the-fed-be-less-complacent-about-inflation-risks
The Fed should soon embark on tapering (and ultimately ending) its asset purchase programs. Given the ongoing real estate boom and the low interest rate environment, it is hard to rationalize monthly central bank purchases of $80 billion of U.S. Treasuries and $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities.
In addition to limiting liquidity injections, the Fed should focus on reducing excessive risk-taking in certain corners of the financial market. In particular, the hands-off approach towards cryptocurrencies may no longer be appropriate. The U.S. central bank also cannot underestimate the longer-term risks posed by the emergence of decentralized finance.
The Fed should also abandon its commitment to maintaining near-zero policy rates until the end of 2023 and be open to an interest rate hike in 2022 if inflationary pressures become entrenched. Persistently high inflation is a slippery slope that may lead to rising inflation expectations, which may necessitate a painful monetary contraction in the future. 

Statistics, Policy Failures, and the Pandemic

Statistics and the Pandemic
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/focusing-on-wrong-covid19-data-costs-lives-by-jeffrey-frankel-2021-05

America’s Entire Understanding of the Pandemic Was Shaped by Messy Data
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/05/pandemic-data-america-messy/618987/

India’s Cascading COVID-19 Failures
The Staggering Cost of an Unscientific Response to the Pandemic
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2021-05-26/indias-cascading-covid-19-failures 

Gamers versus Cryptominers – Surging Demand for Graphics Cards

The War Between Gamers and Cryptominers—And the Scarce Global Resource that Sparked It
https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/05/24/gamers-cryptocurrency-cryptominers-gpu-microchip/
There’s a worldwide shortage of new and old GPUs right now, leading to a sense of “sheer fatalism” among gamers despondent about getting the latest tech or even replacing an old part, Dejarnette says. “It’s killing us.” And it’s led to some testy finger-pointing by gamers toward another group of geeks: cryptocurrency miners. Gamers and others observing the GPU market say the miners have wreaked havoc on the $20 billion industry, taxing it with unexpected demand while key components for GPUs—microchips—are scarcely available. The companies making the GPUs understand the situation with the miners, and as recently as Wednesday, Nvidia announced it would change some future versions of its GPUs to make them less attractive to miners. But that fix will not arrive anytime soon.

Surge in State Government Revenues and Federal Aid

State Revenues Pour In, Raising Pressure on Biden to Divert Federal Aid
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/25/business/economy/republicans-biden-infrastructure-federal-aid.html
That turnaround is partly the product of strong income tax receipts, particularly in states that heavily tax high earners and the wealthy, whose finances have fared well in the crisis. The unexpectedly rosy picture is raising pressure on President Biden to repurpose hundreds of billions of dollars of federal aid approved this year, in order to help fund a potential bipartisan infrastructure deal. 

Florida Politics - State versus Local Control

Florida Republicans are trampling on the wishes of locals in a rush to consolidate power
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/24/florida-republicans-are-trampling-wishes-locals-rush-consolidate-power/ 

Is Bitcoin the Future of Money?

Digital gold: Is Bitcoin the future of money?
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/554998-is-bitcoin-the-future-of-money

Bitcoin’s True Social Cost Is Impossible to Ignore
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-25/bitcoin-s-btc-cost-to-society-is-impossible-to-ignore

Ban Cryptocurrency to Fight Ransomware
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ban-cryptocurrency-to-fight-ransomware-11621962831

Whatever Bitcoin Is, It Isn’t Acting Like Money
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-21/whatever-bitcoin-is-it-isn-t-acting-like-money
 
The Hidden Risk Beneath Crypto’s UnFunnyNotMoney
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-25/the-volatility-of-bitcoin-crypto-reddit-stocks-shows-trading-isn-t-investing

Elon Musk is the least of Bitcoin's troubles

https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Elon-Musk-is-the-least-of-Bitcoin-s-troubles 

China’s Latest Crackdown on Bitcoin, Other Cryptocurrencies Shakes Market
https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-latest-crackdown-on-bitcoin-other-cryptocurrencies-shakes-market-11621853002 

Unemployment Benefits and Labor Supply

A Biden-friendly economist is creating a big headache for president's spending plans
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/22/child-care-study-pandemic-490224
 
How much have childcare challenges slowed the US jobs market recovery?
https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economic-issues-watch/how-much-have-childcare-challenges-slowed-us-jobs-market 

Labor Market Facing Recent College Graduates

Fewer U.S. College Grads Are Stuck With $25,000 Entry-Level Jobs
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-22/fewer-u-s-college-grads-are-stuck-with-25-000-entry-level-jobs 

Costly Pursuit of Self-Driving Cars

The Costly Pursuit of Self-Driving Cars Continues On. And On. And On.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/24/technology/the-costly-pursuit-of-self-driving-cars-continues-on-and-on-and-on.html 

Demographic Shifts and Population Trends

Long Slide Looms for World Population, With Sweeping Ramifications
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/22/world/global-population-shrinking.html 

China’s ‘three-child’ policy and the new age of demographic anxiety
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/31/china-three-children-anxiety/

Related:

Dangers of Demographic Denial

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2017/10/02/commentary/world-commentary/dangers-demographic-denial/ 

Regulatory Capture

Let’s Not Forget George Stigler’s Lessons about Regulatory Capture
https://promarket.org/2021/05/20/george-stiglers-lesson-regulatory-capture-rent-seeking/ 

Western Obsession with Egyptology

It’s a golden age for Chinese archaeology — and the West is ignoring it
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/05/11/chinese-archaeology-egyptian-bias-sanxingdui/
Rowan K. Flad, John E. Hudson professor of Archaeology at Harvard University, notes:
“Why do we pay so much more attention in the West to Egyptian archaeology than to Chinese archaeology — even though each is important to our understanding of human history? Egypt strikes a chord partly because of a kind of romanticism that is a legacy of colonialism: Stories of Western archaeologists competing to find tombs in the 19th century riveted Western Europeans, and today’s news coverage is a product of that imperialist tradition (even though the team that discovered Aten was Egyptian). And the focus on discoveries in the Mediterranean world reflects a persistent bias situating the United States as a lineal descendant, via Europe, of Mediterranean civilizations. Links among ancient Egypt and Greece and Rome — and Egypt’s appearance in the Christian Bible — allowed ancient Egypt to be appropriated and incorporated into European heritage and therefore into the story of American identity”.

Migrant Labor in US: Economic and Political Issues

Overpriced Mergers and Acquisitions – A Case Study

AT&T dividend cut in WarnerMedia-Discovery deal is a debacle for shareholders
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/05/21/shareholders-fiasco-att-time-warner-discovery/ 

Related:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/at-ts-new-outlook-sparks-debatebut-also-two-stock-upgrades-11621607377 

Growing Evidence of Supply Constraints

Why the Chip Shortage Is So Hard to Overcome
https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-chip-shortage-is-so-hard-to-overcome-11618844905 

Port in a storm: No end in sight to global shipping chaos
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/The-Big-Story/Port-in-a-storm-No-end-in-sight-to-global-shipping-chaos
 
Housing Is So Hot That U.S. Builders Have to Stop Taking Orders
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-20/buying-a-house-gets-tougher-as-builders-limit-their-orders 

Cryptocurrencies - Risks Associated with Speculative Assets

Technobabble, Libertarian Derp and Bitcoin
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/20/opinion/cryptocurrency-bitcoin.html
 
Bitcoin Is a Lot Like the Art Market
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-21/bitcoin-is-a-lot-like-the-art-market

Cryptocurrency Has Yet to Make the World a Better Place

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cryptocurrency-has-yet-to-make-the-world-a-better-place-11621519381

Five myths about cryptocurrency
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/cryptocurrency-yths-bitcoin-dogecoin-musk/2021/05/20/1f3f6c28-b8ad-11eb-96b9-e949d5397de9_story.html

Crypto-Crash Autopsy Shows Billions Erased in Flash Liquidations

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-20/crypto-crash-autopsy-shows-billions-erased-in-flash-liquidations

Bitcoin Miners Are Giving New Life to Old Fossil-Fuel Power Plants
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-miners-are-giving-new-life-to-old-fossil-fuel-power-plants-11621594803

Chia Is a New Way to Waste Resources for Cryptocurrency
https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/05/23/cryptocurrency-chia-waste-resources-bitcoin/

Bitcoin’s growing energy problem: ‘It’s a dirty currency’

https://www.ft.com/content/1aecb2db-8f61-427c-a413-3b929291c8ac 

Treasury Calls for Crypto Transfers Over $10,000 to Be Reported to IRS
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-20/treasury-calls-for-crypto-transfers-over-10-000-reported-to-irs
 
Biden’s IRS Crackdown Plan Targets Rich Hiding Half of Income
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-20/biden-s-irs-crackdown-plan-targets-rich-hiding-half-of-income 

Elon Musk is the least of Bitcoin's troubles
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Elon-Musk-is-the-least-of-Bitcoin-s-troubles 

Economics of Higher Education: Tuition Discounting Model is Alive and Well

Tuition Discount Rates Reach New High
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/05/20/private-colleges-cut-539-tuition-sticker-price-freshmen-average 

Declining birthrate means hard times ahead for colleges
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/college-enrollment-birthrate-decline/2021/05/21/52d7e5a6-ba47-11eb-a5fe-bb49dc89a248_story.html 

Central Bank Digital Currencies and Banking

Still Getting Your Head Around Digital Currency? So Are Central Bankers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/26/business/economy/fed-digital-currency.html

Related:
https://www.moneyandbanking.com/commentary/2021/6/20/central-bank-digital-currency-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-financial-system

Private Money and Central Bank Money as Payments Go Digital: An Update on CBDCs
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/files/brainard20210524a.pdf

Central Bank Digital Currencies Will Fix Bad Policy
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-25/central-bank-digital-currencies-will-fix-bad-monetary-policy

How the Tiny Bahamas Beat Global Giants in the E-Currency Race
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-20/cascade-of-rare-complications-deepen-india-s-covid-misery 

Why the Fed Is Considering a Digital Dollar
https://www.wsj.com/video/why-the-fed-is-considering-a-digital-dollar/054DB2CF-60C7-440B-A9C0-BD563F735464.html 

Where bitcoin fails, central bank digital currencies will succeed
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3139165/where-bitcoin-fails-central-bank-digital-currencies-will-succeed
 
Why Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) Now and What They Could Mean for Climate Change?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/frankvangansbeke/2021/06/27/why-central-bank-digital-currencies-cbdc-now-and-what-could-they-mean-for-climate-change-12/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/frankvangansbeke/2021/06/27/why-central-bank-digital-currencies-cbdc-now-and-what-they-could-they-mean-for-climate-change-22/
 
Related:
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/the-rise-of-central-bank-digital-currencies/ 

US Labor Market - Wages, Labor Shortages, and Automation

The Myth of Labor Shortages
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/20/briefing/labor-shortages-covid-wages.html

Hiring troubles prompt some employers to eye automation and machines
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/05/19/automation-labor-economy/

America Is on a Road to a Better Economy. But Better for Whom?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/magazine/stimulus-us-economy.html

America Needs a Third Political Party

Why Any New Third Party Should be Centrist, Liberal and Radical
https://www.milkenreview.org/articles/why-any-new-third-party-should-be-centrist-liberal-and-radical
Ed Dolan notes:
“To put it all together, then, a new third party is unlikely to succeed unless it aims for the center, because that is where the largest bloc of dissatisfied voters is to be found. By the same token, it should be liberal in espousing good government, personal freedoms, broad-based democracy and a strong market economy. And it should be radical, attacking America’s shameful inequality with new ideas — not on trickle-down nostrums or welfare-statism.
I know what you’re thinking. This platform for a new party may be practical and may align with the wishes of a plurality of Americans. But the impediments — the dumbing-down effect of social media, the anti-democratic distortions built into federal elections and the immense power of vested interests, to mention just a few — are truly daunting”.

How to fix democracy: Move beyond the two-party system, experts say
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/03/01/break-up-two-party-system/

Is America Ready for a Third Party?
https://www.barrons.com/articles/is-america-ready-for-a-third-party-51613675745
“… our nation this week has entered a remarkable new political era. For the first time in polling history dating back to 1939, 50% of Americans identify as independents, not Republicans or Democrats. By comparison, Americans identifying as independents back when Franklin Roosevelt was president in the early 1940s averaged less than 20%. Half of U.S. voters are now uncommitted to the traditional parties and open to attractive alternatives”.  

The Crypto Bubble has Burst (Again)

Bitcoin Plunge Exceeds 25%, Wipes $500 Billion From Market Value
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-19/bitcoin-erases-all-gains-since-elon-musk-s-initial-big-embrace
 
We’re About to Find Out Who in Crypto Is Really ‘In It for the Tech’
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-19/we-re-about-to-find-out-who-in-crypto-is-really-in-it-for-the-tech 

Bitcoin Crash Pits Wall Street Against `Shrooms
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-19/bitcoin-btc-dive-pits-wall-street-s-technical-analysts-against-shrooms
“The “Musk premium” has evaporated from Bitcoin markets, leading to the umpteenth wake-up call for anyone not on magic mushrooms: This is not the future of money. With price swings like a 26% fall in one month, the cryptocurrency is unlikely to be adopted as a widespread method of exchange any time soon. It’s about as useful as a chocolate teapot at the moment — you can’t even use Bitcoin to buy a Tesla”. 

Hidden Financial Risks

These Invisible Whales Could Sink the Economy
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/opinion/archegos-bill-hwang-gary-gensler.html 

Is the Fed too Complacent about Inflation?

Should the Fed be less complacent about inflation risks?
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/554058-should-the-fed-be-less-complacent-about-inflation-risks

The Inflation Risk is Real
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/24/inflation-risk-is-real/

Markets Fret the Fed Is Making a Big Mistake

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-19/markets-worry-the-federal-reserve-is-making-a-mistake

Specter of 1960s Inflation Take-Off Haunts U.S. Economy Today

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-19/specter-of-1960s-inflation-take-off-haunts-u-s-economy-today

The Fed Is Negotiating with Itself on Inflation

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-18/why-isn-t-the-fed-fazed-by-inflation-its-past-failures-explain-a-lot

 
This Inflation Scare Is Exactly What the Fed Was Hoping to Avoid
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-14/this-inflation-scare-is-exactly-what-the-fed-was-hoping-to-avoid

There are reasons to worry about US inflation
https://www.ft.com/content/5d2aef18-e9c4-486a-8323-c5fc6addf5f7

Is It Time to Panic About Inflation? Ask These 5 Questions First.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/20/upshot/inflation-five-questions.html 

Efficiency versus Resiliency

Engineers and economists prize efficiency, but nature favors resilience – lessons from Texas, COVID-19 and the 737 Max
https://theconversation.com/engineers-and-economists-prize-efficiency-but-nature-favors-resilience-lessons-from-texas-covid-19-and-the-737-max-152670 

The Case for Standardized College Entrance Exams

Killing the SAT and ACT Isn’t the Way to Fix College Admissions
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-17/killing-the-sat-and-act-isn-t-the-way-to-fix-college-admissions 

Broadband Access and Digital Infrastructure in Rural Areas

Rural Areas Are Looking for Workers. They Need Broadband to Get Them.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/business/infrastructure-rural-broadband.html 

Cryptofever

From Bitcoin to Dogecoin: What’s Driving Cryptocurrencies’ Rise and the Challenges Ahead
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-factors-driving-crypto-markets-boom-and-the-challenges-ahead-11621243809 

Stimulus and Inflation

Biden Should Fight the Inflation the Fed Ignores
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-16/biden-should-fight-the-inflation-the-fed-ignores 

Rise of Stablecoins

 

Related:
The Assorted Teachings of Dogecoin
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/style/dogecoin-cryptocurrency-investment.html 

Pandemic's Death Toll

There have been 7m-13m excess deaths worldwide during the pandemic
https://www.economist.com/briefing/2021/05/15/there-have-been-7m-13m-excess-deaths-worldwide-during-the-pandemic 

A True Bibliophile

The bookseller of Bangalore
https://www.economist.com/obituary/2021/05/15/ts-shanbhag-died-of-coronavirus-on-may-4th

Will Micro Asset Bubbles Burst?

Bottom Drops Out of the Red-Hot Market for Electric Vehicle Start-Ups
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/12/business/lordstown-stock-price.html
 
Elon Musk Conveniently Ignored Bitcoin's Inconvenient Truth
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-13/elon-musk-conveniently-ignored-bitcoin-s-inconvenient-truth 

This Figure Suggests Cryptocurrencies Are in a Massive Bubble
https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/05/07/this-figure-suggests-cryptocurrency-massive-bubble/ 

The IRS Is Coming for Crypto Investors Who Haven’t Paid Their Taxes
https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-irs-comes-for-crypto-investors-who-havent-paid-their-taxes-11620937095 

India's Covid Battle

How India Can Survive the Virus
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/opinion/india-coronavirus-vaccination.html
 
India Must Start Its Road to Economic Recovery Now
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-12/india-must-start-its-road-to-economic-recovery-even-as-the-second-wave-rages 

The Inflation Debate Heats Up

Inflation Is Here. What Now?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/upshot/inflation-is-here-what-now.html
 
Fed Officials Have Six Reasons to Bet Inflation Spike Will Pass
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-13/fed-leaders-are-confident-inflation-is-transitory-here-s-why
 
What’s Really Behind the Great 2021 Inflation Debate
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-13/stephanomics-what-s-really-behind-the-great-2021-inflation-debate-podcast

Two Big Things You Need to Understand About Inflation
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-11/debt-makes-the-fed-s-job-harder-if-inflation-accelerates
 
Will the inflation spike be temporary?
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/551466-will-the-inflation-spike-be-temporary 

Cheating Epidemic and Remote Learning

Cheating at School Is Easier Than Ever—and It’s Rampant
https://www.wsj.com/articles/cheating-at-school-is-easier-than-everand-its-rampant-11620828004
“A year of remote learning has spurred an eruption of cheating among students, from grade school to college. With many students isolated at home over the past year—and with a mass of online services at their disposal—academic dishonesty has never been so easy.
Websites that allow students to submit questions for expert answers have gained millions of new users over the past year. A newer breed of site allows students to put up their own classwork for auction”. 

Jobs Report – Parsing Economic Data

Panicking About That Jobs Report? Breathe. Look at the Data.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/12/opinion/panicking-about-that-jobs-report-breathe-look-at-the-data.html
 
Related:
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/05/jobs-report-explained-ui-childcare-seasonal-adjustment.html 

The Growing China Threat

Why is China making a permanent enemy of India?
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Why-is-China-making-a-permanent-enemy-of-India
 
The Battle Over Taiwan
https://www.economist.com/briefing/2021/05/01/chinas-growing-military-confidence-puts-taiwan-at-risk

How China Sees the World
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/05/mcmaster-china-strategy/609088/
 
The Thucydides Trap: Are the U.S. and China Headed for War? By GRAHAM ALLISON
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/09/united-states-china-war-thucydides-trap/406756/
“The defining question about global order for this generation is whether China and the United States can escape Thucydides’s Trap. The Greek historian’s metaphor reminds us of the attendant dangers when a rising power rivals a ruling power—as Athens challenged Sparta in ancient Greece, or as Germany did Britain a century ago. Most such contests have ended badly, often for both nations, a team of mine at the Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs has concluded after analyzing the historical record. In 12 of 16 cases over the past 500 years, the result was war. When the parties avoided war, it required huge, painful adjustments in attitudes and actions on the part not just of the challenger but also the challenged.” 

Is There a War Coming Between China and the U.S.?

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/opinion/china-us-2034.html

Four Ways a China-U.S. War at Sea Could Play Out
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-04-25/u-s-china-sea-war-could-spread-to-japan-australia-india

Bozeman, Montana - A Boomtown

My Beloved College Town Has a Problem: It’s too Popular
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/12/opinion/bozeman-montana-housing.html 

Monetary Policy Errors, Asset Bubbles, and Inflation Risks

U.S. Consumer Prices Jump Most Since 2009, Outpacing Estimates
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-12/consumer-prices-in-u-s-increase-by-most-since-2009
“The annual CPI figure surged to 4.2%, the most since 2008 though a figure distorted by the comparison to the pandemic-depressed index in April 2020. This phenomenon -- known as the base effect -- will skew the May figure as well, likely muddling the ongoing inflation debate.
While Federal Reserve officials and economists acknowledge the temporary boost, it’s unclear whether a more durable pickup in inflationary pressures is underway against a backdrop of soaring commodities costs, trillions of dollars in government economic stimulus and incipient signs of higher labor costs”.

The Fed is Playing with Fire
Clinging to an emergency policy after the emergency has passed, Chairman Powell courts asset bubbles.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fed-is-playing-with-fire-11620684980
 
Markets Are in for an Interest-Rate Surprise
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-10/markets-are-in-for-an-interest-rate-surprise

The Days of Low Treasury Yields Are Numbered
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-12/the-days-of-low-treasury-yields-are-numbered

Two Big Things You Need to Understand About Inflation
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-11/debt-makes-the-fed-s-job-harder-if-inflation-accelerates
 
Will the inflation spike be temporary?
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/551466-will-the-inflation-spike-be-temporary
 
Is the US housing boom a cause for concern?

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/550331-is-the-us-housing-boom-a-cause-for-concern

U.S. Home Prices Surge the Most on Record in Buying Frenzy
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-11/u-s-home-prices-surge-the-most-on-record-in-buying-frenzy
 
Job Openings in U.S. Surge to a Record High 8.12 Million
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-11/job-openings-in-u-s-surge-to-a-record-high-8-12-million

Related:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/baldwin/2021/05/12/meet-the-inflation-profiteers/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/baldwin/2021/05/02/from-lumber-to-tips-to-bitcoin-12-inflation-hedging-investment-moves/

The Resilience of the US Stock Market

Why stocks soared while America struggled
https://www.vox.com/business-and-finance/22421417/stock-market-pandemic-economy 

US Needs Stronger Cyber Defenses

The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and the SolarWinds hack were all but inevitable – why national cyber defense is a ‘wicked’ problem
https://theconversation.com/the-colonial-pipeline-ransomware-attack-and-the-solarwinds-hack-were-all-but-inevitable-why-national-cyber-defense-is-a-wicked-problem-160661
 
Pipeline Hack Exposes Brutal Vise of Cyber-Era Extortion Schemes
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-10/pipeline-hack-exposes-brutal-vise-of-cyber-era-extortion-schemes 

Locke versus Epicurus

COVID-19 upended Americans’ sense of individualism and invited us to embrace interconnectedness – an idea from Greek philosopher Epicurus
https://theconversation.com/covid-19-upended-americans-sense-of-individualism-and-invited-us-to-embrace-interconnectedness-an-idea-from-greek-philosopher-epicurus-159775 

Rise of Mid-Tier Cities

The Breakout Cities on the Forefront of America’s Economic Recovery
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-breakout-cities-on-the-forefront-of-americas-economic-recovery-11620584178 

Protectionism versus Globalization

Globalization’s Coming Golden Age
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-04-20/globalizations-coming-golden-age
 
Unalloyed Failure: The Lessons of Trump’s Disastrous Steel Tariffs
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-05-07/trump-disastrous-steel-tariffs
 
Do Restrictions on H-1B Visas Create American Jobs?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/business/dealbook/h1b-visas-us-jobs.html 

Incentive Schemes at the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund

Why the Best Job in Finance Isn’t About the Bonus
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-06/why-the-best-job-in-finance-isn-t-about-the-bonus 

Preparing for the Next Global Disaster

The Next Global Disaster Is on Its Way, and We Aren’t Ready
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-09/niall-ferguson-the-next-global-disaster-is-already-on-its-way 

The Debate Surrounding Vaccine Passports

Why Ron DeSantis’ Ban on Vaccine Passports Could Cost Florida Billions of Dollars
https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2021/05/07/ron-desantis-florida-vaccine-passports-cruise-industry/
 
The Constitution Requires the U.S. to Offer Vaccine Passports
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/05/covid-vaccine-passport-constitutional-lockdown.html
 
We need COVID-19 vaccine requirements now — not just recommendations
https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/552379-we-need-covid-19-vaccine-requirements-now-not-just-recommendations 

Life in Silicon Valley

Seeing the Real Faces of Silicon Valley
For many midlevel engineers and food truck workers and longtime residents, a region filled with extremes has become increasingly inhospitable.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/business/economy/seeing-the-real-faces-of-silicon-valley.html 

The Boom in US Asset Markets

What Happens to Stocks and Cryptocurrencies When the Fed Stops Raining Money?
https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-happens-to-stocks-and-cryptocurrencies-when-the-fed-stops-raining-money-11620446420 

The Stock Market Loves Biden More Than Trump. So Far, at Least.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/business/stocks-biden.html 

Big Week for Jobs Data

 ADP Numbers: 5/5/2021
U.S. Companies Add Most Jobs in Seven Months, ADP Data Show
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-05/u-s-companies-add-most-jobs-in-seven-months-adp-data-show

Jobless Claims: 5/6/2021

U.S. Jobless Claims Fall More Than Forecast to Pandemic Low
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-06/u-s-jobless-claims-fall-more-than-forecast-to-pandemic-low

Payroll Numbers: 5/7/2021 (First Friday of the Month)
The Jobs Report: The Boom That Wasn’t
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/upshot/jobs-report-surprise.html

It’s not a ‘labor shortage.’ It’s a great reassessment of work in America.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/05/07/jobs-report-labor-shortage-analysis/
The Jobs Boom Is Real Despite Disappointing April
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-07/april-jobs-report-is-a-big-disappointment-what-happened 

Millions Are Unemployed. Why Can’t Companies Find Workers?
https://www.wsj.com/articles/millions-are-unemployed-why-cant-companies-find-workers-11620302440 

Patents and Vaccine Development

Brazil and India Need Their Own Operation Warp Speed
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-07/waiving-patents-isn-t-enough-to-vaccinate-the-world
Timothy L. O'Brien notes:
“Patents and IP laws have always existed, ideally, to protect the brainchildren of innovators and guarantee that they get their rightful share of the bounty from popular or groundbreaking products. In more recent decades, big companies have used patent claims to stifle competitors.
The pharmaceutical industry should be compensated for creativity and risk-taking, of course, and protected from theft. But drug companies, often buttressed with public funding, have also used patents to squelch rivals and maintain lucrative pricing regimes, even when that isn’t in the public interest. ...
The vaccines on the market now didn’t spring into existence solely because of private capital. Taxpayers helped foot a substantial part of the bill, and their interests should be served as well. Moderna, which arguably would never have brought a drug to market without government aid, has already said it won’t enforce its vaccine patent rights during the pandemic”.

Share the Intellectual Property on COVID-19
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/covid19-intellectual-property-waiver-is-a-moral-imperative-by-jeffrey-d-sachs-2021-04 

Vaccination and Herd Immunity

Our Pathetic Herd Immunity Failure by David Brooks
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/opinion/herd-immunity-us.html

We could see a winter comeback of covid-19 if we don’t get more Americans vaccinated now
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/06/we-could-see-winter-comeback-covid-19-if-we-dont-get-more-americans-vaccinated-now/ 

Friday Readings

‘Belonging Is Stronger Than Facts’: The Age of Misinformation
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/world/asia/misinformation-disinformation-fake-news.html

What turning 80 teaches me by George Will

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-turning-80-teaches-me/2021/05/06/a2aa7e38-ae83-11eb-b476-c3b287e52a01_story.html

The baby bust won’t end without government action by Catherine Rampell
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/06/baby-bust-wont-end-without-government-action/

The pandemic has led to innovation. It’s a reason for optimism. By Fareed Zakaria
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/the-pandemic-has-led-to-innovation-its-a-reason-for-optimism/2021/05/06/632ce4e8-ae9d-11eb-ab4c-986555a1c511_story.html

We’re still living in the age of Napoleon by Ishaan Tharoor
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/07/napoleon-legacy-france/ 

Rise of the Robots

Robots Are Everywhere
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2021/05/photos-robots-are-everywhere/618823/ 

The Identity Trap

Jhumpa Lahiri: “Who isn’t on the outside?”
https://www.newstatesman.com/international/fiction/2021/05/jhumpa-lahiri-who-isnt-outside
“I think identity is many things, but I think one of the things it is is a trap,” said Jhumpa Lahiri. “Thinking too much about it traps us in ways that are dangerous and limiting.” 

Higher Education - Competition versus Learning

How College Became a Ruthless Competition Divorced from Learning
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/marriage-college-status-meritocracy/618795/
Daniel Markovits, Professor at Yale Law School, notes:
Because education, like aristocratic rank, is a positional good, the most elite educations yield the greatest returns: “The value to me of my education,” a well-known economist once observed, “depends not only on how much I have but also on how much the man ahead of me in the job line has.” In law, graduates of top-10 schools make on average half more than graduates of schools ranked 21 to 100; at the most profitable law firm in America, where partners make more than $6 million a year, more than 90 percent of the partners graduated from a top-10 law school. Top investment banks recruit from only a handful of colleges—sometimes just Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, and perhaps MIT and Williams College. A survey of a narrowly targeted set of top jobs reports, almost unbelievably, that “nearly 50 percent of America’s corporate leaders, 60 percent of its financial leaders, and 50 percent of its highest government officials attended only 12 universities.” 

Related:

Why rich parents have rich children
https://voxeu.org/article/why-rich-parents-have-rich-children
“The children of rich families tend to go to better quality schools, have higher cognitive skills, and complete more years of schooling. This column exploits unique data from the National Child Development study to determine these early childhood factors go on to have long-run impacts on an individual’s lifetime earnings, perpetuating a cycle of wealth. These results suggest that policies that equalise investments, such as improving school quality, could promote income mobility”. 

Bidenomics – A New Approach to Macro Policymaking

Bidenomics Really Is Something New
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/05/biden-economy-inflation-yellen/618816/ 

Pandemic-Induced Migration Disrupts US Housing Market

Covid Has Made Orlando Less Affordable Than San Francisco
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-06/covid-has-made-orlando-less-affordable-than-san-francisco 

Lessons from India’s Covid Crisis

India’s Covid Crisis Could Happen Anywhere
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/opinion/covid-india-crisis.html 

The Global EV Battle

As Cars Go Electric, China Builds a Big Lead in Factories
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/04/business/china-electric-cars.html
Fueled with money from Wall Street and local officials, automakers plan to build eight million electric cars a year there, more than Europe and North America combined.
 
Why Ford’s New Electric Car Is So Important
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/05/why-ford-mustang-mach-e-so-important-climate/618801/ 

Democracy at Risk

US society is fraying at the seams. We need to think about our ‘civic infrastructure’
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/04/us-society-civic-infrastructure
Jan-Werner Müller, Professor at Princeton and a fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study in Berlin, notes:
“Local associations promoting dialogue could receive grants from it, alongside public libraries and other spaces with civic uses. The proposal can be extended to online public spaces. As everyone knows, the dominant social media platforms today – especially Facebook – are based on the business models of “incitement capitalism”: the imperative to segregate and rile people up, and keep them under constant surveillance, all in order to monetize their “engagement”. By now, there are excellent plans for public, non-partisan platforms and digital democratic infrastructure. It would be naive to think that these could replace behemoths like Facebook, with its billions of users and corresponding network effects; but they might complement them with proper spaces for civic exchange. Some scholars also advocate a Corporation for Public Software, on the model of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, to make civic digital tools freely available”. 

US Bond Market

Corporate Cash Grab Flashes Warning for Bond Investors
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-04/corporate-cash-grab-flashes-warning-for-bond-investors 

A 'Very Modest' Taper Is Undeserving of a Tantrum
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-05/market-volatility-on-yellen-s-rate-rise-comments-is-misdirected 

GOP Appears Incapable of Escaping Trumpism

Why Republican Politicians Stick with Trump
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-04/why-republican-politicians-stick-with-trump
 
Elected Republicans are lying with open eyes. Their excuses are disgraceful.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/03/trump-republicans-big-lie/
 
The effort to dump Liz Cheney is the consequence of a party that lost its way
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-cheney-republicans/2021/05/04/fa942f58-ad30-11eb-ab4c-986555a1c511_story.html  
 
It’s not just going to go away
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/04/its-not-just-going-go-away/ 

Decline in US Birth Rate

Births in U.S. Drop to Levels Not Seen Since 1979
https://www.wsj.com/articles/births-in-u-s-drop-to-levels-not-seen-since-1979-11620187260
 
The U.S. Birthrate Has Dropped Again. The Pandemic May Be Accelerating the Decline.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/us/us-birthrate-falls-covid.html 

Why America’s Population Advantage Has Evaporated
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-05/america-s-population-advantage-has-evaporated 

A Baby Boom Would Be Bad
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-08/a-baby-boom-is-the-last-thing-the-world-needs
Before we champion faster population growth, let's curb climate change and find a better way to feed the people who are already here. 

Vaccine Passports and Tourism

Leading 20 Nations Set to Back Efforts for Vaccine Passports
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-04/leading-20-nations-set-to-back-efforts-for-vaccine-passports 

The Dream: International Travel. The Reality: Chaos and Confusion.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/travel/covid-vaccinated-travel-reality.html 

Western Media’s Double Standards

The Lurid Orientalism of Western Media
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/western-media-double-standard-for-crises-in-foreign-countries-by-brahma-chellaney-2021-05
BRAHMA CHELLANEY notes:
“The funerary fire is a classic trope in Western novels, travelogues, and paintings about India. By directing their cameras to the burning pyres, Western media outlets are satisfying their audience’s morbid fascination with the Hindu tradition of cremating the dead (even though this environmentally friendly practice is increasingly catching on in the West). Utterly ignored in this coverage is the fact that showing ghastly images of burning pyres is a grotesque and deeply disrespectful invasion of what is a very private affair in India”. 

Cryptocurrency Bubbles

The Dogecoin Joke Is Turning Serious in Latest Crypto Binge
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-05/the-dogecoin-joke-is-turning-serious-in-latest-crypto-binge

'Speculative excess': Ethereum finds new peak in sizzling crypto market

https://www.reuters.com/technology/ethereum-extends-gains-fresh-record-above-3400-2021-05-04/
 
Dogecoin Jumps 50% as Crypto Animal Spirits Kick Into High Gear
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-04/dogecoin-jumps-50-as-crypto-animal-spirits-kick-into-high-gear 

Coronavirus - Global Hotspots

It’s Not Just India. New Virus Waves Deluge Developing Countries
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-03/it-s-not-just-india-new-virus-waves-deluge-developing-countries
 
Coronavirus tracker: the latest figures as countries fight the Covid-19 resurgence
https://www.ft.com/content/a2901ce8-5eb7-4633-b89c-cbdf5b386938 

Europe’s Unwieldly Bureaucracy

Leaderless Europe Is All Process, Little Substance
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-03/the-european-union-is-all-process-no-substance 

Dangers of Overpopulation

Dangers of Overpopulation
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/apr/28/8-billion-angels-documentary-overpopulation

Real-World Application of Mathematical Models

How two young math geeks solved the mystery of Mexico City’s covid-19 dead
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/05/03/mexico-coronavirus-excess-death/ 

The Inflation Debate

Will the inflation spike be temporary?
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/551466-will-the-inflation-spike-be-temporary
 
Widespread Commodity Shortages Raise Inflation Fears
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/business/economy/commodity-shortages-inflation.html
 
The Job Market Is Tighter Than You Think
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-job-market-is-tighter-than-you-think-11619006400
 
The Best Inflation-Fighting Investments for Retirees
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/1033123/the-best-inflation-fighting-investments-for-retirees 

Biden’s Fed Choices Add Uncertainty for Inflation-Wary Investors
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-05/biden-s-fed-choices-add-uncertainty-for-inflation-wary-investors 

As Americans with disposable income start shopping again, an odd assortment of products like espresso equipment, sofas and natural deodorant have become sudden hot properties.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/style/hard-to-find-espresso-maker-sofas-jacuzzi.html