How did the national debt get so big?

The book Cadillac Desert discusses the development of dams, aquaducts, and irrigation canals to slake the thirst of cities and farmers in the Western U.S..  While these projects did eventually deliver the water they promised, they did so at huge costs to taxpayers.  In the words of former congressmen Robert W. Edgar: “The old-boy network…

Regression Discontinuity

Regression Discontinuity is an econometric method that has become popular in recent years.  Let me give you an example where regression discontinuity would be valid.   Let us say that all students who score 1000 or more on their SATs matriculate at Ivy U and all students who score below 1000 attend college at State…

Cavalcade of Risk – May 6 edition

The Tax Update Blog literally puts out fires in the latest edition of the Cavalcade of Risk.  My favorite posts include: Will the Swine Flu outbreak be “the defining moment for the idea of expanded Federal involvement in health care?“ What’s the difference between a pandemic and an epidemic? The Wise Curve takes a ‘Don’t…