Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/elwin-wilson-dies-reformed-kkk-member-was-76/
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সোমবার, ১ এপ্রিল, ২০১৩
Print Money. Mail Everybody a Check.
Four thousand U.S. dollars are counted out by a banker counting currency at a bank in Westminster, Colo., Nov. 3, 2009. Photo by Rick Wilking/Reuters
America has grown desperate for smart ideas to revive a flagging economy. Sunday night in the Financial Times I read one of the most desperate: an op-ed by UCLA economist Roger Farmer arguing that the Federal Reserve should deliberately re-inflate a new asset price bubble to goose the economy. It?s a #slatepitch too far for me, but the conclusion is driven by two fairly reasonable arguments. One is that the economy continues to suffer from weak aggregate demand. The other is that reviving the economy through large-scale public works expenditures is likely to be ineffective and inefficient. The former is clearly correct?unemployment remains high and inflation low?and though the latter is somewhat controversial, I think it?s true. Farmer?s bottom line that he?d ?prefer to see the creation of more private sector jobs, not more government jobs? is right on. But doing this by trying to engineer a stock market boom is insane. We should do something much simpler: print up a bunch of money and send it to American households.
Ben Bernanke himself famously argued years ago that a central bank should never run out of tools for fighting deflation and depression because, as a last resort, it could always drop cash out of helicopters. That would be fun to watch, obviously, but mailing checks would be a lot simpler. And even though it sounds a little insane, it becomes a more and more compelling idea the more you think about it.
The best thing about helicopter money is that it?s largely agnostic as to what lies at the root of our problems. As long as you think there?s some level of excess capacity in the economy, putting cash in the hands of households will help. Most obviously, if people had more money they?d buy more stuff. That means more jobs making, transporting, and selling the stuff. But not everyone would spend all of their helicopter money. Lots of families would use it to help pay off debts already accumulated, which would help speed the process by which we climb out of the debt hole of the boom years. Prosperous families without debts would just save a large share of their money. Increasing the size of the savings pool should drive borrowing costs down for firms that want to expand, while pushing up the value of stocks and other financial assets.
Compared to fiscal stimulus plans, this has many advantages. One is that it makes the budget deficit go down rather than up. Tax revenues will rise as economic activity speeds up, and the need to spend money on unemployment insurance and the like will fall if people get new jobs. (In many contexts, handing out money is an underrated tool for the long-term social good: Children in a Native American tribe that got revenue from a new casino had much better mental health than children whose families didn?t get the unexpected bonus.) It?s also really fast. Stimulus designers necessarily end up torn between a desire for speed and a desire to spend money in smart, low-waste, high-value ways. Cutting checks is all about speed, and it lets you consider well-designed investments on a separate track.
Compared to other monetary policy options, it?s simple, fair, and transparent. Almost nobody understands what ?quantitative easing? is, and those who do are tired of trying to explain. As long as people are going to accuse the Fed of engaging in dastardly money-printing, it may as well reap the PR benefits of directly putting cash in people?s hands. The public?s worries that existing monetary programs are some kind of rip-off are overstated, but the existence of these worries limits the Fed?s ability to be aggressive. A simpler policy will be more sustainable.
One downside is, obviously, that if you print a lot of money you run the risk of sparking inflation. But here?s where existing Federal Reserve policy comes into play. The central bank has already promised that it will temporarily tolerate inflation as high as 2.5 percent at least until the unemployment rate falls below 6.5 percent. That?s a smart way of giving its current zero interest-rate policy more potency. But with inflation currently running a bit below 2 percent, it also means that there?s a cushion for additional stimulus. One way to read this is as a strong message to Congress that it should enact a stimulus program. But monetary stimulus works, too. Start printing money and mailing it to people. Say the checks will stop if inflation gets above 2.5 percent but otherwise will keep coming until the unemployment rate falls.
The only problem really worth worrying about is one Bernanke glossed over in his original helicopter paper?it?s probably illegal. But that just means we need to change the law. Not just for the current downturn, but for the next one. An issue that hasn?t gotten nearly enough attention is that the problem of the past five years?in which short-term interest rates fall to zero and ?ordinary? monetary policy loses traction?is very likely to recur. It almost happened in the early aughts, after all. The combination of victory over inflation and slowing population growth means that even in normal times interest rates will be pretty low. Whenever we?re hit by a shock they?ll fall close to zero. Which means ordinary monetary policy of manipulating short-term interest rates actually can?t be our ordinary response to recessions. And if we?ve learned anything over the past several years, it?s that we can?t count on ad hoc congressional stimulus or quantitative easing programs to do the job.
We need a new strategy that can be taken off the shelf and implemented rapidly when needed. Helicopter money fits the bill perfectly. And even though it?s not monetary policy as traditionally designed, it fits the Federal Reserve?s mandate to stabilize prices and employment quite well. The ability to print money and directly give it to households is the tool we need, not just for today but for the next downturn.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=6dc3f97aecc0f80f6cc2a5b54af2be42
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By keeping the beat, sea lion sheds new light on animals? movements to sound
Apr. 1, 2013 ? Move over dancing bears, Ronan the sea lion really does know how to boogie to the beat.
A California sea lion who bobs her head in time with music has given scientists the first empirical evidence of an animal that is not capable of vocal mimicry but can keep the beat, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
The study's authors suggest that their findings challenge current scientific theories that an animal's ability to synchronize its movements with sound are associated with the same brain mechanisms that allow for vocal mimicry in humans and some birds such as cockatoos, parrots, and budgerigars. The findings were published online April 1 in APA's Journal of Comparative Psychology.
"Understanding the cognitive capabilities of animals requires carefully controlled, well-designed experiments," said study co-author Colleen Reichmuth, PhD, with the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of California at Santa Cruz. "This study is particularly rigorous because it examines, step-by-step, the learning conditions that supported the emergence of this complex behavior."
Ronan, a 3-year-old sea lion, demonstrated her ability to bob to the beat in six experiments led by doctoral candidate Peter Cook at the Long Marine Lab at UCSC.
"Dancing is universal among humans, and until recently, it was thought to be unique to humans as well," said Cook. "When some species of birds were found to have a similar capability for rhythmic movement, it was linked to their ability to mimic sound. Now we're seeing that even mammals with limited vocal ability can move in time with a beat over a broad range of sounds and tempos."
Ronan's first musical "dance" lesson was to the tune of a simplified section of John Fogerty's "Down on the Corner," the study said. Once Ronan was trained to bob her head to music, the researchers tested her with two pop songs, "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys, and "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind and Fire. Without any prior exposure to the songs, Ronan was able to bob to the beat of both songs over the course of multiple trials, according to the study. She then showed that she could follow along to five different tempos of "Boogie Wonderland."
Ronan's bobbing skills markedly improved over the course of the trials and apparently endured, the study found. The researchers gave her a follow-up test a few weeks after the final session and she was successful in keeping the beat with each of the sounds previously used, maintaining a minimum of 60 consecutive bobs to each of the various beats.
At the beginning of the experiments, Ronan was first trained to move in time to a hand signal, which was replaced by a simple non-musical sound signal. When she successfully completed tests by bobbing her head to various rhythmic sounds, she was rewarded with a fish, the study said.
The researchers varied the types and speed of the sounds to verify that she was actually following the rhythm by bobbing her head. To rule out that she wasn't simply bobbing her head in response to the previous beat, they tested her using two computer-generated, metronome-like ticks -- one that did not miss a beat and the other that did. Ronan kept the beat going even when the metronome missed a beat, according to the study.
A video of Ronan can be watched at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yS6qU_w3JQ
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Psychological Association (APA), via Newswise.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Peter Cook, Andrew Rouse, Margaret Wilson, Colleen Reichmuth. A California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) Can Keep the Beat: Motor Entrainment to Rhythmic Auditory Stimuli in a Non Vocal Mimic.. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 2013; DOI: 10.1037/a0032345
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/h6tZBb2HCsQ/130401143149.htm
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See Beyonc? and Blue Ivy?s Matching Tour Chairs
On Friday, the proud mama, 31, posted an Instagram shot of a director's chair with the tour logo, alongside a pint-sized version of the same seat.
Source: http://feeds.celebritybabies.com/~r/celebrity-babies/~3/tGwTiU51Vi0/
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Japan survey finds business sentiment improving
TOKYO (AP) ? Japanese manufacturers are more upbeat about business conditions than they were late last year, but less so than expected, a central bank survey found.
The Bank of Japan's "tankan" index for the March quarter rose to minus 8 from minus 12 for large manufacturers, a smaller improvement than analysts had anticipated before Monday's release. A reading below zero means pessimists outnumber optimists, and the tankan forecast for large manufacturers for the June survey was minus 1.
Large firms said they plan to reduce capital spending in the fiscal year that begins Monday by 2 percent, suggesting manufacturers may be unconvinced lax demand is on the rebound, despite aggressive stimulus measures by the government and central bank.
Large nonmanufacturing companies were more positive, at positive 6, up from 4 in December. Smaller nonmanufacturers were less optimistic, at minus 8, up from minus 11 in the previous survey.
The central bank will hold its first policy meeting under a new governor, former Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda, later this week. The weak business outlook could spur fresh moves to ease monetary conditions, possibly by increasing BOJ asset purchases or extending the range of maturities for the government bonds it buys.
"It is a near certainty that at least one of the two Board meetings in April will result in some form of additional monetary easing," Capital Economics said in a commentary issued before the tankan's release.
While increased government spending and monetary easing appear to be giving the economy a boost after years of stagnation, economists say longer-term reforms are needed to counter weakening demand due to Japan's aging and shrinking population and excess capacity.
Kuroda has pledged to do whatever he can as central bank governor to help achieve a 2 percent inflation goal demanded by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and end the long bout of deflation, or declining prices, that has discouraged companies from investing more in the domestic economy.
The tankan survey of 10,698 companies, 98.9 percent of which responded, showed the outlook for smaller manufacturers edging slightly lower, to minus 19 from minus 18.
While public works spending will also raise demand and create jobs, the government's longer term strategy for economic revival after more than two decades of stagnation hinges on convincing both companies and consumers to spend more to boost domestic demand.
Japan has relied heavily on export manufacturing to drive growth. But the economy has suffered thanks to weak global demand due to the financial crisis. Many manufacturers have shifted production to less-costly overseas locations to help blunt the impact of the strong Japanese yen, reducing the potential positive impact on exports from the yen's weakening over the past half-year. Meanwhile, the weaker yen has raised costs in yen for imported energy and commodities.
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