Category Archives: Political commentary

Untying the Electoral Knot: Reimagining the States with Equal Populations

Hat tip to Nathan Yau’s Flowing Data blog, the map reimagines the 50 states with equal populations.  It’s a cool geographic systems application and a nice way to reflect upon the biases in our Electoral College system.

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It’s good to be rich and pay state taxes. And it sucks to be poor.

If you want a quick summary how the American political and economic system is so skewed toward the wealthy, contrast these two reports. First, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy issued a report on the most regressive (Washington state!) … finish reading It’s good to be rich and pay state taxes. And it sucks to be poor.

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Legal protection to the middle finger

I am a dinosaur.  I still read the print edition of the NY Times.  Of course, it helps that the academic M-F rate for the print edition–delivered to my door daily at 3 am–is less than the monthly cost of … finish reading Legal protection to the middle finger

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How the fiscal cliff threatens higher ed research and our economic future

Two recent stories highlight how the fiscal cliff threatens the nation’s long run economic future. An article by Michael McRobbie, the president of Indiana University, in the Chronicle of Higher Ed focuses on the short and mid-term effects.  If sequestration … finish reading How the fiscal cliff threatens higher ed research and our economic future

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Why focus on the groups who voted for Obama? Why not on the groups that didn’t?

There have been a flurry of analyses in recent days about the surprising level of support Obama garnered from various groups in the population.  If we were to read the commentary, at least four different subgroups of the population were … finish reading Why focus on the groups who voted for Obama? Why not on the groups that didn’t?

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The Constitutionality of Early Voting

(Crossposted from Earlyvoting.net) Just got this email: Dear Prof. Gronke,  I, and my colleagues, have been unable to satisfactorily answer this question, “If by law voting shall be held on the “first Tuesday after the first Monday in November” how is … finish reading The Constitutionality of Early Voting

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Nate Silver and the Binomial Theorem

There has been a lot of chatter about the meaning of Nate Silver’s current election forecast. Unfortunately, what the commentary reveals is less about Silver and more about statistical illiteracy.  Silver’s model is complex, but the basic logic is quite … finish reading Nate Silver and the Binomial Theorem

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Everyone is middle class in the United States, so Romney’s claims about capital gains may resonate

Ezra Klein correctly points out: Romney said “Every middle-income taxpayer no longer will pay any tax on interest, dividends or capital gains.” As this graph from the Tax Policy Center shows, few people in the middle-income brackets actually pay capital … finish reading Everyone is middle class in the United States, so Romney’s claims about capital gains may resonate

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Swing States or a Swinging Nation?

There is a really cool graphic in today’s 538 blog at the NY TImes that is making its way around the internet.  The graphic is creative and awfully pretty, but the focus on individual states as independent entities, “swinging” in response to … finish reading Swing States or a Swinging Nation?

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Micro Economies, Micro-Micro Economies, and the Political Challenges in Metro Portland

This article by Richard Florida will surely be used as further evidence of the wisdom of the Portland’s economic development trajectory for the past decade.  Florida, after all, was the guru of the “young creative class” model. Here’s the problem–just … finish reading Micro Economies, Micro-Micro Economies, and the Political Challenges in Metro Portland

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