Congenital Eminence

Who owns Americans' public debt?

2011-07-27T07:48:00.000-07:00

Useful data on who owns Americans' public debt, summarized here.

Small businesses and entrepreneurship

2011-03-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

Few would doubt that the US is an extremely entrepreneurial place, but we frequently confuse entrepreneurial dynamism with self-employment and small enterprise. The Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research published a comparative report on this issue and its data shows that, contrary to popular belief, the US ranks close to the bottom in terms of the number of people employed in these small enterprises. While the CEPR think tank is somewhat left-of-center (or perhaps mainstream academic), their data is from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a broadly neo-liberal inter-governmental organization.

Novak on the ignorance of Canadians

2009-11-13T08:54:00.000-08:00

This happy exchange from CNN's Crossfire, 6/19/02:

NOVAK: All right, the next question is from Marg in Prince George, British Columbia. She writes: "I can't imagine being a senior in your country and not being able to pay for a much-needed drug. If I lived in the U.S., I would probably be dead by now. For such a rich country, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves for not providing extended medical care for the elderly."

Marg, like most Canadians, you're ill-informed and wrong. The U.S. has the longest standard of living -- longest life expectancy of any country in the world, including Canada. That's the truth.

The transcript is here.

Comparisons from Brooks

2009-11-02T19:02:00.000-08:00

David Brooks, NYT 28 Aug 2009

We in this country have a distinct sort of society. We Americans work longer hours than any other people on earth. We switch jobs much more frequently than Western Europeans or the Japanese. We have high marriage rates and high divorce rates. We move more, volunteer more and murder each other more.

Out of this dynamic but sometimes merciless culture, a distinct style of American capitalism has emerged. The American economy is flexible and productive. America's G.D.P. per capita is nearly 50 percent higher than France's. But the American system is also unforgiving. It produces its share of insecurity and misery.

This culture, this spirit, this system is not perfect, but it is our own.

Franken compares...

2009-10-26T17:38:00.001-07:00

Senate hearing: Franken vs. Hudson Institute...

Thanks to my student Dave Rosenman for sending me this.

The use of foreign exemplars

2009-10-24T14:22:00.001-07:00

James Fallows writing in The Atlantic:

Foreign examples are useful spurs to internal action. Sputnik served that purpose 50 years ago, and Japan's industrial successes led to valuable changes in American corporate and fiscal policies nearly a generation ago. [Today] A look at China can help America address its main shortcomings--reckless fiscal and foreign policies, delay in moving away from dependence on oil--and perhaps also suggest ways the nations can work together...

Ignorance

2009-10-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

Ignorance is the first penalty of pride.

HG Wells, The Outline of History

Want a happy, healthy childhood? Choose Norway...

2009-10-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

Or Denmark, or France, or even Britain. But avoid the USA. The OECD evaluated 21 variables for children under 18 in six categories ranging from material well-being, housing, education, health and safety, risky behavior, and the quality of school life. The US compared badly: out of 30 OECD countries, the US ranked 23rd (material well being), 12th (housing & environment), 25th (educational well-being), 24th (health and safety), 15th (risky behavior) and 14th (quality of school life).

In the same article, The Economist highlights findings that America suffers a distressingly high degree of 'persistence of earnings': the rich stay rich, and the poor stay poor. To be clear: "the poorest American children are considerably more likely than are their European peers to stay poor."

For a summary see: The Economist. For the report itself, go here.

Welcome to Congenital Eminence

2009-10-08T21:15:00.001-07:00

...a blog devoted to viewing the US in comparative international perspective.