Jay Leno Auto Part Manufacturer Through Miracle Of 3-D Printing

Posted by Milton Recht:

From The Wall Street Journal, "Who Says Jay Leno Isn't Cutting Edge? When it comes to making parts for his cars, the 'Tonight Show' host is a pioneer" by John Koten:

Mr. Leno houses his more than 200 cars and motorcycles in a cluster of solar-powered warehouselike buildings outside of Los Angeles that span 110,000 square feet. In one of the structures is an expansive shop equipped with an impressive array of 21st-century machines, including a Stratasys industrial-grade 3-D printer, a NextEngine scanner, a Fadal computer-controlled mill and a (very pricey) KMT Hammerhead water jet cutter that can slice through steel. Along with a battery of more-traditional metal machining equipment, the tools allow Mr. Leno and a small crew of garage workers to fabricate just about any auto part that has been produced in the past 100 years.

No More Scavenging
"The days of going to a junkyard and trying to find an auto part that says Packard or Franklin on it are over," Mr. Leno says. "We can make almost anything we need right here in the shop ourselves."

San Francisco Fed Projects 1 Percent Lower GDP Growth Due To Higher Income Tax Rates On Rich And Obama Health Care Taxes

Posted by Milton Recht:

From Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Economic Letter, "Fiscal Headwinds: Is the Other Shoe About to Drop?" by Brian Lucking and Daniel Wilson, June 3, 2013:

The CBO projects that the federal deficit as a share of GDP will drop 1.4 percentage points per year over the next three years. This projection would ease slightly to 1.2 percentage points per year if sequestration spending cuts were reversed. By contrast, our calculation of the historical-norm deficit decline through 2015 is 0.4 percentage point per year based on the CBO’s output gap projections. This implies that the excess drag from the rapidly shrinking deficit would reduce real GDP growth annually by between 0.8 and 1.0 percentage point, depending on whether sequestration is reversed. Thus, with or without sequestration, fiscal policy is expected to be a much greater drag on economic growth over the next three years than it has been so far.

Surprisingly, despite all the attention federal spending cuts and sequestration have received, our calculations suggest they are not the main contributors to this projected drag. The excess fiscal drag on the horizon comes almost entirely from rising taxes. Specifically, we calculate that nine-tenths of that projected 1 percentage point excess fiscal drag comes from tax revenue rising faster than normal as a share of the economy. As Panel B shows, at the end of 2012, taxes as a share of GDP were below both their historical norm in relation to the business cycle and their long-run average of about 18%. However, over the next three years, they are projected to rise much faster than our estimate of the usual cyclical pattern would indicate. The CBO points to several factors underlying this "super-cyclical" rise, including higher income tax rates for high-income households, the recent expiration of temporary Social Security payroll tax cuts, and new taxes associated with the Obama Administration’s health-care legislation. [Emphasis added.]

Source: Federal Reserve Bank Of San Francisco

[HT: Political Calculations]

Video Game Players Develop Better Visual Skills

Posted by Milton Recht:

From "Video Gamers Really Do See More" on ScienceBlog:

Hours spent at the video gaming console not only train a player’s hands to work the buttons on the controller, they probably also train the brain to make better and faster use of visual input, according to Duke University researchers.

"Gamers see the world differently," said Greg Appelbaum, an assistant professor of psychiatry in the Duke School of Medicine. "They are able to extract more information from a visual scene."

40 Percent Of US Job Hiring Occurs In The South: 17 Percent In The Northeast

Posted by Milton Recht:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary (JOLTS) today.

The South accounts for 40 percent of all US job hires. BLS defines the South as Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The Northeast accounts for 16.9 percent. BLS defines the Northeast as Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Percent of Total US Job Hires by Region
Northeast - 16.9 Percent
South - 40.3
Midwest - 22.1
West - 20.7

A hire is not always a net addition to total employment. In addition to filling a new position, a hire includes filling vacant positions due to layoffs, firings, and voluntary quits.

The data is available in Table 8 of JOLTS.

Politicians Biased in Favor Of More Surveillance

Posted by Milton Recht:

From Peggy Noonan's Blog, "The Era of Metadata"

The thing political figures fear most is a terror event that will ruin their careers. The biggest thing they fear is that a bomb goes off and it can be traced to something they did or didn’t do, an action they did or didn’t support. They all fear being accused of not doing enough to keep the citizenry safe.

This is true of Republicans and Democrats. Their anxiety has no ideology. They all fear being the incumbent in the election in which the challenger says, in a debate: “That’s all well and fine, Senator, we’re sure you’re upset at what happened. But at the moment it counted, when you could have supported all efforts to keep the people safe and bust the terror network, you weren’t there. You were off giving lectures on what you call civil liberties, and explaining why you were voting ‘no.’ Well, life is a civil liberty—and now a thousand people are dead.” Nobody wants to be that incumbent.

Because of that primal political fear, there is a built-in bias within the U.S. government toward doing too much and not too little. There is a built-in bias toward using too much muscle, too much snooping, too much gathering of data. The bias is toward overreach. The era of metadata encourages all this: There’s always more information to be got.

Time To Add Back Some Some Fat To The Diet? Vegetable Oil Contains an Essential Nutrient: No Dietary Link Between Vegetable Oil Consumption And Inflammation Associated With Heart Disease, Cancer, Asthma And Arthritis

Posted by Milton Recht:

From "Vegetable Oil IS Good for You, Study Finds" on ScienceBlog:

Vegetable oils, like those from soy, corn and canola, are a significant source of calories and are rich in linoleic acid (LA), which is an essential nutrient. Since the 1970s, researchers have known that LA helps reduce blood cholesterol levels, and for decades, scientists have known that consuming LA can help lower the risk of heart disease.***In the study, "Effect of Dietary Linoleic Acid on Markers of Inflammation in Healthy Persons: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials," researchers at the University of Missouri and the University of Illinois found that no link exists between vegetable oil consumption and circulating indicators of inflammation that are often associated with diseases such as heart disease, cancer, asthma and arthritis. While earlier animal studies have shown that a diet rich in LA can promote inflammation, MU [University of Missouri] animal sciences researcher Kevin Fritsche says that humans respond to LA differently.

"In the field of nutrition and health, animals aren’t people," said Fritsche, an MU professor of animal science and nutrition in the Division of Animal Sciences. "We’re not saying that you should just go out and consume vegetable oil freely. However, our evidence does suggest that you can achieve a heart-healthy diet by using soybean, canola, corn and sunflower oils instead of animal-based fats when cooking."

Linoleic acid is an omega-6 fatty acid that is a major component of most vegetable oils. This fatty acid is an essential nutrient and comprising 50 percent or more of most vegetable oils.

Apple And Google Spent More Money On Patent Litigation Than R&D

Posted by Milton Recht:

From Time Business & Money, "Viewpoint: Obama’s 'Patent Troll' Reform: Why Everyone Should Care" by Sam Gustin:

In 2011, Apple and Google spent more money on patent litigation and defensive patent acquisitions than on research and development. That’s not a good sign for the United States economy; in fact, it’s a stark indication that our intellectual property system is broken. Rampant patent litigation is impeding innovation and ultimately increasing the costs of gadgets for consumers, according to legal experts and industry observers.

In Memory Of D-Day, June 6, 1944, Reagan's 40th Anniversary Commemoration Speech At Pointe Du Hoc, Normandy

Posted by Milton Recht:

Study Estimates About 30 Million In US Will Not Have Health Insurance After Implementation Of ACA Health Care Law (ObamaCare)

Posted by Milton Recht:

According to the following recent study between 29.8 million and 31 million people will not have health insurance after the Affordable Care Act is implemented.

From HealthAffairs Blog, "The Uninsured After Implementation Of The Affordable Care Act: A Demographic And Geographic Analysis" by Rachel Nardin, Leah Zallman, Danny McCormick, Steffie Woolhandler, and David Himmelstein, June 6th, 2013:

Results. We found that if all currently undecided states opt-in, 29.8 million people will remain uninsured, whereas if all opt-out, the number of uninsured will total 31.0 million, 1.2 million above the opt-in scenario.
***

Source: HealthAffairs Blog

Dual Eligible Medicare Medicaid Enrollees Are 13 Percent Of The Combine Population But Account For 34 Percent Of Total Spending

Posted by Milton Recht:

From CBO, "Dual-Eligible Beneficiaries of Medicare and Medicaid: Characteristics, Health Care Spending, and Evolving Policies" June 6, 2013:

In 2009, the federal and state governments spent a total of more than $250 billion on health care benefits for the 9 million low-income elderly or disabled people who are jointly enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid.
***What Characteristics and Spending Patterns Distinguish the Dual-Eligible Population?
Dual-eligible beneficiaries are a varied group, but many have extensive health care needs, stemming from multiple illnesses and disabilities. In the case of full duals, for example, half initially qualified for Medicare because of disability rather than age, and nearly one-fifth have three or more chronic conditions (see figure below). Consequently, a sizable share of full duals, more than 40 percent, use long-term services and supports—a far greater percentage than for other Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries.

Source: CBO

Although some full duals are fairly healthy and have relatively low health care costs, full duals as a group account for a disproportionate share of federal and state spending for Medicare and Medicaid. Full duals make up 13 percent of the combined population of Medicare enrollees and aged, blind, or disabled Medicaid enrollees (the categories of Medicaid participants who might also qualify for Medicare), but they account for 34 percent of the two programs’ total spending on those enrollees.

Lackluster US Job Growth Since Recession

Posted by Milton Recht:

From The Wall Street Journal, "The Hidden Jobless Disaster: At the present slow pace of job growth, it will require more than a decade to get back to full employment defined by prerecession standards." by Edward Lazear:

the better measure of a strong labor market is the proportion of the population that is working, not the proportion that isn't. In 2006, 63.4% of the working-age population was employed. That percentage declined to a low of 58.2% in July 2011 and now stands at 58.6%. By this measure, the labor market's health has barely changed over the past three years.***While the unemployment rate has fallen over the past 3½ years, the employment-to-population ratio has stayed almost constant at about 58.5%, well below the prerecession peak. ***The U.S. is not getting back many of the jobs that were lost during the recession. At the present slow pace of job growth, it will require more than a decade to get back to full employment defined by prerecession standards.

The striking deficiency in jobs is borne out by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Despite declining unemployment rates, the number of hires during the most recent month (March 2013) is almost the same as it was in January 2009, the worst month for job losses during the entire recession (4.2 million then, 4.3 million now).***The proportion of unemployed who are long-termers reached 45% in April 2010 and again in March 2011. It is still above 37%. During the early 1980s, when the economy experienced a comparable recession, the proportion of long-term unemployed never exceeded 27%.***the various programs of quantitative easing (and other fiscal and monetary policies) have not been particularly effective at stimulating job growth. Consequently, the Fed may want to reconsider its decision to maintain a loose-money policy until the unemployment rate dips to 6.5%.

Japan's 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Accident 2 Years Later: No Deaths, No Serious Current Or Future Health Effects, No Long-Term Radioactive Areas: 1000 Died from Evacuation

Posted by Milton Recht:

From The Age, "Japan's radiation disaster toll: none dead, none sick" by John Watson:

two independent international reports conclude that radiative material released from Fukushima's four damaged reactors, three of which melted down, has had negligible health impacts.

In February, the World Health Organisation reported there would be no noticeable increases in cancer rates for the overall population. A third of emergency workers were at some increased risk.***Now the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation has drawn on 80 scientists from 18 countries to produce a draft report that concludes: "Radiation exposure following the nuclear accident at Fukushima-Daiichi did not cause any immediate health effects. It is unlikely to be able to attribute any health effects in the future among the general public and the vast majority of workers."
***So, not even one case of radiation sickness to report.***The rapid decay of most of the radioactive material (iodine-131, which reduced to a 16th of its original activity in a month) also means the evacuated area has not been permanently blighted. Many residents have returned, although some areas have restricted entry until radiation drops below the 20 mSv-a-year threshold, expected in 2016-17.

Nor has the environment been devastated. The report says: "The exposures on both marine and terrestrial non-human biota were too low for observable acute effects."***About 1000 deaths have been attributed to evacuations. About 90 per cent were people older than 66, who suffered from the trauma of evacuation and living in shelters. Sadly, those of them who left areas where radiation was no greater than in naturally high background areas would have been better off staying.***This "perfect storm" hit a nuclear plant built to a 50-year-old design and no one died...the 11 reactors operating in four nuclear power plants in the region all shut down automatically. None suffered significant damage. (The tsunami disabled Fukushima's cooling system.)

Yet such is the imbalance of dread to risk on matters nuclear that this accident was enough to turn public opinion and governments against nuclear power. Never mind that coal mining kills almost 6000 people a year, or that populations of coal-mining areas have death rates about 10 per cent higher than non-mining areas, or that coal emissions drive global warming.

Our Earliest Primate Ancestors Were Tree-Dwelling Mouse-Like Creatures That Existed 55 Millions Years Ago

Posted by Milton Recht:

From The Wall Street Journal "Fossil of Unusual Human Ancestor Discovered" by Gautam Naik:

Fossil Found of Tree-Dwelling Human Ancestor

Researchers have identified a nearly complete skeleton of an unusual, tree-dwelling ancestor of humans that lived 55 million years ago, a discovery that illuminates one of the earliest stages of our evolution. Shown, an artist's depiction of Archicebus achilles, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Researchers have identified a nearly complete skeleton of an unusual, tree-dwelling ancestor of humans that lived 55 million years ago, a discovery that illuminates one of the earliest stages of our evolution.

Unearthed in China, the mouse-sized creature has a mix of anatomical features that make it quite unlike any other primate—living or extinct—known to science. The discovery was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

By about 55 million years ago, the earliest primate ancestors of humans had split into two branches. One branch gave rise to lemurs, lorises and bush babies. The other led to tarsiers, whose enormous-eyed, tree-dwelling descendants still live in Southeast Asia. The second branch also gave rise to anthropoids, including monkeys, apes and humans.

The animal described in the study is a primitive tarsier relative. It is of interest to scientists because it lived at a crucial period, fairly soon after the two branches split.

Stress Does Not Lead to Unhealthy Eating

Posted by Milton Recht:

From Association For Psychological Science, "Munching Through Life's Travails" by Wray Herbert:

contrary to received wisdom—neither Munchers [when stressed, eat] nor Skippers [when stressed, skip eating] is at greater risk for maladaptive eating. Indeed, there is no evidence here that stress leads to unhealthy eating, since it’s the balance through life’s ups and downs that matters. Munchers may compensate for their stress-induced munching by cutting back when life is pleasant, just as Skippers may make up for those skipped meals with good-time munchies. In this sense, Munchers and Skippers may differ less in their total calorie consumption—and more in the the dynamics of that consumption. Both, Sproesser concludes, have "a soft spot for food." [Emphasis added.]

Video Of Ben Bernanke's Princeton Commencement Speech, June 2, 2013

Posted by Milton Recht:

Remarks by Ben S. Bernanke from Princeton University on Vimeo.

The written text of the speech is available on the Federal Reserve Board website.

States Adding Extra Tax On Hybrid, Electric And Natural Gas Powered Cars To Pay For Highway Maintenance

Posted by Milton Recht:

From Bloomberg, "Losing Revenue From Hybrids Prompts States to Hit Owners" by Alison Vekshin:

Hybrid and electric cars are sparing the environment. Critics say they’re hurting the roads.

The popularity of these fuel-efficient vehicles is being blamed for a drop in gasoline taxes that pay for local highway and bridge maintenance, with three states enacting rules to make up the losses with added fees on the cars and at least five others weighing similar legislation.***"The intent is that people who use the roads pay for them," said Arizona state Senator Steve Farley, a Democrat from Tucson who wrote a bill to tax electric cars. "Just because we have somebody who is getting out of doing it because they have an alternative form of fuel, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t pay for the roads."***Fuel taxes provide close to 40 percent of state revenue for highways, according to a 2012 report by the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures.

“Yet these revenues have not kept pace with needs...."

Per Capita State Debt

Posted by Milton Recht:

From Tax Foundation, "Monday Map: State Debt per Capita" by Richard Borean:

Tennessee has the lowest ranking with a [State] debt of $925 per capita, and Massachusetts has the highest at $11,309.

Source: Tax Foundation

Bernanke's Princeton Commencement Speech, June 2, 2013: Link To Text Of Full Speech

Posted by Milton Recht:

From written version of Chairman Ben Bernanke's Commencement Speech at the Baccalaureate Ceremony at Princeton University, June 2, 2013, "The Ten Suggestions" [PDF version]:

But my experience is that most of our politicians and policymakers are trying to do the right thing, according to their own views and consciences, most of the time. If you think that the bad or indifferent results that too often come out of Washington are due to base motives and bad intentions, you are giving politicians and policymakers way too much credit for being effective. Honest error in the face of complex and possibly intractable problems is a far more important source of bad results than are bad motives. For these reasons, the greatest forces in Washington are ideas, and people prepared to act on those ideas. Public service isn't easy. But, in the end, if you are inclined in that direction, it is a worthy and challenging pursuit.

The speech is also available from the Princeton University website. [Updated link, July 15, 2013.]

If Princeton decides to post a video of Bernanke's speech, it will most likely become available on this webpage of archived special events media. The video is currently not posted.

The video of Bernanke's Princeton speech is now available on Vimeo.

I have embedded the video in a later blog post, "Video Of Ben Bernanke's Princeton Commencement Speech, June 2,2013."

Fed And States Trying To Rein In Bitcoin And Other Virtual Currencies

Posted by Milton Recht:

From The Wall Street Journal, "'Virtual' Currencies Draw State Scrutiny" by Robin Sidel And Andrew R Johnson:

State banking regulators are scrutinizing companies that let people buy and sell virtual currencies such as bitcoin, and some are looking at requiring costly licenses, according to people familiar with the efforts.***n the past three months, the Treasury Department, prosecutors and now state regulators have taken aim at virtual-currency exchanges, telling them they must follow traditional rules aimed at thwarting money-laundering. The lightly regulated currencies have caught the attention of people who allegedly use some of them to mask profits from illegal activities.

Arianna Huffington's Commencement Address At Smith College, May 19, 2013

Arianna's speech is funny, relevant, never boring and about 25 minutes long. Here is a link to a transcript of the speech in case you rather read it then hear it. I suggest watching it because spoken humor often does not come across as well when read. Surprisingly, at least to me, the speech was non-political.