Why Senator Elizabeth Warren supported school choice and school vouchers

It is not a coincidence that Warren’s support for school choice dropped through the floor once she decided to run for public office as a Democrat. In spite of large cash infusions from wealthy environmentalists and trial lawyers, teacher unions remain the party’s largest and most influential donor base.

…In recent years, Warren has bent over backwards to qualify what she “really meant” by school choice.

In a rather astonishing reinterpretation of her own work, it turns out she never supported vouchers for religious school or even for non-sectarian private schools, just the ability to go to a public school in an adjacent district.

thefederalist.com

Uncertainty bedevils the best system | Edmund Phelps

HT: http://blogs.ft.com/capitalismblog/2009/04/15/uncertainty-bedevils-the-best-system/#axzz3EezojKXs

Leaders who see the best in employees make better managers

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Quality control in Japanese and American car manufacturing compared

HT: Don’t worry, I’m an economist!: The stimulus debate revisited.

Would Keynes Have Been Fired as a Money Manager Today?

An excellent link by a great blog I have just come across.

Amol Agrawal's avatarMostly Economics

Interesting post by Ben Carlson.

Keynes managed an average return of 13.2% in the period 1928-45. The markets gave a return of -0.5% in the same period. This was an exceptional performance albeit came with much higher volatility. So would he have been fired for this performance?

View original post 360 more words

Portable Confessional

Apple is just selling more and more

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Google maps circa 1963

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A cheat sheet of 19 different business models

Creative Routines — Information is Beautiful Awards

via Creative Routines — Information is Beautiful Awards.

The spirit of Alfred P. Sloan: 10 Ways to Get People to Disagree

1. Assign someone on your team to the role of “Devil’s Advocate” to ensure a critical eye.

2. Ask part of your group to think like the firm’s competitors (or customers or employees) in order to surface and expose flaws in a set of core assumptions.

3. Establish “ground rules” that will stimulate task-oriented disagreement — but minimize interpersonal conflict.

4. Keep the proceedings “transparent” by making decisions based on what goes on in the meeting and not behind-the-scenes maneuvering.

5. Make sure your team members represent a diversity of thinking styles, skill levels, and backgrounds. And if they don’t, invite people with various points of view to offer their perspectives.

6. Start out with a question and don’t voice an opinion. Once you’ve said, “Here’s what I’m thinking . . .” you have already influenced your team.

7. If you want honest feedback, then be the first person to admit mistakes.

8. Listen (really listen) to everyone’s ideas. Let people know that you value their input and are taking into consideration what they have to say.

9. Pay attention. It’s not enough to listen — you can do that while viewing text messages or pouring a cup of coffee. You also have to be perceived to be paying attention. That means you need to make sure your body language (eye contact, head nods, torso orientation, etc.) sends signals of inclusion.

10. Clearly state the behaviors you want during the discussion (constructive conflict) and as a result of the discussion (shared commitment to the outcome).

via http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2012/08/23/10-ways-to-get-people-to-disagree/

The Great Enrichment: refrigerators over the last 100 years

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Twitter is trading at the same place post-IPO as FB was

https://twitter.com/DKThomp/status/558746817694040065

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Steve Jobs on entrepreneurial alertness versus market research

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We mark George Orwell’s passing today in 1950 by recalling Knopf’s priceless rejection of Animal Farm

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