I got a box of books today: Buck Godot PSmith, and the 3 volumes of the Crest of the Stars novels. I have now read all 4 items. I'd read the Godot before, not sure where, I hope I don't find a duplicate copy hiding somewhere.

( Mercy cut )

So, I finished reading Paul Krugman's The Conscience of a Liberal (2007). It's about economic (in)equality in America, how it's changed over time, and why -- in particular, about the political interventions that have reduced or increased it, from the New Deal to movement conservatism, and why those political movements succeeded.

Right before it I read his Pop Internationalism (1997), on the ubiquitous myths regarding international trade and the ill-founded notion of "competitiveness". In that he argued that "countries are not corporations", and not in competition with each other, especially for a country like the US where 90% of GDP is Americans producing for and selling to other Americans. Wages are generally driven by the average level of productivity, with little evidence or mechanism for trade driving them down, especially in general but even in cases like American unskilled labor.

This book doesn't challenge any of his earlier statements on trade, but it's rather more interventionist on wages; the economy generates wealth, but politics and social norms can control how much of that labor gets. We start with what he calls the Long Gilded Age, the Gilded Age proper and the years following, up to the Great Depression in 1929. Income increased at all levels, following the rapid technological development, but inequality stayed high, and politics were highly polarized between populist Democrats and big business Republicans. Then we got the Depression and the New Deal reaction, with Social Security, progressive income tax, estate tax, government supporting unions instead of breaking them, and government work programs, followed by WWII and outright controls on prices and wages. Eisenhower in 1952 brought the GOP to accept the New Deal consensus, and we had 30-ish years of 70-90% top tax bracket, 2.7% growth in the median income (doubling it), relatively low inequality between top and bottom brackets, a minimum wage that was half the average income, and 'bipartisan' politics since the parties basically agreed on major issues, competing on running the government.

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...that'll have to be all for now.

Bloomington has SF/English weather right now, light overcast, occasional spritz of rain, grey over green, a combination I've always loved. And maybe the winter really got to me, but right now it seems *really* green around here, as in I'll look down a street and see the trees in leaf and be surprised at how the view is blocked. Many of the blocks here are criss-crossed with alleys, vs. blocks in Chicago that just had a long block going down them, or ones in San Francisco with no alleys and trash pickup is out front. (Out front here too, despite the alleys.) Today I was diverting myself down alleys, and discovering the central spaces, standing on gravel under clouds and trees, the cars somewhat distant and muffled by houses and leaves, birds chirping in the trees above me. Chicago wouldn't have that feeling, I think, partly from there being fewer trees in that location, and largely because of the feeling of being in a crossroads, and looking out in four directions, vs. being trapped in the middle of a long alley. I think *that's* related to Jane Jacobs's observations about short vs. long city blocks, and how much more pedestrian (and business) friendly the former were. Also related to my brief couple of weeks working at Knowledge Adventure, in some office block around LA, in the middle of an inhumanly long block, of course sans any green or softening features. My friends Glenn&Sarah lived in blocks half a mile long, but at least all those 3/4 acre lots softened the view, plus G&S were close to one end.

( Review )