The View from Right Field

Rebuilding In the Houston Flood Plain?

They are starting to rebuild in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, and there are disputes about how and where to rebuild.  Here are some excerpts from a recent Washington Post article:

“‘What are we going to do in these neighborhoods that people just don’t want to leave?’ said Stephen Costello, Houston’s chief resilience officer, whose task is to balance development and flood protection as the city recovers. …

The need to build even in flood-susceptible areas is the result of the region’s projected growth rate. …

Let’s Respect the Flag by Actually Singing the Star Spangled Banner

On Wednesday, the NFL announced a policy providing, as I understand it, that all players on the field when the National Anthem is played must stand and show respect for the flag and anthem.  Players who do not want to stand can stay in the locker room until after the anthem is played.

It has never been a big deal for me whether players stood or didn’t stand during the anthem.  I don’t watch football, and even if I did, I wouldn’t care.  There are more important things to worry about.  Plus the freedom to protest is a good thing.

A 40% Pay Increase for Teachers Plus Higher Standards?

Robert Maranto, a professor at the University of Arkansas and member of the Fayetteville school board, wrote in The Wall Street Journal Tuesday, about the need to both significantly increase teacher pay and improve teacher quality.  Professor Maranto suggests increasing pay 40% (from the current median salary of $58,000).  That would put the median salary above accountants ($68,000) and close to that of civil engineers ($84,000).  In a cutesy, but ultimately meaningless, comment, Professor Maranto says, “Surely educating the nation’s children is as important as balancing books or building bridges.”¹

Professor Maranto argues that we need to increase teachers’ pay to attract better people to teaching.  In years past, women went into teaching because other professions were effectively closed to them.  With women having more opportunities today, many of those who would have become teachers in the past are becoming doctors or lawyers.  Raising salaries would help attract brighter people into teaching.

An Idea for Less Stress About the News

Richard Thaler, winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize for Economics, was asked what somebody should do if they woke up, turned on the TV, and found that the stock market had fallen by three percent.  Dr. Thaler’s advice was simple: “Change channels.  Turn the show off.”¹

Dr. Thaler’s investment advice is pretty simple:

“Whenever anyone asks me for investment advice, I tell them to buy a diversified portfolio heavily tilted toward stocks, especially if they are young, and then scrupulously avoid reading anything in the newspaper aside from the sports section.”²

He said crossword puzzles are also okay, but you need to stay away from the financial section.

It’s Fine to Tighten the Rules on Comfort Animals – But Be Careful on Pet Goats

Yesterday’s Chicago Tribune had an excellent column by Kristen McQueary on pet owners’ abuse of the rules on comfort animals.  I have just one caution about Ms. McQueary’s article:  Businesses should be careful before denying anybody the right to bring along their pet goat.  It can take 71 years to get over the problems from doing that.

Sex Scandals – and Bill Clinton’s Impeachment

With all of the sex scandals, and worse, appearing these days involving politicians, entertainment figures, and business leaders, I want to make one thing perfectly clear with respect to Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, and President Clinton’s impeachment.

I can’t speak for anybody else, but the reason I supported President Clinton’s impeachment was not because of what he and Ms. Lewinsky did.¹  It was because President Clinton lied under oath about what he and Ms. Lewinsky did.

The Media Is “Shocked, Shocked” That Companies Are Paying Consulting Fees to Michael Cohen, Et Al.

The media are aghast at the payments companies made to Michael Cohen for consulting services with respect to the Trump administration.¹  Apparently, even Robert Mueller is investigating some of the payments.²  Which raises the question: What kind of rock have these people been living under?

Of course, companies are going to pay big bucks to people who they think they might have connections with, or insight into, the powers-that-be in Washington.³  That’s the system.  That is part of the swamp that Donald Trump said he was going to drain.  I realize President Trump is not doing all that much to drain the swamp, but given all of the other things he has said that were not entirely accurate, why would anybody have believed him on this one?

When Housing Is Expensive, the Solution Is to Make It More Expensive

With California already being one of the most expensive housing markets in the country, what is the only sensible thing to do?  Make housing more expensive, of course, which is what California is on course to do.  Last Wednesday, the California Energy Commission voted 5 to 0 to require all new residential buildings, up to three stories high, including single-family houses and condominiums, to have solar panel installations beginning in 2020.  The commission estimates this will add $9,500 to the cost of a single-family home.¹ 

Of course, with the median price of a house in California already being almost $565,000, $9.500 is not going to matter much to somebody buying an above-average price home.  Also, there are tax credits, etc., that can help cut the cost – for people who can already afford a house and probably don’t need a government subsidy anyway.

Questions for the Federal Reserve and the Importance of Humility

Alan Blinder, former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve and member of Jimmy Carter’s Council of Economic Advisers, listed three questions for the Federal Reserve in last Friday’s Wall Street Journal:

“First, given the current state of the economy, should monetary policy be stimulating the economy or restraining it?  Second, is current monetary policy stimulative or restraining?  Third, if the Fed alters its policy, what should it expect to happen to inflation and unemployment?”

Professor Blinder said that “[a] central bank that can’t answer basic questions like these is in deep water.”  A few comments:

Withdrawing from the Iran Nuclear Deal

A few comments on President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Iran nuclear deal:

1. Nobody can say that President Trump didn’t tell us he was going to do this. The only surprise, I suppose, is it took him so long.

2. President Trump’s ability to withdraw the United States from this agreement is a result of the fact President Obama merely signed the agreement himself, instead of submitting it to the Senate for approval. The problem with the “I’ve got a pen, and I’ve got a phone”-way of doing things is that your successor has a pen and a phone, too.  And they can use their pen to change whatever you did with your pen.