The master, his emissary and the balance of risk
Is this a bunch of black patches on a white background. It is. It also depicts something which you can’t unsee once you’ve seen it.
Articles from Club Troppo
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What things shouldn’t we be wasting this crisis on?
Not sure Winston ever said that, but it sounds like the kind of thing he might have said. Quote investigator doesn’t tell me sadly. Grateful for any others’ researches in comments below.
Hoisted from archives: Wrapping up 2008: the year of the first blogged financial crisis
Since we’re blogging the next crisis, I thought now was a good time to reheat the blogging of the last one. intriguing to think of all the changes, and in many ways how much steam has gone out of blogging, and yet how resilient it has been when we need it! Enjoy!
6 post-Corona Institutional questions
The mass hysteria of the corona crisis is raging, with the resulting self-isolation of whole economies and populations.
It is 1984. A message from London.
People shuffling in the street, afraid to look others in the eye, get close, and be accused.
Fear as a silent ghost hovering above the city, watching us, like drones.
The panic in the eye of the mother as her little toddler cycles by an older woman on the street, too close.
The glee of the neighbourhood bully as she shouts at a couple embracing in the park, taking pictures with her phone.
PANIC IS OUR FRIEND!
It’s an intimidating picture. But the weaker the freeze, the more people die in overburdened hospitals — and the longer it ultimately takes for the economy to restart.
Donald G. McNeil Jr in the NYT
A lament for the corona panic victims.
Spare a tear for millions of poor people around the world. They will no longer have good jobs, good health, or long life.
Weep for the poor, the sick, and the old in our own societies. Their hopes, dignity, and pensions are gone.
Light a candle for the workers in hotels, bars, tourist resorts, airlines, and elsewhere. Their jobs are gone.
Cry for the lonely whom we have just created and abandoned. They now face fines and ridicule for seeking human connection.
Targetting and the stimulus: who should pay the rent?
I ran into Ken Henry at a function – I think it was the terrific PM’s Science Prizes in late 2008 but someone may be able to look things up and falsify this claim. In any event, I squatted at his table and had a quick chat to him about the recently announced or soon to be announced stimulus.
The Corona Dilemma.
Consider the shown picture where you are the decision maker who can pull the lever of the train tracks to avoid the coming train from going straight. If you do not divert the train, one person, John, will get run over. He is elderly and suffering from many diseases. You know him personally and all his friends and family are watching you. They are all shouting at you to divert the train, claiming it is the moral and safe thing to do.
Keeping a cool head – thinking about the covid-19 crisis: a guest post from Toby Phillips
This post is a direct response and rebuttal to the recent ‘Has the coronavirus panic cost us at least 10 million lives already?’ by Paul Fritjers. Paul’s post takes the current covid-19 crisis, and uses some haphazard multiplication to create an alarming narrative, muddying the policy waters on a critical issue.