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"Luke Ford reports all of the 'juicy' quotes, and has been doing it for years." (Marc B. Shapiro)
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff) LATEST POSTS:
- Robert Putnam: The Man Who Counted What America Lost
- W. Bradford Wilcox: The Sociologist Who Tells America to Get Married
- Peter Moskos: The Cop Who Talks to People
- Julius Krein
- Ryan Burge: The Numbers Man in the Empty Church
- Emily Oster: The Economist in the Delivery Room
- The Most Ridiculous Story Ever Told
- Tanner Greer
- Economist Tyler Cowen
- Richard Reeves: A Life in Institutions
- Jake Adelstein: The Reporter Who Became His Story
- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
- Moira Greyland
- Robert Oscar Lopez: The Inconvenient Witness
- Two Ledgers: Decoding the Gurus and the Price of Talk
- The Pervert’s Progress: Costin Vlad Alamariu and the Making of Bronze Age Pervert
- Curtis Yarvin: A Life Against Democracy
- Mark Helprin: Against the Current
- Mark Brandt: The Man Who Asked Who Else Is Prejudiced
- John T. Jost: The Psychologist of Acquiescence
BEST POSTS:
- * The Enlightenment Wasn’t Enlightened (6-23-26)
* Mr. Burge Draws The Line (6-23-26)
* 'Improving on Democracy' (6-17-26)
* People Leak To People Who Are Fun (6-11-26)
* Why Does Australia Produce So Many Great Journalists? (6-11-26)
* Steve Wynn and the Press: Power, Litigation, and the Contest Over Las Vegas (6-3-26)
* Sheldon Adelson and the Journalists (6-3-26)
* The Vigilant Animal: Thinkers Who Reject the Myth of Human Gullibility (6-2-26)
* The Cost of Refusing the Misunderstanding Myth (6-2-26)
* Show Me How It Travels (6-2-26)
* The Norm Explainers (6-2-26)
* Centering Marginalized Voices (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Washington Post put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Financial Times put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for the Los Angeles Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for The New York Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* Why Wembanyama Lives on the Perimeter (5-31-26)
* The Emotional Palettes Of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Sacramento (5-27-26)
* The Administrative Capital: Sacramento Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* San Diego - The Quiet Republic (5-27-26)
* The Quiet Bar: San Diego Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* SF v LA Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* Why Talent Travels Poorly Between San Francisco and Los Angeles (5-27-26)
* San Francisco and Los Angeles as Rival Models of Urban Access (5-27-26)
* Social Cliques in New York, 2026 (5-25-26)
* Social Cliques in San Francisco, 2026 (5-25-26)
* The Rival Courts of Washington (5-25-26)
* The City of Private Rooms (5-25-26)
Category Archives: Economics
What A Great Country!
From The New York Times: In 2007, the top one ten-thousandth of households took home 6 percent of the nation’s income, up from 0.9 percent in 1977. It was the highest such level since at least 1913, the first year … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
Tagged earners, households, New York Times, thousandth, three decades
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Why Does Real Estate Cost So Much In Coastal California?
I’m reading this new book by economist Thomas Sowell — The Housing Boom and Bust. From 2000 to 2005, the average home price in the United States increased by one-third. Millions of Americans began using their homes as ATMs, getting … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
Tagged boom and bust, economist thomas sowell, fannie mae, fannie mae and freddie mac, financial qualifications, Thomas Sowell
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New York Times Reviews Two New Books On The Mortgage Crisis
One guy who signed on for a mortgage he could not handle was a New York Times economics writer. His new book is called BUSTED. Alyssa Katz has published, Our Lot: How Real Estate Has Come To Own Us. Katz … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
Tagged government policies, noble intentions, perverse incentives, profit centers, two new books, york journalist
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The Housing Boom
Check out the book on Amazon.com. Economist Thomas Sowell appeared on Dennis Prager’s radio show May 27: Tom: If the results weren’t so serious, all this would make a great Gilbert & Sullivan musical, with all the mutually contradictory statements … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
Tagged amazon, Dennis Prager, economist thomas sowell, fannie mae, fannie mae and freddie mac, Thomas Sowell
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AIG Bonuses
Rabbi Gil Student writes: "R. Dr. Asher Meir published an article from two weeks about an AIG executive’s Op-Ed in the NY Times in which he announced his resignation (Op-Ed in NYT, Asher Meir). Dr. Meir calls the letter "a … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
Tagged congressional outrage, de santis, gil student, nyt, public outrage, quot quot
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Checking My Investment Portfolio
I check mine obsessively, always weighing up my number of mitzvos and comparing them to my number of averas. At the moment, these two sides of the ledger are dead even. Rabbi Gil Student writes: Some people are tempted to … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
Tagged financial responsibilities, gil student, relevant advice, shmuel, silver coin, stock portfolio
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ToolsToLife.com – Life Coach Devlyn Steele
We talk by phone Wednesday afternoon. Originally from New York City, Devlyn Steele lives in Santa Monica. He’s relaunched his personal growth website ToolsToLife.com. Luke: "Coach Steele, why did you become a life coach?" Coach: "My entire life, I’ve been … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
Tagged aviation school, chess team, commercial pilot, life coach, life quot, motivational techniques
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‘The Unincorporated Man’ – A Science Fiction Novel Based On The Ideas Of Economist Milton Friedman
My Orthodox friend Dani Kollin has published a book with his brother Eytan. Here’s a plot synopsis: "A brilliant industrialist named Justin Cord awakes from a 300-year cryonic suspension into a world that has accepted an extreme form of market … Continue reading
Posted in Economics
Tagged economist milton friedman, friend dani, market capitalism, milton friedman, science fiction novel
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‘Chain of Blame: How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis’
This is an excellent new book on the mortgage and credit meltdown. The authors get inside the lives of the leading characters in the mortgage meltdown and explain what makes them tick and what makes their business work (or fail). … Continue reading
Posted in Daniel Arnall, Economics, Roland Arnall
Tagged credit crisis, long beach mortgage, mortgage meltdown, orthodox jew, rabbi abner weiss, Roland Arnall
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