A Tax Problem That Might Hurt Sotomayor

From the TaxProf Blog:

'she was either doing the side legal work for free or for almost-free. Does the amount of work that she did and the income that she brought amount to a trade or business, justifying Schedule C (above the line) deductions? If she had represented the clients through the firm, then expenses either would have been the firm’s expenses (perhaps deductible by the firm but not by Judge Sotomayor) or, if she paid them herself, they would have been deductible below the line since she was an employee'

Moreover, what were the expenses? If they were minimal, who really cares. But suppose she was taking home office deductions. If my earlier presumption is correct, then the receipts from her side practice were likely to have been trivial or insignificant at best. Maybe she claimed to run a law practice out of her home so that she could take home office deductions when she was really (just) an employee whose employer provided her with an office, and the home office deductions would then have been improper. (Employees generally are not permitted to deduct the costs associated with home offices, no matter how much work they actually perform at home. But people who run businesses out of their homes often can.)

Swing States Loose Bling For Obama

This will be the trend in coming months. Ohio was one of the states that put Obama over the top in 2008 with a slight margin.

From RealClearPolitics

'President Obama's job approval in Ohio has dropped significantly in the last two months, dipping under the 50% mark for the first time, according to a new poll by Quinnipiac University. In the last Quinnipiac poll in Ohio taken in early May, Obama enjoyed a healthy 62% job approval rating, with only 31% disapproving. Today, Obama's job approval stands at 49%, with 44% disapproving - a twenty five point net drop in just eight weeks. '

The mendacity of Obama's Economic Policies

An explanation as to why the Fed's policies won't help the economy.

'Quantitative easing - expanding base money in circulation (mainly bank reserves with the central bank by purchasing government securities) - isn’t working in the US, the UK or Japan.

Credit easing - outright purchases of private securities by the central bank, which can either be monetised or sterilised - is achieving little in the US or the UK, although it has not been pushed too hard yet.

Enhanced credit support in the Euro Area - providing collateralised loans on demand at maturities up to a year at the official policy rate - is not working either.

These policies are not improving the ability and willingness of banks to lend to the non-financial sectors. They have had little positive impact on the corporate bond market. It is not surprising why this should be so, once we reflect on the actions and the conditions under which they are taking place.'

Are Charter Schools Making a Difference?

From Rand:

'A new study by the RAND Corporation found charter schools do not harm conventional public schools and charter students are more likely to graduate high school and go on to college than other public school children.'

Yes But Do They Turn Out To Be Good Doctors

From Academic Medicine

A Change to Pass/Fail Grading in the First Two Years at One Medical School Results in Improved Psychological Well-Being'

'Our study has demonstrated that a change from a five-interval (A, B, C, D, F) to a two-interval (pass/fail) grading system in the first two years of medical school at the University of Virginia School of Medicine was not associated with a decline in students' academic performance (course performance in the first two years of the curriculum, USMLE Step 1 scores, clerkship grades, or USMLE Step 2 CK scores). This is consistent with previous data from the University of Michigan Medical School showing that a change from a four-interval (honors, high pass, pass, fail) to a two-interval (pass/fail) grading system in the first year of medical school resulted in no statistically significant change in performance'

How premature regulation can kill innovation.

Another area that Obama will be looking to regulate I am sure. How do dolts in government know what is good for the market?

From Nanowerk

A majority of the jurisdictions examined have additionally issued policy statements on nanotechnology regulation. Pelley and Saner argue that these statements are designed to serve a dual purpose: "On one hand, they signal to industry that the jurisdiction in question is committed to the continued development of nanotechnology, and that it is therefore safe for companies to invest in that jurisdiction. On the other hand, they signal to consumers that jurisdictional governments are committed to ensuring the continued health and safety of its citizens and of the environment."

Financial Innovation

I don't believe this analysis of financial innovation is accurate. On average most financial products that have been invented in the last 30 to 40 years have been a huge benefit to society as a means of reducing risk, and allocation capital to its highest and best use. Using data points from a small time period to conjure up generalizations is a disservice.

From The Baseline Scenario:
'financial innovation is generally good in and of itself, although it has a high risk of creating “negative spillovers” – a higher risk than for non-financial innovation: “Most financial innovations are positive, and we don’t know ex ante which will be negative, so giving ourselves the power to block certain innovations because they might have negative spillovers is risky.” At first blush, this seems like a reasonable extension from real-world innovation to financial innovation.'