The Brookings Institution just announced that Ben Bernanke will join the Economic Studies program as a Distinguished Fellow in Residence at the Institute. He starts tomorrow.
“We are proud to welcome Chairman Bernanke into the Brookings family,” said Brookings President Strobe Talbott.
“Brookings scholars have a well established reputation for contributing innovative ideas and trenchant analysis to economic and other public policy debates,” said Dr. Bernanke. “I welcome the opportunity to engage in that vibrant community through research and writing.”
Don't for a minute think this is Bernanke's final destination. This is a typical crony move a la Tim Geithner. Bernanke will likely stay at Brookings about a year, write a book and then grab a crony investment banking position. You don't want to appear too greedy grabbing the lucre. In a year, he'll cut a deal that will result in his getting a nice piece from all the money he printed while Fed chair.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Don't Call Janet Yellen 'Chairwoman'
Incoming Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen has instructed the central bank's staff to refer to her as "Fed chair" rather than "chairwoman," reports WaPo.
WaPo also reports that President Obama mistakenly referred to her as “Mr. Yellen.”
WaPo also reports that President Obama mistakenly referred to her as “Mr. Yellen.”
Dark Lands: The Grim Truth Behind the 'Scandinavian Miracle'
Richard Ebeling emails:
Bob,
For the next time some "lefty" says how wonderful life is in places like Sweden and Denmark, this article published in the British "Guardian" is useful.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/27/ scandinavian-miracle-brutal- truth-denmark-norway-sweden
Chris Christie and Rand Paul to Speak at CPAC
NYT is reporting that Chris Christie is scheduled to speak next month in Washington DC at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a year after he was denied a speaking slot at the same conference.
Rand Paul is also scheduled to speak.
NYT did not report the odds of Christie still being governor in March and thus the odds of him actually speaking at the conference.
Rand Paul is also scheduled to speak.
NYT did not report the odds of Christie still being governor in March and thus the odds of him actually speaking at the conference.
The Son Of Sam Promises ‘Morning In America’
By Ilana Mercer
I promised “Zero Coverage of O’s ‘Stalinesque Extravaganza,’” but you knew I’d renege.
Barack Obama began his hour-long bullshit session by conjuring a Norman-Rockwell scene of an America that is no longer. Farms, churches, close-knit communities; hard-working traditional, nuclear families awakening to … “Morning in America.” An America that progressives such as himself killed off a long time ago.
Then he ran with one lie after another. The US was poised for an economic Renaissance, even though about ninety million Americans are no longer in the workforce, our kids are, on average, dumber than kids in the rest of the developed world, and we’re divided as never before.
It would appear that “our deficits” too have been “cut by more than half,” even as we carry $17 trillion in national debt and a lot more than that in unfunded liabilities.
But it’s all good.
* As he did five times before, BHO vowed to make DC work once and for all, for this was what he promised those who sent him to the Capital.
* More empty eighth-grade level waffle about the promise of America—”opportunity for all – the notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead,” all the while increasing distribution and expanding entitlement programs.
* More “strengthen-the-middle-class” promises were issued while fucking the bourgeoisie over with Obamacare.
* Finally an assertion based on … science (yeah, right), contrary to the rest of the president’s lies: The First Lady is credited with helping to “bring down childhood obesity rates for the first time in thirty years.” I guess they tested Michelle’s hypothesis.
* More empty eighth-grade level waffle about the promise of America—”opportunity for all – the notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead,” all the while increasing distribution and expanding entitlement programs.
* More “strengthen-the-middle-class” promises were issued while fucking the bourgeoisie over with Obamacare.
* Finally an assertion based on … science (yeah, right), contrary to the rest of the president’s lies: The First Lady is credited with helping to “bring down childhood obesity rates for the first time in thirty years.” I guess they tested Michelle’s hypothesis.
Oh, and what would the president’s slushy speech be without mention of the “son of a single mom” who became “president of the greatest nation on Earth.”
ILANA Mercer is a classical liberal writer, based in the United States. She pens WND's longest-standing paleolibertarian column. ILANA is a fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies. She is the author of "Into the Cannibal's Pot: Lessons For America From Post-Apartheid South Africa." ILANA's website is WWW.IlanaMercer.com . She blogs at www.barelyablog.com
Copyright 2014 Ilana Mercer
Subpoenaed Member of Chris Christie’s Administration Resigns
Not a good sign for the fat man.
Christina Genovese Renna, the governor’s director of intergovernmental affairs, left Friday — the day former Port Authority official David Wildstein claimed to have evidence contradicting Christie’s account of a lane-closing operation, reports NyPo.
Renna reported to Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly, who set the lane closings in motion with an e-mail to Wildstein.
Christina Genovese Renna, the governor’s director of intergovernmental affairs, left Friday — the day former Port Authority official David Wildstein claimed to have evidence contradicting Christie’s account of a lane-closing operation, reports NyPo.
Renna reported to Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly, who set the lane closings in motion with an e-mail to Wildstein.
Super Bowl Christie Blowback: Some people now chanting "Christie Sucks"
I love it!
There are very huge lines and delays for those leaving Met Life Stadium in Rutherford, NJ--most who are trying to get back to NYC.
There are very huge lines and delays for those leaving Met Life Stadium in Rutherford, NJ--most who are trying to get back to NYC.
PzFeed Top News reports:
Some people now chanting "Christie Sucks" as everyone waits in this line to leave Super Bowl.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Peter Schiff Is Correct Minimum Wage Laws Do Cause Unemployment Among the Mentally Retarded
Peter Schiff recently appeared on the Daily Show. They interviewed him for the show, about the minimum wage, for four hours. They only ran about 75 seconds of what he said on air, which included him saying that minimum wage laws prevent the mentally retarded from getting jobs.
Here's how Peter explained what went down:
But notice what really went on. According to Peter, Bee was the one who suggested the $2 an hour wage as a topic. She was trying to get him to admit that few would work for such a rate. It should be noted that, although Bee didn't seem to get it, this is not an argument in favor of the minimum wage. This Bee bite had no sting, Peter could have just said, "That's correct. There are few, if any, that would work for $2.00 an hour in the United States. There are many businessmen who would happily pay more than $2.00 an hour for even the least productive labor. Prices in the free market aren't set by businessmen. They are set by the dynamics of supply and demand. The supply for labor, in general, wouldn't kick-in in the United States until well above $2.00 an hour. There are too many alternative bidders for labor. That's how supply an demand works. You can't over-rule it." If Peter had said this, his reply would have been left on the cutting room floor, but instead Peter moved to make a much more insightful comment. Namely, that the mentally retarded can be productive members of society and that only government regulations prevent them from being so.
The nanny state, via minimum wage laws, takes away the opportunity for the mentally retarded to participate in the free market system. Their marginal revenue productivity in the world is not likely to be high, but it is not zero. However, because of government minimum wage laws, the self esteem of the mentally retarded is ground to a pulp under the boot of the nanny state, so they are given the feeling that they are totally useless to society. What a cruel thing to do!
Even the mentally retarded should be free to declare, what Ayn Rand had her character in Atlas Shrugged, Francisco, say:
Here's how Peter explained what went down:
When I accepted “The Daily Show”’s invitation to be interviewed about my opposition to a minimum wage increase, I knew that I was walking into a trap. But given how counterproductive I know that such an increase would be to those the law proposes to help, I took the risk anyway.First, you have to understand what was going on. Samantha Bee wasn't interviewing Schiff for four hours to get his opinion on the minimum wage. She was interviewing for four hours to get him to say something that she could spin into making him look like an idiot.
Of the more than four hours of taped discussion I conducted, the producers chose to only use about 75 seconds of my comments. Of those, my use of the words “mentally retarded” (when Samantha Bee asked who might be willing to work for $2 per hour – a figure she suggested) has come to define the entire interview.
I'm now receiving hundreds of angry e-mails and am being described in the media as a hateful bigot.
But notice what really went on. According to Peter, Bee was the one who suggested the $2 an hour wage as a topic. She was trying to get him to admit that few would work for such a rate. It should be noted that, although Bee didn't seem to get it, this is not an argument in favor of the minimum wage. This Bee bite had no sting, Peter could have just said, "That's correct. There are few, if any, that would work for $2.00 an hour in the United States. There are many businessmen who would happily pay more than $2.00 an hour for even the least productive labor. Prices in the free market aren't set by businessmen. They are set by the dynamics of supply and demand. The supply for labor, in general, wouldn't kick-in in the United States until well above $2.00 an hour. There are too many alternative bidders for labor. That's how supply an demand works. You can't over-rule it." If Peter had said this, his reply would have been left on the cutting room floor, but instead Peter moved to make a much more insightful comment. Namely, that the mentally retarded can be productive members of society and that only government regulations prevent them from being so.
The nanny state, via minimum wage laws, takes away the opportunity for the mentally retarded to participate in the free market system. Their marginal revenue productivity in the world is not likely to be high, but it is not zero. However, because of government minimum wage laws, the self esteem of the mentally retarded is ground to a pulp under the boot of the nanny state, so they are given the feeling that they are totally useless to society. What a cruel thing to do!
Even the mentally retarded should be free to declare, what Ayn Rand had her character in Atlas Shrugged, Francisco, say:
I want to be prepared to claim the greatest virtue of all - that I was a man who made money.
How the Ross Ulbricht Arrest Went Down
The February issue of Rolling Stone magazine has a story about the government shutdown of the online drug market, Silk Road. The article also profiles the alleged operator of Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht. This is how RS describes the arrest of Ulbricht going down (Note: Article not yet online)
On October 1st, 2013, inside the science-fiction section of the Glen Park library in San Francisco, one of the Internet's most-wanted men sat typing quietly on his laptop[...]None of the geeks milling around the stacks that day, nor even those closest to Ross Ulbricht, suspected that the slight, pale, 29-year-old was, according to prosecutors, the notorious hacker known as Dread Pirate Roberts[...]But at 3:15 p.m. the quiet was broken when, out of nowhere, a young woman in street clothes charged toward Ulbricht yelling, "I'm so sick of you!" and grabbed his laptop. Ulbricht leapt from his seat to grab it back, when the half-dozen other readers at nearby tables suddenly lunged at him, pushing him against a window. Hearing the commotion, the librarian rushed over to assist Ulbricht. "Go back to your desk," the woman who had started it all told her. "We're making an arrest."Note: The reason the female FBI agent grabbed the laptop first was because the FBI feared that Ulbricht had a program on the laptop which would lock the computer down if he closed the laptop. They feared that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to get inside the computer if he was successful in physically closing it.
Stripping off their civilian shirts to reveal FBI vests, the agents told Ulbricht to turn around. He had no expression when they cuffed him. As they led him toward the door, the female agent turned to the mystified onlookers and said, "Surprise!"
Will the Crony-Commie de Blasio Take NYC Back to the Early 1980s?
When the crony-lefties, Abe Beame, Ed Koch and David Dinkins, lorded over the city, things were pretty bad. de Blasio appears to have be a combination of the worst characteristics of all three, plus the overbearing personality of Rudy Giuliani.
Rare Photos of NYC's Gritty Subway Conditions in 1981
by Katie Hosmer
Rare Photos of NYC's Gritty Subway Conditions in 1981
by Katie Hosmer
In the 1980s, the New York City subway was a gritty center for gangs and crime. The trains were covered with graffiti and being a passenger alone late at night was not recommended. But, in 1981, fearless young photographer Christopher Morris wasn't deterred by the frequent violence and harsh conditions.
Only 22-years-old at the time, Morris was working as an intern at photo agency Black Star and was determined to make something of himself as a photographer. So, without hesitation, he ventured underground to document the NYC experiences through his lens. This captivating series depicts the poorly lit cars, the dirty windows, and the overall decrepit conditions of New York's underground transportation.
Today, the award-winning photojournalist is also a contract photographer for TIME. According to the agency, the recently rediscovered photographs "provide a window on a long-gone New York, a metropolis that once pulsed with a very different energy—a frenetic, dangerous tone—than one feels in most of the city's neighborhoods today. But even back then, as Morris' pictures attest, Gotham remained an always fascinating and, at times, disarmingly beautiful place."
Many more photos here.
Where Was Paul Krugman on Saturday Night?
Partying with Krugman apologist and Business Insider executive editor Joe Weisenthal:
Here's a sample Weisenthal gush over Krugman:
Of course, in advancing their idiotic theory, both Weisenthal and Krugman ignore the fact that money spent to prepare to fight space aliens has to come from somewhere. That somewhere has to ultimately be taxation or money printing (which is a hidden tax). So, bottom line, money spent to prepare for fighting space aliens is money that would otherwise have been money spent elsewhere in the economy. Further, it is production of goods and services that causes an economy to grow, not consumption.
Saturday night out partying with Econ folk pic.twitter.com/Qaw5LFTavS
— Joseph Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) February 2, 2014
Here's a sample Weisenthal gush over Krugman:
Krugman, funnily enough, counts as someone who people would feel compelled to read no matter what (you know, the Nobel Prize) yet he's tremendous at writing for clarity, in a timely manner, and at a regular enough clip so people are trained to come back.And then we have this. Weisenthal rushing to back up Krugman and his crazy idea that it would be great if the government spent money as if it were preparing to go to war with space aliens:
It's a great lesson for everyone to take to heart.
Paul Krugman is getting flak over a comment he made this weekend on TV.
From HuffPo:"If we discovered that, you know, space aliens were planning to attack and we needed a massive buildup to counter the space alien threat and really inflation and budget deficits took secondary place to that, this slump would be over in 18 months," he said. "And then if we discovered, oops, we made a mistake, there aren't any aliens, we'd be better--"Eric Falkenstein voices the natural objection, which boils down to: Krazy Keynesians are so eager to spend your money on anything, that they argue a false Alien scare would somehow be a good thing.
Now here's the defense of Krugman.The primary facing the economy is damaged private sector balance sheets. Due to the collapse of the housing bubble, people are still too deep in debt, and it's this high debt service/desire to pay down debt that's sapping cash from other areas (spending, investment, etc.).If this fear of an alien invasion prompted the government to spend, say, $1 trillion on telescopes and lasers, then if nothing else, that would be $1 trillion more in private sector income, and thus $1 trillion spent towards private balance sheet repair. There's no exception to this. If the government spends money it becomes desperately needed private sector income.
Of course, in advancing their idiotic theory, both Weisenthal and Krugman ignore the fact that money spent to prepare to fight space aliens has to come from somewhere. That somewhere has to ultimately be taxation or money printing (which is a hidden tax). So, bottom line, money spent to prepare for fighting space aliens is money that would otherwise have been money spent elsewhere in the economy. Further, it is production of goods and services that causes an economy to grow, not consumption.
Is This Applebees' Answer to Higher Minimun Wage Laws:Touch Screens?
One unintended consequence of higher minimum wage laws will be more automation. It started years ago when attendants at gas stations were replaced by self-service gas pumps. The new round of talks about higher minimum wages, coupled with the burdensome Obamacare regulations, is now forcing fast-food and casual dining restaurants to think automation.
Some automation is good, helps productivity and increases a country's standard of living, but other automation is the result of firms simply trying to get around onerous regulations placed at the foot of employers by government intervention in free markets.
The Daily Mail reports:
Taking dining in to the digital era, Applebee's is putting touch-screen tablets on its restaurant tables so that customers can place orders, pay the bill and even play games from the comfort of their seats
The Missouri-based chain, known for its fair-priced all-American cuisine, plans on deploying 100,000 devices at 1,800 locations across the U.S. by the end of next year[...]
The Presto tablet, powered by Intel, which Applebee's will be using, features an all-day battery, a credit card reader, Bluetooth and cameras.
They will presumably replace waiting staff but servers will still be required to bring out bar and food orders.
The tablets will also be considered for introduction at IHOP locations as the chain is owned by the same company as Applebee's.
The casual dining firm isn't the first to embrace technology.
In September, Chili’s announced it would be putting tablets on diners’ tables in about 800 locations and Delta air lines has already rolled out restaurant iPads at several of its airport terminals.
Some automation is good, helps productivity and increases a country's standard of living, but other automation is the result of firms simply trying to get around onerous regulations placed at the foot of employers by government intervention in free markets.
The Daily Mail reports:
Taking dining in to the digital era, Applebee's is putting touch-screen tablets on its restaurant tables so that customers can place orders, pay the bill and even play games from the comfort of their seats
The Missouri-based chain, known for its fair-priced all-American cuisine, plans on deploying 100,000 devices at 1,800 locations across the U.S. by the end of next year[...]
The Presto tablet, powered by Intel, which Applebee's will be using, features an all-day battery, a credit card reader, Bluetooth and cameras.
They will presumably replace waiting staff but servers will still be required to bring out bar and food orders.
The tablets will also be considered for introduction at IHOP locations as the chain is owned by the same company as Applebee's.
The casual dining firm isn't the first to embrace technology.
In September, Chili’s announced it would be putting tablets on diners’ tables in about 800 locations and Delta air lines has already rolled out restaurant iPads at several of its airport terminals.
Has Krugman Been Walking On Eggshells This Whole Time?
By, Chris Rossini
Here's some weekend entertainment for you:
Here's some weekend entertainment for you:
I think many people don't realize how mild and middle-of-the-road Paul Krugman's economic views are. http://t.co/yIBxe0ywJ7
— Noah Smith (@Noahpinion) February 1, 2014
Is that what we've been getting all this time? A Krugman who's just looking to blend in? Not too loud, not to soft. He's just there...nestled in the comfortableness of the crowd?
Well...I guess we should all be thankful for that!
Who knew that when Krugman calls for the Federal Reserve to rip us off to the tune of 4% per annum, he was taking a middle-of-the-road position:
The point is that the conventional 2 percent target is a prejudice, nothing more; it once rested to some extent on studies suggesting that 2 percent was enough to make the zero lower bound a non-problem, but we now know how utterly wrong that view was; so we’re left with a target that’s considered respectable because it’s what all the respectable people say, and is what all the respectable people say because it’s considered respectable.
What do we want? Four percent! When do we want it? Now!
How about that! Krugman was going easy on us by advocating a mass robbery. Well, thanks Paul for not going for the full 8%!!
While we're on the subject of mass robberies, let's move onto the "stimulus" thefts. What did Krugman say after Obama's $800 BILLION robbery?
Krugman doesn't want to rock any boats.
He's just a face in the crowd.
One of the guys.
Chris Rossini is on Twitter, Facebook & Google+
While we're on the subject of mass robberies, let's move onto the "stimulus" thefts. What did Krugman say after Obama's $800 BILLION robbery?
It just wasn’t big enough to do the job.How about deficits?
Right now, a sustainable deficit would be around $460 billion.Wow...how lucky we are! Krugman's super-duper Keynesian calculator didn't come up with a $1 Trillion deficit as "sustainable".
Krugman doesn't want to rock any boats.
He's just a face in the crowd.
One of the guys.
Chris Rossini is on Twitter, Facebook & Google+
Suggested Research Project: Get Some Data on Lesbians
I'm seeing a lot more commentary lately from the left on the discrepancies in pay between men and women. It's an outrage in their view. Of course, free market economists will tell you that it is unlikely to be unjustified discrimination. If there was a pay gap between men and women for no good reason, then it would make sense for businessmen to start bidding up the prices of women's wages to pull them away from their current low paying jobs. The formula would go like this: Pay the women more than they are getting now, but less than what men are getting and pocket the profit differential. Eventually the entire difference in wages would disappear. That is, unless there are other factors that make women's productivity, in general, lower than that of men. One can think of many such factors which may impact a women's productivity negatively. Women carry the unborn, not men, which will force them to take time off from their work. Women, much more often then men, stay at home with young children. Thus, aside from actually leaving the workforce for periods of time, women also probably have somewhat less focus on their career. This isn't bad or good, it just is.
That said, there is one group of women, who, in general, don't have this impediment, lesbians. I would guess that lesbians pay is equal to that of men. In fact, it is pretty obvious that lesbians are doing very well, compared to heterosexual women. Think: Rosie O'Donnell, Ellen DeGeneres, Rachel Maddow, Oprah Winfrey, Robin Roberts and Janet Napolitano.
I was once invited to an after-party following a world championship skating event. I was amazed at the number of lesbians associated with big time skating. But, when you think about it, the focus and discipline necessary to compete at the top of the championship skating world during prime child bearing years, means it makes sense that lesbians would be over represented. It's the same in female professional tennis. Think: Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Renae Stubbs, Virginia Wade. This doesn't mean heterosexual women can't compete at top levels, but lesbians have an edge---just like men do in the general workforce.
But critics of my theory shouldn't argue that lesbians are more attracted to physical sports and that is the cause of the differential, since this only shows that it is not a differential based on gender, but more based on desire to succeed in a given sector that causes pay differential. But further, it is not only physical work where lesbians tend to outperform heterosexual women. As I pointed out above, the entertainment industry is filled with successful lesbians. I, also, know a couple of Wall Street executives who go out of their way to hire lesbians in sales positions. They believe they are much more focused.
I once raised money for a firm that was founded and run by a lesbian. Her drive, focus and methodical approach to business amazed me on an almost daily basis. I can't imagine this woman having that type of focus is she had to take care of kids also.
Again, the logic is there that explains why women in general earn less than men, nothing more needs to be said beyond the logic, but it might be fun if some scholar looked at lesbian earnings compared to earnings of heterosexual women.
That said, there is one group of women, who, in general, don't have this impediment, lesbians. I would guess that lesbians pay is equal to that of men. In fact, it is pretty obvious that lesbians are doing very well, compared to heterosexual women. Think: Rosie O'Donnell, Ellen DeGeneres, Rachel Maddow, Oprah Winfrey, Robin Roberts and Janet Napolitano.
I was once invited to an after-party following a world championship skating event. I was amazed at the number of lesbians associated with big time skating. But, when you think about it, the focus and discipline necessary to compete at the top of the championship skating world during prime child bearing years, means it makes sense that lesbians would be over represented. It's the same in female professional tennis. Think: Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Renae Stubbs, Virginia Wade. This doesn't mean heterosexual women can't compete at top levels, but lesbians have an edge---just like men do in the general workforce.
But critics of my theory shouldn't argue that lesbians are more attracted to physical sports and that is the cause of the differential, since this only shows that it is not a differential based on gender, but more based on desire to succeed in a given sector that causes pay differential. But further, it is not only physical work where lesbians tend to outperform heterosexual women. As I pointed out above, the entertainment industry is filled with successful lesbians. I, also, know a couple of Wall Street executives who go out of their way to hire lesbians in sales positions. They believe they are much more focused.
I once raised money for a firm that was founded and run by a lesbian. Her drive, focus and methodical approach to business amazed me on an almost daily basis. I can't imagine this woman having that type of focus is she had to take care of kids also.
Again, the logic is there that explains why women in general earn less than men, nothing more needs to be said beyond the logic, but it might be fun if some scholar looked at lesbian earnings compared to earnings of heterosexual women.
The Prisoner's Dilemma Problem for Chris Christie
News that the lawyer for former Port Authority official David Wildstein has sent a letter to the PA claiming that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been lying about his lack of early knowledge about the George Washington Bridge lane closures is a big problem for Christie, but not in the sense that most believe. It is not clear that Wildstein has the smoking gun to nail Christie. Wildstein's lawyer's letter only says that Wildstien has "some" information that contradicts statements made by the governor in his infamous two hour plus press conference, where Christie attempted to defend himself.
The real problem comes because Wildstein has now signaled to other participants in trafficgate exactly where on the decision making tree, in a prisoner's dilemma sense, they are.
Here's a quick refresher course on the prisoner's dilemma via Wikipedia:
Wildstein's lawyer's letter makes clear that option 3, everyone keeping their mouth shut, is off the table. Wildstein has started to talk. Thus, this signals to others involved in trafficgate, such as former Christie deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, whom Christie has fired, that their best option now is to start talking. Kelly is likely to know even more about Christie's knowledge of trafficgate than Wildstein and she will also likely be able to corroborate Wildstein's version of events, none of this is good for Christie. Unless Kelly, and others involved in trafficgate are the G. Gordon Liddy-types, Liddy spent 52 months in prison rather than reveal what he knew about Watergate, the floodgates of co-operation with trafficgate investigators has just opened up as a result of Wildstein's lawyer's letter.
The real problem comes because Wildstein has now signaled to other participants in trafficgate exactly where on the decision making tree, in a prisoner's dilemma sense, they are.
Here's a quick refresher course on the prisoner's dilemma via Wikipedia:
The prisoner's dilemma (or prisoners' dilemma) is a canonical example of a game analyzed in game theory that shows why two individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interests to do so. It was originally framed by Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher working at RAND in 1950. Albert W. Tucker formalized the game with prison sentence rewards and gave it the name "prisoner's dilemma" (Poundstone, 1992), presenting it as follows:
- Two members of a criminal gang are arrested and imprisoned. Each prisoner is in solitary confinement with no means of speaking to or exchanging messages with the other. The police admit they don't have enough evidence to convict the pair on the principal charge. They plan to sentence both to a year in prison on a lesser charge. Simultaneously, the police offer each prisoner a Faustian bargain. Each prisoner is given the opportunity either to betray the other, by testifying that the other committed the crime, or to cooperate with the other by remaining silent. Here's how it goes:
- If A and B both betray the other, each of them serves 2 years in prison
- If A betrays B but B remains silent, A will be set free and B will serve 3 years in prison (and vice versa)
- If A and B both remain silent, both of them will only serve 1 year in prison (on the lesser charge)
It's implied that the prisoners will have no opportunity to reward or punish their partner other than the prison sentences they get, and that their decision won't affect their reputation in future. Because betraying a partner offers a greater reward than cooperating with them, all purely rational self-interested prisoners would betray the other, and so the only possible outcome for two purely rational prisoners is for them to betray each other. The interesting part of this result is that pursuing individual reward logically leads both of the prisoners to betray, when they would get a better reward if they both cooperated.
Wildstein's lawyer's letter makes clear that option 3, everyone keeping their mouth shut, is off the table. Wildstein has started to talk. Thus, this signals to others involved in trafficgate, such as former Christie deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, whom Christie has fired, that their best option now is to start talking. Kelly is likely to know even more about Christie's knowledge of trafficgate than Wildstein and she will also likely be able to corroborate Wildstein's version of events, none of this is good for Christie. Unless Kelly, and others involved in trafficgate are the G. Gordon Liddy-types, Liddy spent 52 months in prison rather than reveal what he knew about Watergate, the floodgates of co-operation with trafficgate investigators has just opened up as a result of Wildstein's lawyer's letter.
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