Herein, against my better judgement, I wade into the Great Instructure social media wars of 2019. ... The announcement triggered a great deal of, let's call it discussion, on social media, particularly Twitter. A lot of has gotten nasty and heated. On the surface, the discussion seems to be about questions regarding what Instructure (or Canvas, or the data Instructure has collected) is "worth". Specifically, is it worth the $2billion Thoma Bravo has valued it at and why would TB pay that? Underlying the valuation question though, is the real concern. Can we discern the plans and future for Canvas (and thereby schools, instructors, students, the higher ed system, pedagogy, etc) from this transaction? There's roughly two camps. ...
Measures & Statistics
Innumeracy and Generosity – Don’t be deceived by big numbers
Just a quick note here. Lots of people today, especially the media, are making a big deal out of Jeff Bezos and his wife's donation of $33 million for a scholarship fund for DACA Dreamers. For example there's this CNN article. Lots of tweets. It's a nice gesture. It's definitely a worthy cause - although … Continue reading Innumeracy and Generosity – Don’t be deceived by big numbers
Critical Analytics: It’s Stories All the Way Down
I've been hearing much lately about stories, narratives, analytics, data, and "big data". I have no need to call out exactly who or which pieces of writing. You know who you are. My aim here is not to criticize, oppose, or take sides. It's to take a brief critical look at what's being discussed. Much … Continue reading Critical Analytics: It’s Stories All the Way Down
Data and Visualization Resources for Incomes and Inequality
Posting links to two incredibly useful resources for students and people doing research on incomes, income distribution, and income inequality. These resources are useful for both historical data and visualizations as well as cross-country comparisons. The first is the World Top Incomes Database from the Paris School of Economics. Many thanks to the Paris School … Continue reading Data and Visualization Resources for Incomes and Inequality
China, Growth, and the Weakness of Real GDP
Sara Hsu asks if All Growth is Good? The Case of China. Of course, not all growth is good. It makes little difference, whether it's economic or human tissue growth. Edward Abbey famously wrote that "growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell". Obesity is another form of high-growth, yet it … Continue reading China, Growth, and the Weakness of Real GDP
Not Performing Up To Potential
When I was kid there was a comment I dreaded but got too often on too many grade reports to my parents: Not performing up to potential. I hated that. I must say, though, that there times when it did motivate me to do better. The same comment, not performing up to potential, can easily … Continue reading Not Performing Up To Potential
Busting the Medicare Myths – Presentation
I gave a presentation today to the Michigan Intergenerational Network at Madonna University on the economic prospects of Medicare (U.S.). Thanks to the Madonna Univ. Gerontology Department for support and assistance. For a downloadable and viewable copy of the presentation, see: https://jimluke.com/course-resources/presentations/busting-myths-about-medicare/.
Yes, Inflation/Deflation is Hard to Measure
One of the hardest concepts for Principles students, politicians and pundits, oh heck, just about everyone to fully grasp is inflation. A big part of the reason is because inflation is an abstract concept that is not directly measurable. We can conceive of it, but we can't measure it. I'm no physicist (and open to … Continue reading Yes, Inflation/Deflation is Hard to Measure
Government and the Slow Jobs “Recovery”
Government finally starts to get out of the way of recovery. In an earlier post today on the good news of the January 2012 employment report, I observed that one of the major factors resulting in an improved (but not good enough) jobs report was that government employment numbers stopped dragging down the total. I … Continue reading Government and the Slow Jobs “Recovery”
A Journey of 100 Months Starts With the First Month
Finally we are getting some good news. At least most people will consider it good news. Republican Presidential candidates hoping to run against Obama on "weak economy platform" might not happy with the news. Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the January 2012 employment data. The unemployment rate has declined again. It … Continue reading A Journey of 100 Months Starts With the First Month
EconProph 