Cheap Talk » obama

A blog about economics, politics and the random interests of forty-something professors

https://cheaptalk.org/2012/09/18/michael-lewis-on-euro-crisis-and-interviewing-obama/

The big event of this week in the U.S. will be the Supreme Court discussion of the Affordable Care Act aka “ObamaCare”, a supposedly derogatory nickname now embraced by the Obama campaign. A...

https://cheaptalk.org/2012/03/25/economists-on-opposing-sides-of-health-care-law/

In the past few weeks Romney has dropped from 70% to under 50% and Gingrich has rocketed to 40% on the prediction markets.  And in this time Obama for President has barely budged from its 50% pe...

https://cheaptalk.org/2011/12/12/gingrichromneyobama-prediction-market-puzzle/

Auctions on eBay have a deadline and aggressive bidding occurs just before the auctions ends.  This is called “sniping” (see this excellent paper for a discussion along with the study of man...

https://cheaptalk.org/2011/07/29/ebay-auctions-and-debt-limit-negotiations/

Liberal commentators bemoan the demise of the old John McCain they thought they knew and loved.  Joe Klein wonders what happened to the guy who originally sponsored the Dream Act to allow childr...

https://cheaptalk.org/2010/12/28/who-is-the-real-john-mccain-choice-with-interdependent-preferences/

Fresh from their rout of the Democrats, the G.O.P. are promising to repeal President Obama’s healthcare reform.  There are lots of things that can be improved in the law but there are also som...

https://cheaptalk.org/2010/11/04/strategically-speaking-why-the-republicans-should-think-twice-before-repealing-obamacare/

Obama has an interesting strategic decision to make about how to engage the Tea Party.  If there is one power that the President has, even when he has lost momentum policy-wise, it is to control...

https://cheaptalk.org/2010/09/22/cultivating-the-tea-party/

Obama has two focal options in Afghanistan, “Stay the Course” or “Cut and Run”.  Stay the Course means continuing the current counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy of “winning hearts and m...

https://cheaptalk.org/2010/06/23/dominant-strategy-to-sack-mccrystal/

You are an ambitious, young Presidential-wannabe.  This makes you a trifle immodest and you decide to write an autobiography, Volume 1.  It’s going to set the stage for your Presidential bid....

https://cheaptalk.org/2010/04/22/optimal-risk-sharing-and-obamas-book-contracts/

Obama’s Nuclear Posture Review has been revealed.  The main changes: (1) We promise not to use nuclear weapons on nations that are in conflict with the U.S. even if they use biological and che...

https://cheaptalk.org/2010/04/11/cheap-talk-backward-induction-and-obamas-new-nuclear-posture/