Quotes of the day

Godel’s Theorem says that not all true things are provable. But for the most part, we’re happy just to know they’re true.--Steve Landsburg

You live longer only when you stop trying to live longer.--Atul Gawande

A doubling of garment jobs causes a 6.71 percent increase in the probability that a 5-year-old girl is in school.--Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak

Hundreds of Afghan civilians who worked as informants for the U.S. military have been put at risk by WikiLeaks' publication of more than 90,000 classified intelligence reports which name and in many cases locate the individuals ...--Tucker Reals

Journolist founder Ezra Klein, a staffer at the Washington Post, says he “tried to be very strict” in making sure no active political operatives joined Journolist. “It’s possible I missed someone,” he explained in an email. In fact, he did.--Jonathan Strong

I’m no fan of the senator, but he showed good sense in seeking to keep his taxes low. If only he would do the same for the rest of us.--Jeff Jacoby

Between 1929 and 1933, and again between 1937-40, the wholesale price level trended steadily downward. Since 1994 the Japanese economy has experienced a deflation rate of roughly 1% a year in the GDP deflator. What do all three of these famous deflations have in common? During most of the time banks held unusually large quantities of reserves, far above normal levels. High levels of reserves (often excess reserves) is one of the most characteristic stylized facts of prolonged deflation. --Scott Sumner