Condor Options

The authors of The Liscio Report – a favorite of Alan Abelson and Barry Ritholtz – are now blogging, and they’re off to a fantastic start.  This recent post surveys the correlations between Presidents, presidential party, and various economic indicators:

Not to spoil the suspense too much, but here are the basic conclusions. Since Franklin Roosevelt’s third term (1941–44), Democrats have generally presided over faster growth and stronger stock markets than Republicans; Republican administrations have been friendlier for disinflation and the bond market.

The post includes some comments on the excellent Unequal Democracy by Larry Bartels (Princeton). You can catch Liscio’s Doug Henwood every week on WBAI or the related podcast.

One commenter lectures the Liscio authors about “attempting to explain away Economics 101″ and advises:

I would encourage any of you to read Milton Friedman’s book Capitalism and Freedom. It is a fantastic read and although not an easy read, provides some very compelling arguments for free market capitalism.

Which is just precious.