Robert Waldmann Michael Kinsley suspects that the US government might decide to inflate its debt away. “Just three or four years of currency erosion at, say, 10 percent a year would slice the real value of our debt — public and private, U.S. bonds and jumbo mortgages — in half.” Notice how “log(2)/log(1.1) = 7.25 […]
Robert Waldmann In my childhood and teens I counted on The Washington Post (motto “All the President’s Men. If you liked the movie, you’ll love the newspaper,” so now I guess I will have to relearn mathematics to adapt to the fact that 500,000 = 0. Via DeLong Via Hilzoy In defense of George Will’s […]
Prince of Darkness Denies Own Existence “There is no such thing as a neoconservative foreign policy,” Perle informed the gathering, hosted by National Interest magazine. “It is a left critique of what is believed by the commentator to be a right-wing policy.” & “I see a number of people here who believe and have expressed […]
rdan Politico reports the schedule for the fiscal summit. Does anyone know what it is supposed to do? FORMAT: Approximately 100 guests will gather at the White House to participate in a summit on fiscal issues. The group will be composed of the President and Vice President, Members of Congress, members of the Cabinet and […]
rdanDavid Altig at Atlanta Fed provides visuals for the stimulus spending. Update2: Another good visual (h/t Mcwop) from WapoUpdate:Yglesias makes a statement on past recessions and how long they lasted. Gilded does not mean Golden using this information. And that post-WWII expansion beat the pants off any other increase in the standard of living for […]
rdan(hat tip stormy)Robert Hirsch notes the following in Energy Bulletin: The world is now in a period of epic economic chaos. People are disoriented and unsure of what it will take to restore their economies. Many serious economists, financiers, and executives are loath to even forecast when an economic recovery might begin. It’s easier for […]
rdan Boston Review carries an article by Dean Baker that frames regulation in a much more interesting way than is typical to media and political punditry. In my opinion, of course. But it makes talking to my conservative friends much easier when we discuss reality. Dean Baker says: The extraordinary financial collapse of recent months […]
guest post by Coberly A few years ago the Social Security Trustees began publishing a warning that went something like this: “After the year 2040 Social Security will only be able to meet 75% of promised benefits.” You may have gotten this message in the mail, or heard it while waiting to talk to Social […]
rdan Fiscal conservatives that involve two parties is bi-partisan, not non-partisan. And David Walker is hardly objective at this point. A new religion emerges on fiscal responsibility that hardly peeped over the last decade, and appears to be mainly obstructionist instead of responsible. Looks to be the time the battle intensifies. Dean Baker, Bruce Webb, […]
rdan Robert Reich gets it right. Here is the post. Do not confuse American companies with American jobs. The new stimulus bill, for example, requires that the money be used for production in the United States. Foreign governments, along with large U.S. multinationals concerned about possible foreign retaliation, charge this favors American-based companies. That’s not […]