Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Facts or Fallacies Part III: Combinations, Murder and the Primordial Lump

Facts or Fallacies Part III: Combinations, Murder and the Primordial Lumpby Tom Walker (Sandwichman at Ecological Headstand) In Part I, I compared the statistical fact that non-farm employment was lower in September 2010 than it had been in December 1999 with the assertions that those who believed any such thing could occur were guilty of […]

The Pain of Economic Change

by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt The Pain of Economic Change Michigan is the only state in the union showing a net negative population trend in the recent census report, and is an interesting case study of the pain of economic change. For several decades after WWII, Michigan enjoyed above average prosperity on the backs of […]

Duncan Black, Ph.D. who Specializes in the Economies of Cities, Explains It All to You

Bruce has made this point repeatedly. Dr. Black puts it in more direct language: [I]nevitably the Social Security Trustees will, perfectly justifiably, tweak a few assumptions about future economic activity so that there will be a DOOM scenario, an EVERYTHING’S AWESOME scenario, and a “uh oh maybe in about 40 years we will have a […]

The Economics of History, Douthat-Style

I try not to pay attention—and not provide a direct link—to the NYT’s Stupidest Conservative. It’s one of the greatest advantages of having Susan of Texas around: you can go there and see anything I might write, done better, and (in this case) with cute graphics. But when Brad DeLong falls down on the job—dealing […]

Central banks underpin euro and diversify toward "other currencies"

The IMF released its Q3 2010 Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) report. The COFER database provides the breakdown of official central bank portfolio holdings by currency across advanced and emerging/developing market economies. The picture is roughly half complete, as 44% of the global reserve positions go unallocated. But the trend in reported […]

Make yourself heard on mortgage abuses

Naked Capitalism points us to a letter to ‘sign’ today in support of the FDIC and Congressman Brad Miller’s advocacy for servicer regulation: This time, though, there is a way to stand up against the banks. And the reason is because in this case, Sheila Bair at the FDIC actually wants to do the right […]

The Tax Rate that Maximizes Economic Growth, Part 2… With Tax Burdens Too

by Mike Kimel The Tax Rate that Maximizes Economic Growth, Part 2… With Tax Burdens Too!Cross posted at the Presimetrics blog. This post continues my look at the relationship between taxes and growth (what I modestly called the “Kimel curve”), which I will continue expanding on over a series of posts. Today I want to […]

The Rich Stay Healthy, the Sick Stay Poor

Health and Economic Development Primer in one easy lesson (via SocProf’s Twitter feed): This is not surprising to see the contrast between the prosperous (at least until now) areas, in green where chronic illnesses prevail but are diseases tied to aging, as opposed to the semi-periphery and periphery where infectious / parasitic diseases are prevalent […]

Hey anti socialist! You really don’t want to sit on UHC, Cigna, Microsoft, Walmart, Koch brother’s, GE, Boeing or Buffet’s corporate boards?

By Daniel Becker Just thought, being the new year, we might want to start it off with some actual new thinking about how to make our economic system better. I have been meaning to purchase the book: Were you born on the wrong Continent. I’m just a very slow reader though and have to finish […]

MLR Provisions Kick in Today

From Open Congress Nov 15, 2009 The Most Important Health Care Reform Provision You’ve Never Heard Of For months, Bruce Webb has been tracking a provision in the House’s health care bills that has flown mostly under the radar. He calls it the “most important and most overlooked” aspect of the bills, and he may […]