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

Brad Delong does not see a sign for low path of potential GDP

Brad Delong wrote today… “There are no signs in the pace of technological progress, in the level of investment, in the pace at which the American labor force educates itself, in measures of capacity utilization, in signs of upward wage pressure due to labor quality bottlenecks, or in surging commodity prices due to supply bottlenecks […]

The Elderly May Not Be As Taxing As Generally Thought

by Linda Beale The Elderly May Not Be As Taxing As Generally Thought One of the common assumptions about health care costs (and the costs of benefit programs like Medicare) has been that the increasing life spans of Americans will result in significantly greater health care expenses.  It is common knowledge that much of the […]

What’s wrong with Economath ?

Well here goes. I am going to claim that Paul krugman’s work on imperfect competition, increasing returns and trade was a step backwards from the earlier literature. I will attack Krugman from what is considered the left. In any case, I am definitely criticizing him for excessive orthodoxy. I base my case on the work […]

The White House Finally Takes an Actual STAND on Something That Was Not Dictated by Tim Geithner or the National Security Brotherhood. And It’s the Ethical Position in the Controversy, to Boot!

  This isn’t trivial. One of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever met was a waggly-tailed white pit bull that a neighbor of a friend of mine found roaming the street. As soon as the sweetie saw you approaching, she’d wag her tail excitedly and then lie down on her back to invite you to rub her […]

Comparing Labor and Capital incomes (Past and Present)

Labor and capital both receive income. How do labor and capital consume products or contribute to savings differently? How have these differences changed over the years? What can we learn from the changes? To answer these questions, I made a model based on the circular flow of the economy, where I separated labor income from […]

Squeezing Hospitals Vs Squeezing Doctors III

ACA misinformation. Just for schadenfreude read Ezra Klein on Peggy Noonan on the ACA. Ouch that has to leave a mark. If Noonan were capable of shame, she should would just shut up forever and a pony. Wonkblog is affordable care act (aka ACA aka Obamacare) anti-missinformation central. Unfortunately, right there at wonkblog, Dylan Matthews […]

Why Are We Rushing To Get Rid Of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

by Barkley Rosser via Econospeak (reposted with authors permission) Why Are We Rushing To Get Rid Of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? “How many Virginians does it take to change a light bulb? Five: One to change the bulb and four to talk about how great the old bulb was.” I think I am turning […]

A New IOM Report Reveals Why Medicare Costs So Much (Hint–It’s Not Just the Prices)

by Maggie Mahar A New IOM Report Reveals Why Medicare Costs So Much (Hint–It’s Not Just the Prices) (reposted with authors permission) George W.  Bush is 67. Chances are Medicare paid for the stent operation that I describe in the post above. For years, medical researchers have been telling us that this procedure will provide no […]