Vis the NYT comes this look at the economics of small scale farming:   Don’t let your children grow up to be farmers AT a farm-to-table dinner recently, I sat huddled in a corner with some other farmers, out of earshot of the foodies happily eating kale and freshly shucked oysters. We were comparing business models […]

In my area the Market Basket grocery stores were between 20 to 30% cheaper than the competition given surveys and comparing the items I would shop for. Produce was fresh, name brands available for most any product should you wish. Staff was energetic and polite (often staff at other stores were polite but certainly not […]

Under normal economic conditions, the Fed funds rate would be higher. Yet, the Fed funds rate has been effectively at the zero lower bound for years. Why? Well, the answer is simple… The Fed has lost track of how to measure potential GDP and true slack. The problem is that the Fed has no awareness […]

From Tom Dispatch author Matthew Harwood points out the rapid growth in the use of SWAT teams for regular police functions: In 1984, according to Radley Balko’s Rise of the Warrior Cop, about 26% of towns with populations between 25,000 and 50,000 had SWAT teams. By 2005, that number had soared to 80% and it’s […]

The shooting death by police of Ferguson, MO teenager Michael Brown, and what has happened in the aftermath, has been blanketing the news for the past few days. It’s a story about race, but it’s also become a story about the power of the state and how it’s wielded, and against whom. So my question […]

Thomas Piketty’s (CV) Capital in the Twenty-First Century is the most important book on economics published in this century. The book has made a huge splash, and drawn the ire of conservatives, for its straightforward argument that recent increases in inequality in numerous countries are likely to rise to unprecedented heights unless governments can reach […]

Tim Duy wrote a post yesterday called, Heading into Jackson Hole. He gives a broad perspective of the economy relevant to monetary policy, which of course will be the major topic of discussion in Jackson Hole. He recognizes that wages need to rise even though firms complain of not being able to fill job openings. […]

Paul Krugman wrote a post today called, What’s the Matter with Europe? He cites that Industrial Production is stalling out there. Now this is a sign that Europe is against the effective demand limit. Something we already knew from productivity numbers. So there is no surprise. However, Mr. Krugman states that the US is not […]

by Dale Coberly FINANCING SOCIAL SECURITY A BOB BALL APPROACH Bob Ball proposed in 2007 (www.robertmball.org quoted in NASI “Fixing Social Security” Reno and Lavery, 2009, p 14) a “balancing rate increase.” This is the way his idea was described in the NASI publication: Acknowledging the uncertainty of 75 year projections, former Social Security Commissioner […]