Joseph Stiglitz in an op-ed in Vanity Fair tells us about a more basic set of problems we face than actually discussed in public media. It is very long. The fact is the economy in the years before the current crisis was fundamentally weak, with the bubble, and the unsustainable consumption to which it gave […]
Poking a little bit of fun at his own traditions and perhaps a bit also at the ‘war on Christmas’ that is becoming a tradition in our politics, my minister offered this ‘sermonette’ to his congregation last Sunday. I thought to put it up in a more prose form to remind us also to remember […]
by Mike Kimel A Random Observation About the 1970s… and the 1980s People often point to the stagnation of the 1970s, and the Reagan administration that followed, as evidence that cutting taxes leads to faster economic growth. But the same folks rarely look at the flip-side of things, and when they do, they don’t reach […]
by Rebecca Wilder Merry Christmas! Here’s a nice little model I discussed in 2007: The Economics of Christmas! Hope that you enjoy; I do. (This commentary was written in my more ‘academic days’ when I was inundated with models of theoretical macro. As you have no doubt noticed, I’ve gone the applied financial route since […]
The Corporations That Occupy Congress by David Cay Johnston via taxprofblog and Reuters Some of the biggest companies in the United States have been firing workers and in some cases lobbying for rules that depress wages at the very time that jobs are needed, pay is low, and the federal budget suffers from a lack […]
by Linda Beale Essential Health Benefits and cost benefit analysis: can we maintain doctors’ incomes and provide decent care for all? So we thought we had finally created a national system of health insurance that would permit near-universal coverage for essential health benefits to every American. But the Obama administration says it is not going […]
A boom in shale gas? Credit the feds. By Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus (hat tip to Barry Ritholtz) Since the high-profile bankruptcy of Solyndra, the solar company that received $535 million in federal loan guarantees, many have concluded that government efforts to promote energy technologies are doomed to fail. Critics cite the abandoned synthetic […]
by Rebecca Wilder The Broad Sovereign Downgrade Recently I’ve spent time thinking about global bond investors, especially those conservative investors that stick with the high-quality sovereigns. I’ve got news for them: the share of high-quality investment grade sovereigns – BBB- and above is investment grade – is shrinking. Some bullet points comparing ratings in December 2007 […]
by Linda Beale Madoff and Mankiw and Inequality–the corporatist ideology at work There are two letters to the editor in the Times today that are worth noting–as usual, the ‘real’ analysis is hidden in the interior pages, positioned next to a huge ad (for an investment adviser, no less).Chris Cannon from San Francisco notes […]
by Mike Kimel A Modest Forecast: The Average Real Growth in Ireland will Exceed 10% a Year From 2012 to 2014 You read the title correctly: the Irish economy will grow by more than 10% next year. Now, hearing that, you might be asking yourself: “Is this guy for real? He must be nuts.” Because […]