rdan The item below was sent to me to consider. I was unsure what to do about it, as it is done by a banking PR firm. However, as a springboard to conversation, it can be useful. The post itself can start a conversation, and I will save my thoughts for the conversation. Gap Between […]

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 […]

rdan Reader Laurie sent this note from an NPR Morning Edition. The following quoted section caught her attention, and she wondered what was wrong with the explanation. It made me wonder if other readers had similar questions, even though we have covered part of the question of nationalization (as have Roubini and Krugman) here, here, […]

rdan Economist’s View carries a post at VoxEU by Mike Elsby, Bart Hobijn, Aysegul Sahin. This especially caught my attention: Figure 1 also highlights a curious fact absent in popular discussions of the crisis. Unemployment in the US had already begun to ramp up in early 2007, long before the official recession start date in […]