Paul Krugman points to Angry Bear Robert Waldmann in two separate posts this week here and here. by Robert Waldmann “Ricardo offers us the supreme intellectual achievement, unattainable by weaker spirits, of adopting a hypothetical world remote from experience as though it were the world of experience and then living in it consistently. With most […]
Paul Krugman posted an article today… “What Janet Yellen — And Everyone Else — Got Wrong“. But there is something he is getting wrong too, or at least, doesn’t seem to be aware he is getting it wrong. He talks about the economic recovery having been so sluggish. And he offers this explanation… “The best […]
It is time to get serious. There are widespread claims that firms are cutting hours worked and converting full time jobs into part time jobs because of Obama-care. So what does the data say. Below is a table of unpublished data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of part time employment by private and […]
The notorious GSE bailout will probably cause the US Federal debt to be considerably lower than it would have been without the bailout. It could cause the US Federal debt to be much lower than it would have been, but that won’t be allowed to happen. Fannie and Freddie are now profitable. They are likely […]
by Linda Beale Ways and Means–still distracting with false scandals GOP representatives Camp and Boustany are continuing to beat the dead horse of an IRS “scandal” connected with the way the IRS has attempted to efficiently filter new applications for 501(c)(4) status to provide extra scrutiny to the most likely groups to be engaged in […]
Menzie Chinn over at Econbrowser posted on low inflation today. His argument is that there is still lots of slack from real GDP being way below potential real GDP and from high unemployment. The idea is that abundant slack depresses prices. Inflation is generated as slack capacity is utilized. It’s the normal result of labor market […]
Although the July employment report was weaker than expected, it was still in line with recent experiences. The household survey reported employment gains of 204,000 while the payroll report showed a gain of 162,000 jobs. Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 2 cents to $23.98, following a […]
by Linda Beale David Sirota Agrees with me on the Tax Reform “Secrecy” Scandal As I mentioned in an earlier post, Max Baucus has established a secret submission process for Senators to let him know what pet tax loopholes they want to retain (probably the ones that high-paid lobbyists representing corporations with operations in their […]
If you listen to CNBC or read right wing blogs you would think that the Obamacare regulations that require large employers — over 50 full time equivalent employees –to provide their employees insurance or pay a penalty is leading to a massive shifting of employees from full time to part time. CNBC is constantly interviewing […]
by Linda Beale Senators promised 50 years of secrecy on their tax reform proposals There continues to be more blather about the need for “tax reform, and buddies GOP Dave Camp and skin-deep Dem Max Baucus seem to be intent on accomplishing something “big”. And that’s what’s worrying me. The Republicans have been arguing that […]