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

Does Upward Redistribution Cause Secular Stagnation?

A while back I built a  model to look at the long-term economic effects of upward and downward redistribution. Posts here and here. Commenter JGF pointed out an error in the model. I’ve revised and corrected it. The spreadsheet’s here. The model is based on marginal propensities to spend out of wealth and income. Poor people […]

Time to end redistribution upwards: minimum wage increases would boost economy and lift all boats

by Linda Beale Time to end redistribution upwards: minimum wage increases would boost economy and lift all boats. No matter how much the business lobby complains about the “business costs” of increasing the minimum wage, legislators should look past that self-serving ideology and look at reality.  Workers have contributed to increased productivity but received a […]

George Will Comes Out for Single-Payer Healthcare Insurance! Cool!

WASHINGTON — Someone you probably are not familiar with has filed a suit you probably have not heard about concerning a four-word phrase you should know about. The suit could blow to smithereens something everyone has heard altogether too much about, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (hereafter, ACA). … The four words that […]

Republican State of Disunion: Taxes Edition

The Republican response to the President’s State of the Union message was delivered by Washington State Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.  It was personal, platitude-ridden, overtly religious, twee, and devoid of policy content or anything else of relevant substance – other than a naked assertion that BHO’s policies are making life harder in myriad unspecified ways. […]

The Republicans’ Winning Rallying Cry: Bring back the G.W. Bush policies! Yeah, THAT’s the ticket to prosperity for all!

The ticket to the middle class is not higher taxes on the very businesses that must create the jobs… Economic growth will come when we lower taxes for everyone, especially people who own businesses and create jobs. — Rand Paul, last night Absolutely.  The G.W. Bush presidency was terrific for economic growth!  It wasn’t a […]

Time to end redistribution upwards: minimum wage increases would boost economy and lift all boats.

by Linda Beale Time to end redistribution upwards: minimum wage increases would boost economy and lift all boats. No matter how much the business lobby complains about the “business costs” of increasing the minimum wage, legislators should look past that self-serving ideology and look at reality.  Workers have contributed to increased productivity but received a […]

Yes, Speaker Boehner, but WHOSE Fiscal Policies of the Present Are to Blame?

House Speaker John Boehner told a closed meeting of his colleagues that a Republican pollster found that for the first time, most Americans blame President Barack Obama for the economic troubles, not George W. Bush. “Barack Obama came into office blaming George W. Bush for the state of the economy and the lack of job […]