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

Cash for Criminals

by  Mike Kimel Here’s a CNN story on “Cash for Criminals”: And so Operation Peacemaker was born. Loosely based on an academic fellowship, the ONS program invites some of the most hardened youth into the fold: often teenage boys suspected of violent crimes but whom authorities don’t have enough evidence to charge criminally. These fellows […]

You Grow the Pie?

by Sandwichman The New York Times recycles boilerplate nonsense: YOUR MONEY: Disproving Beliefs About the Economy and Aging. The notion that the job market is a zero sum game — more jobs for one group translates into fewer jobs for another group — is deeply ingrained. Economists call the belief that there are only so […]

Why hasn’t increased household formation led to increased housing construction?

by New Deal democrat Why hasn’t increased household formation led to increased housing construction? Tim Taylor has an interesting article about “What was different about housing this time?”  Specifically, why has housing in both building terms and as a share of GDP risen so slowly since 2009. To cut to the chase, he writes that […]

Aside from a shortage in starter housing for Millennials,there is NO inflation

by New Deal democrat Aside from a shortage in starter housing for Millennials,there is NO inflation Yesterday’s CPI report seems to be read as potentially justifying an interest rate increase in June.  For example, here’s Professor Tim Duy, on Fed hawks: Inflation rose on the back of higher gas prices. Headline CPI gained 0.4 percent, […]

Circular Flow of Labor & Capital

In the study of economics, one learns the circular flow of the economy between firms and households. This post however presents another circular flow model based on capital and labor. (It is a closed economy with no government for simplification.) There are 4 pools within this circular flow related to the income and utilization of […]

The Role of the U.S. in the Global Financial System

by Joseph Joyce The Role of the U.S. in the Global Financial System The mandate of the Federal Reserve is clear: “…promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices and moderate long-term interest rates.” How to achieve those goals, of course, has been the subject of great debate: should the central bank use interest […]

Leave your Economic Modeling at Home when flying the “Doing What We Do Best” Airlines

Which appears to be taking ethnic looking civilians off their flights. Perhaps economists should not do their modeling on American Airline flights or for that matter other airlines. It seems one 40-year-old man with curly dark hair and olive skin coloring was quietly sitting in his seat scribbling calculations on a notepad. His seatmate on […]

Defending the IRS Against Right-Wing Attacks

by Linda Beale Defending the IRS Against Right-Wing Attacks The IRS is a government agency that endures all kinds of hostile attacks.  Most people don’t really like to pay taxes.  Even I don’t really “like” paying taxes, though I do recognize the importance of paying taxes and supporting the societal infrastructure that pays for the […]