Link to video here. Richard Wolff is on fire here. He is explaining the cooperative model and why it will save the US. I have never seen a better video on the subject. This video should be required listening for all economists. The ideas presented should be reflected upon and understood. When I was studying […]

Hilary W. Hoynes, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Douglas Almond made a genuinely important contribution to the debate on the effects of social welfare programs in this NBER working paper/revised manuscript “Long Run Impacts of Childhood Access to the Safety Net” They took advantage of a natural experiment to estimate the long run effects of access to […]

In his speech on inequality Barack Obama said it’s also true that some programs in the past, like welfare before it was reformed, were sometimes poorly designed, created disincentives to work, but we’ve also seen how government action time and again can make an enormous difference in increasing opportunity and bolstering ladders into the middle […]

The middle-class came to life in January, 1914, when Henry Ford doubled wages to $5 a day. The message changed the economy for the better. 100 years later, we can do it again!

This quote is right up there with the great Will Rogers line: “I don’t belong to an organized political party. I’m a Democrat.” Matthew Yglesias opens his recent post with it. I don’t know if he coined it, but if so, A Huge Kudos. It’s utterly and painfully true. A deservedly iconic statement. Here’s what […]

To even think that QE would cause deflation shows that some economists are simply confused about the economy. They do not understand why inflation is falling. Why try to pin it on QE? QE is simply limited in its ability to inject money into the hands of consumers (labor). QE is for those who own […]

Some years ago Paul Krugman gave perhaps the best argument against the inequality-causes-underconsumption theory of secular stagnation: the idea that rich people spend less of their income/wealth, so if wealth/income is more concentrated there’s less spending and less GDP/prosperity. (It’s curious how liberal economists are the ones who most commonly shoot down this argument. That’s […]

Brad DeLong wrote a praised piece about growth… The Honest Broker: Is Growth Getting Harder? If so, Why, and What Can We Do About It? Yes, it was an interesting piece, but I have a bit of a critique of one point concerning productivity. I see productivity as blocked by demand. But he doesn’t make […]

by Linda Beale Does Lowering Corporate Tax Rates Create Jobs? Answer is a resounding “no” For years (decades, actually), the American pro-wealthy right has argued that lowering corporate tax rates will create jobs.  That is the presumed purpose behind the push by Dave Camp to enact a tax reform package with lower corporate rates, and […]

I’m rather terrified to find that Brad DeLong has replied to my recent post on this subject. I would expect greater inequality coupled with a higher propensity to save on the part of the rich to drive all asset yields down. Yet what we have seen has been a steep, prolonged fall in Treasury bond yields […]