I keep seeing references to the 1970’s stagnation that reflect a consensus belief that real GDP growth in the 1970s was significantly lower in the 1970s than in the 1980s. But this is contrary to the data: REAL GDP GROWTH( % ) 1970…0.21……..1980…-0.04 1971….3.29……..1981….2.58 1972….5.25……..1982…-1.91 1973…..5,64…….1983….4.63 1974….-0.52…….1984….7.26 1975….-0.20…….1985…..4.24 1976….5.34………1986…..3.51 1977…..4.61………1987…..3.46 1978…..5.56………1988….4.20 1979……3.18………1979….3.68 […]
Laurence Ball wrote an article called The Great Recession’s Long-term Damage. He writes about how potential output has been reduced in many countries after the recession… “Through what mechanisms do recessions reduce potential output? This question is addressed in a number of recent papers (see Ball 2014). While the results vary, it appears that recessions […]
Paul Krugman has two sentences on the money in this article on Kansas, ALEC, and failed economics: The real lesson from Kansas is the enduring power of bad ideas, as long as those ideas serve the interests of the right people. … But the effect won’t last long, because faith in tax-cut magic isn’t about […]
Here are my confused thoughts about the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby and Harris v. Quinn decisions. Unfortunately, I am Waldmann not Mann and don’t know anything about the law. I will pretend that there is some logic behind the decisions. In Burwell v. Hobby Lobby the majority found that Hobby Lobby has religious freedom — […]
I haven’t read the opinions, concurrence, or dissents in either Hobby Lobby or Harris v. Quinn, so these comments are based on news summaries and quick commentaries by others. But the biggest surprise in Hobby Lobby, I think, is the express approval, in the opinion and in Kennedy’s concurrence, of HHS’s on-the-fly setup devised in […]
Part 1; Cantor’s Defeat and What It Does Not Mean When House Majority leader Eric Cantor lost his seat to ultra-conservative David Brat, the Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus summed up the majority view among political pundits: “The episode offers a disturbing commentary about the poisonous, polarized state of American politics.” I cannot agree. I don’t […]
From Naked Capitalism: Catch Us on Harry Shearer’s Le Show Today Posted on June 29, 2014 by Yves Smith Harry Shearer and I about private equity and the Wikileaks TISA bombshell starting at 1 PM on Sunday. Stations which stream Le Show all day Sunday are listed at publicradiofan.com. Hope you can tune in!
In an email this morning, Bill H asked me whether I know much about a case called Harris v. Quinn, in which the Supreme Court will announce the likely 5-4 majority’s ruling tomorrow. I responded: I know LOADS about it, Bill, and wrote about it–and about a bizarre comment by Alito during the argument on the […]
The Absurd Dr. “Chaps” Gordon Klingenschmitt is the Republican nominee for State Rep in Colorado Springs HD15. What qualifies him as a candidate in the Colorado State House? “‘Chaps’ as they call him, has a long history as a disgraced former Navy Chaplain who brags about having successfully performed an exorcism on a lesbian soldier […]