CBS Moneywatch now features Mark Thoma about 10 posts a month. Apropos Angry Bear exploration of “structural unemployment”, Mark writes on the topic of unemployment: The types of unemployment Economists define three types of unemployment: frictional, structural, and cyclical. Frictional unemployment is defined as the unemployment that occurs because of people moving or changing occupations. […]

As I am arguing on the same side as Henry Kaufman, and against the kind-hearted Mark Thoma, does the phrase “left-of-center” at the top of this blog have as much Memory Meaning as the Suzanne Vega song from Pretty in Pink? Kaufman: During the Greenspan years (1987-2006), the Fed clearly failed to recognize the significance […]

by Bruce Webb H.R.3962:Affordable Health Care for America Act (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by House). Back in July I singled out what I thought was the single most important provision of the House Tri-Committee Bill in a post called Sec 116: Golden Bullet or Smoking Gun. Yesterday I followed up with a new […]

by Linda Beale (cross posted with ataxingmatter) Tax Prof and its commenters More on the Estate Tax–the Heritage Foundation speaks gobbledygookhat tip to Tax Prof and its commenters The Heritage Foundation, I’m afraid I’ve concluded, is not a “think tank” at all–it’s a propaganda tank. And the propaganda it spews tends to be in support […]

by Bruce Webb Much of the criticism about the House Health Care Bill coming from the left revolves around the ‘fact’ that it has no meaningful premium and so profit controls. Moreover most of those same people are promoting HR676 as an alternative. Frankly those people simply haven’t read either bill with attention to detail. […]

First, David Leonhardt argued that this recession was good for workers. Now, Floyd Norris apparently has decided to mix and match data. (I wonder if the fact many NYT employees who are looking at their 45-day severance offers is having an effect on its economic coverage.) One of the standard “economist jokes” is about the […]

Good night Chesty, wherever you are.

by Bruce WebbI get e-mail Everyone, Over the weekend, eight of us who worked on the Greenspan commission drafted a joint written statement (attached and pasted below.)We have just submitted it to the Budget Committee. We are hoping it gets as wide a distribution as possible. In that regard, if any of you are able […]

Rdan Martin Ford continues his theme in the following post, on comparative advantage: More on the Looming Structural Unemployment Crisis, and on Comparative Advantage In my previous post, I suggested that job automation technology might someday advance to the point where most routine or repetitive jobs will be performed by machines or software, and that, […]

Robert Waldmann is joining The Pigou Club and hopes for at least some discussion in comments. That is all.