Following up on my last post, I actually think that there are two possible explanations for the “Fed Credibility” argument’s wide deployment, both hinted at in Simon’s response to my comment: I think the credibility argument is really about the underlying motives of the policymakers, rather than their abilities. However I also think that argument […]
For once a short post, inspired by Simon Wren’s suggestion that the Fed should allow (encourage) a temporary rise in wage inflation. (The merits of such a policy being obvious to many of us given the current virtues of some extra inflation, and past decades’ wage trends.) I’ve never understood the credibility danger of the […]
I have just learned of a new book that I believe every AB reader could relate to. DON’T BUY IT: The Trouble with Talking Nonsense about the Economy by: ANAT SHENKER-OSORIO An excerpt from the book summary: This concise, entertaining book shows us how wrong-headed metaphors and deceptive language have muddled our economic thinking, and […]
In response to Small businesses and tax cuts and reporting by Daniel Becker, reader Betty, a long time small business owner and not a sole proprietor herself in one of the richer towns of MA with a median income over $180,000 , asked: … I’ve always been baffled by the Republican complaint that it would […]
by Kenneth Thomas NYT: $80 Billion in State and Local Subsidies Annually (Updated) In today’s New York Times, Louise Story begins a series, “The United States of Subsidies,” ten months in the making, with a story focusing on General Motors closures, the border war for investments between Kansas and Missouri in the Kansas City metropolitan […]
by David Zetland from Aguanomics The Land Grabbers — the review Fred Pearce sent me a review copy of his new book, The Land Grabbers: The New Fight over Who Owns the Earth, which I enjoyed very much for its detailed description of the pros and cons resulting from foreigners investing in land in developing countries. […]
by Bill aka run75441 Raising the Price of Pizza 10 to 14 cents. . . Will pizza and food prices really have to increase to cover healthcare costs for the mostly young employees of the Olive Garden’s, Denny’s, and Papa John’s restaurants? A 10 to 14 cents increase per pizza is being proposed by Papa […]
by Dale Coberly SOCIAL SECURITYSweet Reasonableness and Fact Checkers Apparently the Big Liars are getting worried about the fact that “Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit.” There have been a flurry of little Big Liars “proving” that in fact SS is a contributor to the Deficit. I am going to try to […]
by Linda Beale Links Worth Noting: Stealth (Class) Warfare(Op-ed) Paul Krugman, Class Wars of 2012, New York Times (Nov. 30, 2012). When Mitt Romney disparaged ordinary Americans, it was visible, obvious, and clearly an indication of the lack of esteem he held for ordinary Americans. The same arrogance is at work in the class warfare […]
Today’s New York Times article on rapid online repricing by holiday retailers depicts a retail world starting to approach the “flash-trading” status of financial markets: Amazon dropped its price on the game, Dance Central 3, to $24.99 on Thanksgiving Day, matching Best Buy’s “doorbuster” special, and went to $15 once Walmart stores offered the game […]