Robert Waldmann is honestly puzzled by this post by Brad DeLong. Brad notes that firms don’t seem to be hoarding labor and goes on to predict a jobless recovery. We Are Live at The Week with “The Jobless Recovery Has Begun”.. “Okun’s Law.” Here is the gist: if GDP (production and incomes, that is) rises […]

by cactus A Review of the First Half of Bailout Nation Barry Ritholtz is on my mind. I started reading Bailout Nation, Barry Ritholtz’s book (with co-author Aaron Task) about the mess we’re in, and I’m about half through. Its an easy read, and yet very informative, even though I’ve been following the whole mess […]

rdan Pujo Committee (1912-13) transcripts at the St. Louis Fed look interesting. In 1912, a special subcommittee was convened by the Chairman of the House Banking and Currency Committee, Arsene P. Pujo. Its purpose was to investigate the “money trust,” a small group of Wall Street bankers that exerted powerful control over the nation’s finances. […]

rdan McClatchy reports: The final installment of a three-part increase in the federal minimum wage is proving to be the most controversial. Two previous wage hikes, one in 2007, the other in 2008, pushed the federal wage to $5.85 and then to the current $6.55 an hour. The third, which goes into effect Friday, will […]

by Bruce Webb Press release from the House Ways and Means Committee dated Saturday July 18th. CBO Scores Confirms Deficit Neutrality of Health Reform Bill Washington, D.C. — The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released estimates this evening confirming for the first time that H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, is deficit neutral over the […]

by Bruce Webb Did you know that the House Tri-Committee Bill HR3200 openly and brazenly outlaws new private individual health insurance plans after Year 1 (now set for 2013)? Well me neither, mainly because it is only not true but in total context absurd. Not quite as absurd as the idea that the Moon landings […]

by Bruce Webb h/t to dKos poster Pronin2. http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/104xx/doc10464/hr3200.pdf New scoring released Friday night shows the ten-year net increase to the deficit from the House Tri-Committee bill down to $239 billion with an actual five year surplus of $44 billion. I guess we will have to see whether the AP and the Republicans cling to […]

by Noni Mausa Dear Journalists — You can Smarten Up Now Oh snap. Once again the papers demonstrate that when it comes todogs, the First Law of Journalism goes right out the window withoutregret or even apparently noticing it. That law? “First, Do Your Homework.” What annoyed me today was an editorial in the NYT, […]