Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Gap Between Consumer & Financial Service Executive Perceptions

rdan The item below was sent to me to consider. I was unsure what to do about it, as it is done by a banking PR firm. However, as a springboard to conversation, it can be useful. The post itself can start a conversation, and I will save my thoughts for the conversation. Gap Between […]

Why I Can’t Read Ta-Nehisi Coates

In the past two minutes of checking out Coates’s latest—well worth reading, otherwise—there have been banner and frame adverts for: The Atlantic Business, edited by Megan McArdle, “Decoding the Mysteries of Today’s Economic Order” or McMegan Explains Modern Business Models (a.k.a. “Built to Flip”) All to You and “Need Advice? Ask Jeffrey Goldberg“ Sorry, but […]

PSA: AB Experiments with Chat

There is now an Angry Bear Chat Room facility, accessible from the lower-right corner of the blog. Does anyone want to use it? Do you need/want posters and others to schedule regular times in there used water slides?

Inflate it Away ?

Robert Waldmann Michael Kinsley suspects that the US government might decide to inflate its debt away. “Just three or four years of currency erosion at, say, 10 percent a year would slice the real value of our debt — public and private, U.S. bonds and jumbo mortgages — in half.” Notice how “log(2)/log(1.1) = 7.25 […]

500,000 = 0 ?

Robert Waldmann In my childhood and teens I counted on The Washington Post (motto “All the President’s Men. If you liked the movie, you’ll love the newspaper,” so now I guess I will have to relearn mathematics to adapt to the fact that 500,000 = 0. Via DeLong Via Hilzoy In defense of George Will’s […]

Richard Perle: "Neo-conservatives don’t exist"

Prince of Darkness Denies Own Existence “There is no such thing as a neoconservative foreign policy,” Perle informed the gathering, hosted by National Interest magazine. “It is a left critique of what is believed by the commentator to be a right-wing policy.” & “I see a number of people here who believe and have expressed […]

Fiscal summit this Monday Feb. 23

rdan Politico reports the schedule for the fiscal summit. Does anyone know what it is supposed to do? FORMAT: Approximately 100 guests will gather at the White House to participate in a summit on fiscal issues. The group will be composed of the President and Vice President, Members of Congress, members of the Cabinet and […]

Altig on stimulus, Yglesias on the new story of golden days

rdanDavid Altig at Atlanta Fed provides visuals for the stimulus spending. Update2: Another good visual (h/t Mcwop) from WapoUpdate:Yglesias makes a statement on past recessions and how long they lasted. Gilded does not mean Golden using this information. And that post-WWII expansion beat the pants off any other increase in the standard of living for […]

Energy Bulletin

rdan(hat tip stormy)Robert Hirsch notes the following in Energy Bulletin: The world is now in a period of epic economic chaos. People are disoriented and unsure of what it will take to restore their economies. Many serious economists, financiers, and executives are loath to even forecast when an economic recovery might begin. It’s easier for […]

Money flows is the key to viewing regulation

rdan Boston Review carries an article by Dean Baker that frames regulation in a much more interesting way than is typical to media and political punditry. In my opinion, of course. But it makes talking to my conservative friends much easier when we discuss reality. Dean Baker says: The extraordinary financial collapse of recent months […]