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Category Archives: Economics

No Mystery Here

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

This morning the Times ran one of those year in review stories, this one about house prices. The story notes that, in what should not be a suprise to any sentient being, the increase in house prices of recent days appears to be a passing phase, and it's more than likely that the rate of […]

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Here’s hoping for failure

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

I urge anyone who comes across this to educate themselves on the proposed Pacific Rim Trade Agreement. More knowledgeable people than I have reported on this. You might start with Dean Baker's blog and work from there. Suffice to say that the United States is not just trying to engineer another massive corporate giveaway, it […]

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Humpty Dumpty bested again

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Yet another example of the malleability of words and meaning. In this morning's Times we learn that the Euro, wonder of wonders, may be the source of the problems in Europe. That's no surprise to anyone who reads Krugman, et. al., but let that pass. What struck me was this: True, there have been glimmers […]

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Nothing succeeds like failure

Sunday, October 27, 2013

My most humble apologies if I have used this title for a post in the past. But eternal verities tend to get repeated. The New York Times reports this morning that some people are claiming that a little more inflation would be a good thing for the economy. I'm on the side of “some people” […]

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The Fed delivers for its constituents

Friday, October 25, 2013

One of the hallmarks of our age is the propensity of our government to adopt Rube Goldberg solutions to problems that invite simple solutions. Obamacare could have been invented by Rube himself, and while there may be practical political reasons that justify the complexity, the fact remains that had we simply adopted Medicare for All, […]

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Government sponsored inequality

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

As regular readers know, I'm a big fan of Dean Baker. Today he demolishes the claim that current levels of inequality are the result of market forces before which we are powerless to act. But no, as Dean shows with numerous examples, its not the invisible hand of the free market that is causing inequality, […]

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Today’s media just can’t stand programs that help people

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Anytime, anywhere. This morning I read this article in the Times about France’s “slow decline”, caused, of course, not by robber barons but by a generous welfare state. It seems the Times, like the Post, just can’t stand the thought of ordinary people not ending their lives in utter poverty. So when I read it, […]

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Book Review

Thursday, August 15, 2013

A few weeks ago I read a blog post (can’t remember where anymore) in which the author mentioned Louis Brandeis’s book Other People’s Money and How the Bankers Use It. The book was written in about 1913 and was originally serialized in Harper’s Weekly, and the blogger, whoever he or she might have been, said […]

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Amazing but true: a Church does a good thing (of course not here in America)

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

This should prove, or nothing can, that I will indeed be highlighting, at least once a week, some good news, no matter what the source. For this week, not only am I pointing out something good, but the good thing I am highlighting is actually being done by, of all things, a religious organization. Well, […]

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Good News

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

As promised, another edition of good news, leaving me free to let negativity pull me through for the rest of the week. This week we really do have good news: This should go a long way toward dissuading White House advisers that President Obama should nominate Larry Summers to be the next chairman of the […]

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