Americans are getting richer, agriculture is becoming more efficient, apparel is increasingly made by Bangladeshis or robots, etc. At the same time, computers and other electronic gadgets are getting cheaper in real terms. And if some things shrink as a share of our income, other things need to grow. The biggest of those things has… Continue reading We’re actually purchasing shockingly little in the way of improved health for all that money
Category: economics
Making Things
As we’re able to produce more material goods with fewer people, that ought to lead not only to more chefs and yoga instructors and private security guards but also more preschool teachers and cops and home health aides. There’s an argument out there that “we can’t afford” the larger public sector that’s currently projected for… Continue reading Making Things
Monopoly, Milton Friedman’s Way
Mr. Zelenty owned the greatest of treasures any of us could imagine because it combined those two passions. He had asked Mr. Friedman to sign his Monopoly board at one of those sherry hours. The Nobel laureate did so, writing, “Down with” above the game’s name. We didn’t play on that board. No one ever… Continue reading Monopoly, Milton Friedman’s Way
Unions and Budget Deficits
Do high unionization levels lead to state budget deficits, as some claim? John Sides shows that the answer is no: From Unions and Budget Deficits If you look at the numbers, the basic argument against public unions as budget busters is pretty bogus.
Wisconsin Draws the Line on Austerity Opportunism and Class War.
Wisconsin Draws the Line on Austerity Opportunism and Class War.
Technical analysis of the Wisconsin budget battle. Takeaway line is Austerity Opportunism.
Structural Unemployment Myths: Construction, Moving, Mancessions
My other favorite pernicious myth of this recession is the story of the Mancession. This hit the high moment with Hannah Rosin’s article The End of Men in The Atlantic. This is the idea is that male employment has suffered in this recession, and the workforce has been overtaken by women because of the possibility… Continue reading Structural Unemployment Myths: Construction, Moving, Mancessions
The Great British Austerity Experiment
The takeaway lesson should be “austerity does not work; don’t go there.” Unfortunately, in the land of faith-based economics, evidence does not count for much. The UK may pursue a disastrous austerity path and those of us in the United States may still have to follow the same road anyhow. But we opponents of that… Continue reading The Great British Austerity Experiment
Krugman on Bloomberg on the Icelandic Miracle
Today, Iceland is recovering. The three new banks had combined profit of $309 million in the first nine months of 2010. GDP grew for the first time in two years in the third quarter, by 1.2 percent, inflation is down to 1.8 percent and the cost of insuring government debt has tumbled 80 percent. Stores… Continue reading Krugman on Bloomberg on the Icelandic Miracle
Obama’s Bid to End Oil Subsidy Revives Debate
When he releases his new budget in two weeks, President Obama will propose doing away with roughly $4 billion a year in subsidies and tax breaks for oil companies, in his third effort to eliminate federal support for an industry that remains hugely profitable. From Obama’s Bid to End Oil Subsidy Revives Debate – NYTimes.com… Continue reading Obama’s Bid to End Oil Subsidy Revives Debate
The difference between big and small government is 4%
Until recently, our great, wrenching, economic debate has been focused on whether a whopping 4.6% increase in tax rates on incomes over $250,000 would undermine the American work ethic, shred the nation’s the moral fiber, and constitute the “Second Coming of Socialism”. Now, with the passage of the tax cut extension, providing us a harrowing,… Continue reading The difference between big and small government is 4%