Kindred Winecoff introduces the excellent point that the fact that the U.S. is experiencing an inflation rate that’s lower than China’s means that the real exchange rate is adjusting faster than the nominal rate. Consequently, “[t]o the extent that we want to boost employment through exporting, increased inflation could prolong that process.” Or to look… Continue reading Higher Inflation Would Slow U.S.-China Currency Adjustment | ThinkProgress
The senior staff of Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign has resigned en masse.
Newt Gingrich’s struggling presidential campaign may be entering yet another rough patch as an AP report claims a large group of senior aides are resigning. From The senior staff of Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign has resigned en masse. Wow.
Breitbart Blackmail?
Conservative activist Andrew Breitbart of the website BigGovernment.com tells NBC’s “Today” show he considers the image “an insurance policy” against attacks from Weiner. From Breitbart Blackmail? Shouldn’t the ethics investigation into Weiner also investigate if Breitbart is in a position to try and blackmail a congressman?
History Unfolding: Right-wingers, then and now
Thanks largely to last fall’s elections there are now 123 Generation Xers in the Congress. 83 of them are Republicans and 43 are Democrats. The Democrats are the party claiming to stand for the achievements of the last eighty years of American life, and they are correspondingly much older. Indeed, most of the leadership of… Continue reading History Unfolding: Right-wingers, then and now
Cuz It’s In the Constitution!
‘Sovereign Citizen’ opens fire at seafood market with AK-47 after being told they were out of crawfish. From Talking Points Memo He was exercising his natural right to shellfish.
The Rentier Regime
What explains this opposition to any and all attempts to mitigate the economic disaster? I can think of a number of causes, but Kuttner makes a very good point: everything we’re seeing makes sense if you think of the right as representing the interests of rentiers, of creditors who have claims from the past —… Continue reading The Rentier Regime
Lysenkoism as economic policy in the Diamond nomination
I think the rejection of a Nobel laureate for a seat at the Fed is tied, in a fundamental way, to the willingness of economists with decent professional reputations to sign on to the increasingly crazy proclamations issued by Republican politicians. Whether they are honest with themselves or not, what they’ve realized is that they… Continue reading Lysenkoism as economic policy in the Diamond nomination
Al Qaeda spokesman urges terrorists to buy lots of guns at gun shows
America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms. You can go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with a fully automatic assault rifle, without a background check, and most likely without having to show an identification card. So what are you waiting for? From Al Qaeda spokesman urges… Continue reading Al Qaeda spokesman urges terrorists to buy lots of guns at gun shows
The Ongoing Conservative Recovery
Over the past year, we’ve consistently seen the economy engage in so-so private sector job growth offset by job losses in the public sector. The results are, if you ask me, bad. But in a decent world, conservatives would be forced to acknowledge that these are the results they claim to want. The private sector’s… Continue reading The Ongoing Conservative Recovery
Six plans to balance the budget
Policy teams from the six groups taking part in the Solutions Initiative—the American Enterprise Institute, the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Center for American Progress, the Economic Policy Institute, The Heritage Foundation, and the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network (representing the perspective of younger Americans)—all provided comprehensive plans to meet the budget challenge head on. The goal… Continue reading Six plans to balance the budget