Billions and billions
From Information is Beautiful, via Barry Ritholtz.
- If God in his wisdom had only consulted me before embarking on His creation of the world, I would have suggested something simpler.
—Alfonso the Learned
Economics
Job-killing legislation
I suppose that this is almost too obvious to point out. Almost.
Representative John Kline Argues for Government Waste
The NYT felt the need to present at length the unanswered complaints from Representative John Kline about a bill eliminating federal subsidies for private lenders in the college student loan program. The article concludes with Mr. Kline [...]
The myth of small businesses
I may have posted something here on the subject of small business employment in the US. It’s a common refrain that small businesses account for a disproportionately high share of new jobs. What is nearly always left unsaid is that small businesses also account for a disproportionately high share of job losses, and that net [...]
Devil’s Dictionary: Wall Street Edition
Matthew Rose, WSJ (excerpted):
Devil’s Dictionary: Wall Street Edition
AAA, n., obsolete. A rhetorical device used to dupe buyers into purchasing securities backed by shacks dressed as houses, and to secure the highest possible spot in telephone directories. Common usage: AAA Septic Drainage and Mortgage Backed Security Services.
BAILOUT, n. First known use: Noah. Novel regressive taxation scheme [...]
Rise & flat of household income
Here’s a nice graph, courtesy of Brad DeLong, of household incomes going back 40 years or so. These are inflation adjusted (for some definition of inflation). Click for a bigger version.
Aging in Japan revisited
KQED’s Forum had a semi-interesting hour yesterday called Election in Japan. Their description:
Election in Japan
After 50-plus years of nearly unbroken rule, Japan’s conservative Liberal Democratic Party met defeat by the more liberal Democratic Party in the recent election. With record joblessness and an aging population, what challenges and opportunities might the new Japanese government face?
Host: [...]
Or did it?
James Galbraith in the Washington Monthly, reviewing David Wessel’s In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke’s War on the Great Panic.
Did Ben Bernanke really save America’s financial system?
…
Thus, in the phrase that forms the second subtitle of this book, “the Federal Reserve became the fourth branch of government.” And the system survived.
Or did it?
…
The first [...]
Baltic Dry Index revisited
You remember back in December we looked at a graph of the then-collapsing Baltic Dry Index? Just out of general interest, here’s an update. (Click it for a larger view.)
Everything we know about productivity is wrong
I’ve had a post from Matthew Yglesias lying around for several months. I’m not sure what to make of it all, except that much of our impression of economic “progress” for the last decade or so is illusory, most intriguingly productivity. This has implications beyond my depth.
The post comes from a presentation by Michael Mandel [...]
Gloom from Yves Smith
This is a whole lot longer than I’d ordinarily be willing to quote entirely, but I feel justified because Ms Smith is obviously channeling me here.
Seriously, it’s a long, depressing list, and I can’t find anything in it to disagree with.
Yves Smith: Is This the Start of the Big One?
I don’t believe in market calls, [...]
Lack of Dynamism Seems to Be More a Problem in the U.S. Than Europe
It’s nice to hear a story like this and then find that Dean Baker has dealt with it before I even got out of bed.
Lack of Dynamism Seems to Be More a Problem in the U.S. Than Europe
NPR did a segment this morning asking whether the U.S. economy would likely develop to be more like [...]
The Post Warns Again About a Country Becoming Less Crowded and Polluted
A variation on a Dean Baker theme that bears repeating. Once you start noticing them, you’ll hear warnings about the hazards of a slowdown in population growth all over the place.
Some time back I reviewed Herman Daly’s 1997 Beyond Growth for a local wood-chip-based publication. In it, Daly argues (I oversimplify) for a move from [...]
Why markets can’t cure healthcare
There’s more, of course; this is the last graf.
Paul Krugman: Why markets can’t cure healthcare
… All of this doesn’t necessarily mean that socialized medicine, or even single-payer, is the only way to go. There are a number of successful health-care systems, at least as measured by pretty good care much cheaper than here, and they [...]
We all know what would have happened if Goldman lost on these bets…
The Folks Who Want to Cut Social Security Applaud Government Subsidies for Huge Wall Street Bonuses
No, I am not kidding. The Washington Post (Fox on 15th Street) applauded the big profits at Goldman, which will mean bonuses in the tens of millions of dollars for top performers. Goldman is able to make these payouts because [...]
Small businesses and jobs creation
We need to be reminded of this from time to time. Dean Baker does the reminding today.
The Role of Small Business in the Economy Might be a Mystery to the Washington Post, but Not to Economists
… There had been some debate in the 90s about whether small businesses were responsible for a disproportionate share of [...]
CalPERS suing ratings agencies
Via Barry Ritholtz. This should be fun.
CalPERS: Rating Agencies to Blame for Huge Losses
Way back when, I mentioned there was a surprise coming S&P’s way. Since it is now out there officially, I can discuss it publicly.
After the brouhaha with McGraw Hill began, I was contacted by numerous people — mostly readers emailing words of [...]
The $1 Trillion Health Care Bill: Approximately Half of the Cost of the Iraq War
Not to mention ½ of 1% of GDP.
The $1 Trillion Health Care Bill: Approximately Half of the Cost of the Iraq War
USA Today listed several items that gave readers a basis for assessing the size of the $1 trillion health care bill being debated in the House. It would have been useful to compare the [...]
Why the stimulus was too small
Dean Baker’s nut graf:
The Post’s Editorial Writers Know Zero Economics
… The total loss in demand is around $1,350 billion. The annual stimulus in the bill approved in February was around $300 billion. $300 billion in stimulus is not nearly enough to fill a $1,350 billion shortfall in demand. …
More no recovery
Robert Reich’s post (here yesterday) has gotten a lot of play in the econoblogosphere. Here’s a sampling.
First up: Felix Salmon:
This is related to Mohamed El-Erian’s “new normal” idea — while previous recessions were part of economic cycles within a certain economy, what we’re going through right now is a painful disruption from that economy to [...]
When Will The Recovery Begin? Never.
Robert Reich. Don’t you have the sneaking suspicion (if not the outright conviction) that he’s right?
When Will The Recovery Begin? Never.
The so-called “green shoots” of recovery are turning brown in the scorching summer sun. In fact, the whole debate about when and how a recovery will begin is wrongly framed. On one side are the [...]