Category Archives: Economics

I Concur

Posted on April 26, 2013 by dedc79

TPM’s Brian Beutler thinks the Democrats are making a big mistake with the FAA funding legislation now working its way through Congress: Last night, the Senate proved it can fix big problems for real Americans — so long as they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, News and Current Events | 15 Comments

For Want Of A Cell

Posted on April 16, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

Matt Yglesias opens, properly, by noting the lack of accountability among policy elites: So this is huge. Or, rather, it won’t matter even a tiny little bit but it ought to be a big deal anyway. You’ve probably heard that … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Media analysis, News and Current Events, Politics | Leave a comment

Semantic Infiltration

Posted on April 4, 2013 by dedc79

Back in Poison Your Mind’s early days, I wrote about the way Republicans used poll-tested words to reframe political debates.  (Former Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan aptly described this tactic as “semantic infiltration.”)  My target at the time was the word “entitlements”: … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Health Care, History, Politics | 4 Comments

Thinking Things Through

Posted on March 30, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

Paul Krugman gets back to first principles: In general, market disequilibrium is a sign of prices out of whack; and most people commenting on our mess accept the notion that one or more prices are for some reason not adjusting. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, News and Current Events | Leave a comment

Conservative And Republican Proposals To Improve The Economy

Posted on March 27, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

The absence of rational conservatism– even from well-credentialed folks– flows from our polarization, and the (related) absorption of the GOP into the infotainment industry. As I noted in a brief examination of our real-life economic context a little while back, ”Of course, in real life, there … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, News and Current Events, Politics | 18 Comments

Stimulus, Response

Posted on March 5, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

Imagine if the US passed a stimulus bill: The benchmark Dow Jones industrial average set a new intraday trading record Tuesday on news that China was pledging to plow more money into its economy, returning the markets to highs not … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, News and Current Events, Politics | 4 Comments

The Big Picture

Posted on February 20, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

Freddie at l’Hote reads that the payroll tax cut is over, and the extra $60 per month is hitting some people hard. He offers a few charts on income gains over the past two decades, and concludes: Absolutely nothing can … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics, Taxes | 10 Comments

The BS Commission Reunites

Posted on February 20, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

Stan Collender offers a withering assessment of the return of the Bowles-Simpson show: The new plan should be seen for what it really is: A desperate plea for attention by two men who have hurt rather than helped their reputations … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, News and Current Events, Politics | 1 Comment

No, We’re Not Greece, Nor Will We Ever Be

Posted on February 11, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

Jared Bernstein makes a calm and rational point: –$1.2 trillion is not nothing, but over 10 years, it’s 0.6% of GDP, and in a rational political system, it would not be a heavy lift to find the $600 billion from … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, News and Current Events, Politics | 1 Comment

Bob Woodward’s Ignorance About Public Affairs

Posted on February 8, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

I noted Bob Woodward spouting baseless nonsense on economics the other day; Paul Krugman, it turns out, made a similar argument: It’s not just Woodward — and it’s certainly not just Republicans. [Krugman then offers a lengthy quote from Steny … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Media analysis, News and Current Events, Politics | Leave a comment

The Centrist Consensus On Economic Policy

Posted on February 6, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

Culture of Truth at Eschaton flags Bob Woodward on Meet the Press, offering the DC consensus just like he did when he called Alan Greenspan a “Maestro”: if you stabilize the debt in some reasonable way, we’re going to have … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Media analysis, News and Current Events, Politics | 1 Comment

Makers Vs. Takers

Posted on January 25, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

Brad DeLong remembers things that happened yesterday:  It used to be that critics of the welfare state pointed to high net marginal tax rates and argued that they had high deadweight losses. Sometimes they had a point. Then, after bipartisan … Continue reading →

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Dallas Fed President: Break Up The Banks

Posted on January 18, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

A little while back, I wrote: There’s a fellow out there, University of Chicago Booth School of Business Professor Luigi Zingales, who has received the improbable title of “conservative intellectual”. Zingales argues that the government should break up monopolies and reenact Glass Steagall. Well, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, News and Current Events, Politics | Leave a comment

Pres. Obama’s Mainstream Conservative Presidency

Posted on January 15, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

Libertarian-leaning Leon Hadar explains how the president is an old guard Republican: With the selection of Republican Hagel, an intellectual heir to the Baker-Scrowcroft Realpolitik tradition, Obama has taken a major step toward transforming his presidency into a replica of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreign Policy, Health Care, News and Current Events, Politics, Taxes | 1 Comment

The US Is A Low-Tax Country

Posted on January 14, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

Old news and all, but Derek Thompson looks anew at this age-old truth. He posts a bunch of charts, including this one from the Tax Policy Center: Of course, one can have a political preference that the US maintain extremely … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, News and Current Events, Politics | 1 Comment

Our Health Care System Is Costly And Gets Poor Outcomes

Posted on January 11, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

To continue on the theme of health care reform, here is a conclusion from the RAND Corporation: We’re not getting our money’s worth. As we pointed out in our earlier paper, it is difficult to justify the relentless growth of U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Health Care, News and Current Events, Politics | 3 Comments

The Media Is Incapable Of Accurately Reporting On Republican Extremism

Posted on January 11, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

The case for the platinum coin seems straightforward enough. The debt ceiling is a bizarre and unnecessary little hitch in US law– Congress has already mandated that the executive spend this money; the debt ceiling is a second bite at the apple, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Media analysis, News and Current Events, Politics | 23 Comments

Reminder: The US Has The Worst Health Outcomes Of All Wealthy Nations

Posted on January 10, 2013 by reflectionephemeral

David Frum flags a New York Times story: Americans often say they have the best health care on earth. Maybe. But they also have the worst health results of any developed country. A New York Times report today underscores just how bad: Younger Americans … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Health Care, News and Current Events, Politics | 3 Comments