Steve Benen posted his monthly update of job progress, but I wanted to get a closer look at the numbers. So I threw together this chart using private sector job numbers only (basically, ex-Census), and including a stimulus spending line ...Read More
A recent repost over at Naked Capitalism brought to my attention the question of how US GDP is calculated. In particular, this snippet caught my eye: No other country makes these so-called adjustments, using a hedonic price index. And the cumulative distortion ...Read More
A great course on US economic history by Brad Delong. Listen to Lecture #22 for the best of the bunch. Read More
This is unforgivable: "I think literally that if we raised the federal funds rate by a point, it would help push money into the economy." In order to raise the fed funds rate, you have to actually remove money from the economy. ...Read More
Just for fun (click to embiggen): The chart is total US government spending and deficit, as a % of GDP, since 1946. What I see there is a federal deficit that stays pretty constant - actually, declines readily - except in ...Read More
Social Security’s Non-Crisis
Should Democrats Lose the House?
The Constantly Progressive Consumption Tax
Fairness, Taxes, and the Bush Oddity
Stimulus: A Shot in the Arm