Economics
President Obama said two words in the 2013 State of the Union speech that can’t be found in any of his previous four State of the Union speeches: “minimum wage.”Here is what Obama said: READ MORE >>
Paul Krugman vs. Joseph Stiglitz
How income inequality could be slowing our recovery from the Great Recession
Given today’s report of economic contraction, it’s worth tuning in to a recent debate between liberal economists Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman. READ MORE >>
Back from the Brink
Progressives have achieved the impossible: They balanced California's books
Earlier this month, California Governor Jerry Brown strode to a podium in Sacramento and said something that, a few years ago, seemed as unlikely as a UFO landing atop the state Capitol: The initial projection for the state budget showed a balance. In fact, for the 2013-2014 fiscal year, there’s a surplus of $851 million. READ MORE >>
Fed Head—An Insider’s Take on the Financial Crisis
Say this for Alan S. Blinder: the man has not been jaded. His new book on the Wall Street meltdown, After the Music Stopped: The Financial Crisis, the Response, and the Work Ahead, is animated by a lay person’s sense of wonder and—at times—horror at the country’s financial mess. READ MORE >>
Accounted For: The Origins of Modern Finance
Back to Mao?
Capitalism Is Regulation
How Low Can We Go?
Plastic People
Rough Trade
IF YOU think Congress is worse than ever, you weren’t around in 1930. It was then Congress passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff—a piece of protectionist folly that raised the levies on nearly nine hundred categories of imports. Britain, Canada, and various nations in Europe retaliated—that is, they erected barriers to American goods and foreign goods in general. World trade collapsed, and the ongoing economic slump turned into the Great Depression. READ MORE >>
