We have had troops on the ground in Afghanistan for nearly a year and the administration continues to press for a war with Iraq that would involve calling up a quarter of a million reservists. This is a good time…
Author: Ed Lotterman
Taxes are a necessary evil; tax evaders really are evil
For the sake of Minnesota taxpayers, I hope that Geoffrey Hickman gets the maximum 19 months when he comes up for sentencing in early December. Hickman is the airline pilot who was recently convicted of five felony counts of tax…
Monopoly power brings on abuses
Economics, like politics, can make for strange bedfellows, but even I was surprised this week when two guys named George acted to drive home the same economics lesson. The first George was President Bush, who tried to steal some electoral…
“Caveat emptor” has always applied to the stock market
I am not sure if I am dumb or lucky but I continue to be taken aback by other people’s stock market woes. Consider this assertion in a recent letter to the editor: “My parents worked hard for 30 years.…
Creative books can hide costs
Everyone knows that economists tend to be people who are good with numbers but don’t have enough personality to make good accountants. Knowing my limitations, I avoid accounting issues as much as possible. But when a friend asked, “Is it…
Bush didn’t build the bubble and he didn’t bust it, either
When I hear people criticize President George W. Bush for the nation’s economic problems, I feel as if I’m part of the old joke about watching an overbearing in-law drive your new Porsche off a cliff. I have mixed feelings.…
Labor lessons of port lockout
While unions and management in different industries have basically the same legal rights to strike or lock workers out, the real bargaining power each side has depends on the specific structure of their industry. This is just one of the…
Changes in society affect the unemployment count
Editor’s note: This is the second of two columns on the unemployment rate. The first column is Numb to jobless numbers. We may or may not be in a recession as economists define it, but the economy certainly is far…
Numb to jobless numbers
Editor’s note: This is the first of two columns on the unemployment rate. The second column is Changes in society affect the unemployment count. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release estimates of the unemployment rate and the number…
Free trade is good for business, good for people
Economists have failed dismally to convince the public of the benefits of trade. Perhaps we should admit that and start from scratch. Economists have believed trade is beneficial for at least 226 years, which is also as long as our…