What is the fairest way to take care of the elderly and disabled? Should Social Security pay every retiree the same amount, or should benefits vary somewhat with individuals’ prior earnings? Or, should benefits vary according to need, so that…
Author: Ed Lotterman
19th century activist could provide lesson to misguided trade protesters
It is unfortunate that British social activist Richard Cobden wasn’t able to make it to Seattle earlier this month to join the protestors who said they were concerned about justice and treatment of the poor. He might have enlightened them…
There’s no need to fret over effect of China’s entry into trade groups
China’s agreement with the United States on joining the WTO caused some editorial writers and labor leaders to work themselves into a frenzy of opposition. Letting China in the WTO forces U.S. workers to compete with slave labor some argue.…
Brilliant people, investment by government bring new technology
Why is the U.S. economy doing so well right now? Why are the Dutch so much wealthier than the Portuguese? Why is Japan so much richer than nearby China? Economists have been studying these questions for more than 200 years,…
Coca-Cola needs to master simple lessons about price discrimination
Coca-Cola really blew it recently when it said it developed a new vending machine with a thermometer that will raise prices when the weather is hot. You don’t need an MBA to know that the public is going to look…
Maybe money supply, not inflation, is the real question faced by Fed
Perform the following experiment. Ask five colleagues whether they think the Federal Reserve should raise interest rates. Then ask them whether they think it is a good idea for the Fed to allow the money supply to grow more than…
Donation or sale of body parts central issue of conscience, ethics
Is it right for beautiful models or brilliant, athletic young men to sell their eggs or semen to the highest bidder? That is yet another question that economists really can’t answer any better than the average person. But the recent…
It’s time to stop confusing investors with meaningless market numbers
Stock indexes such as the Dow Jones industrial averages and Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index were invented to give the public understandable information about the general movement of equities prices. But with time, inflation and the proliferation of exchanges…
To improve health care, remove tax-exempt status for benefits
Health care financing is the policy issue that just won’t go away. Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley is making it a centerpiece of his campaign, and Congress just passed compromise “Patients Bill of Rights” legislation specifying what patients can and…
Despite comments now, Greenspan contributed to Social Security woes
When Alan Greenspan was in Minneapolis recently, he weighed in on the current debate about Social Security. It was unfortunate, he said, that so many of the reform proposals were nothing more than accounting gimmicks that did nothing to ensure…