Party stances can be confusing. Parties often make U-turns on key policy issues. For example, the Democratic Party long criticized big government. Some Democrats still hold Jefferson-Jackson dinners, claiming the mantle of two champions of the common man. They don’t…
Category: Other
Is big the new bad? We can’t seem to decide
It seems clear from ongoing controversies over how to deal with nearly insolvent auto companies or financial conglomerates like Citigroup or Bank of America that neither our society or government has clear views on whether bigness is good or bad…
Industry leaders prove mediocre in government
Our Cabinet suffers from a serious paradox. It is hard to find leaders for important departments such as Defense or the Treasury. If they know enough about key issues such as Wall Street finance or defense procurement to be effective…
The GOP should consider cap and trade
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is entirely correct when she asserts that cap-and-trade programs proposed to limit greenhouse gas emissions will have the effect of a tax. Requiring entities that emit CO2 and other such gasses to buy emissions permits will raise…
Both Obama administration and tax protestors are dangerously cynical and delusional
The most harmful lies are the ones we tell ourselves. Our country will be in trouble until both its citizens and its leaders stop engaging in willful self-delusion. Count both the Obama administration and the tax-protesting Tea Party crowd among…
Government needs to catch up to the times
Among Governor Pawlenty’s ideas to deal with Minnesota’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit is a proposal to consolidate the state’s county human services departments into 15 regional operations. His interest in improving the cost effectiveness of government deserves support. Circumstances change and…
Several factors drive drop in consumer spending
U.S. households are spending less. Is it because their incomes are down, because they have less net worth or because there is a fundamental change in what economists call ‘tastes and preferences’? The answer affects how the economy responds to…
Recent rally is good news, but not proof of a recovery
Happy days may not quite be here again, but they are on the way. At least that is how some interpret last week’s good economic news. One index showed consumer confidence increased in April. The stock market is up 20…
Colleges, defense contractors face high fixed costs
It may not be obvious, but educating college students and building military hardware are similar in some important ways, ones that become particularly vexing in an economic downturn. In both sectors, fixed costs are high compared to variable ones. Fixed…
Defining recessions, crises and bubbles
On a recent radio call-in show, an economist used the terms ‘recession’ and ‘financial crisis.’ A caller asked, ‘Well, just what is the difference?’ There is a difference, but confusion is understandable, especially when economists and others switch between terms…