We tabulate our national debt to the penny but we never add up the nation’s assets. That understandably causes confusion. Take this reader, who recently asked, “I hear the United States called the world’s richest nation. How can that be…
Category: Other
Fed policy sent stocks, real estate soaring
Tuesday’s news of the Dow hitting a record high and the Census Bureau announcing that real median home values increased 32 percent in five years made me exclaim, “Boy, old Irv was a pretty smart guy.” Irving Fisher is the…
Voters just don’t care about the budget
The leaves are turning color, farmers are harvesting, mornings are crisp and we are starting yet another federal fiscal year without a budget. This is such a regular occurrence, the public is more likely to comment on a particularly cool…
Savvy investors know hedge funds don’t
When news of the hedge fund Amaranth Advisors’ big losses came out, I thought of British satirist Oscar Wilde. Describing Charles Dickens’ most maudlin scene in “The Old Curiosity Shop,” Wilde said, “One must have a heart of stone to…
Alcohol tax makes sense, up to a point
The Minnesota Medical Association apparently understands that taxing harmful products can pay off for society. The physicians group recently called for a 10-cent per drink increase in excise taxes on alcohol, with one member arguing it will “lead to a…
Disability insurance strains budgets
It would be a mistake to go Dutch — at least if that means repeating the disability insurance experience of the Netherlands. Thirty years ago, that nation structured its government programs in a way that resulted in granting permanent disability…
U.S. economy isn’t mobilized for terror war
The United States is a large and wealthy country. Everyone knows that. That is why my jaw dropped during an ABC Nightline broadcast this Sept. 11. Describing the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, reporter Terry Moran asserted, “It could all be…
Blue Cross proposal spurs healthy debate
One of the advantages of our federal system of government is that states can take the initiative when Washington does not. Congressional paralysis — at least in terms of substantive issues — certainly is the case right now. So we…
Look beyond profits-wages comparison
Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show that corporate profits account for a larger share of total gross domestic product (or national income) than at any time in decades. Meanwhile, wages and salaries make up the smallest…
Let’s put “fixed lump” to rest
The “fixed lump of labor” fallacy never dies. This is the mistaken thinking that there are only a fixed number of jobs in an economy regardless of other economic conditions. Alternately, it is the assumption that the number of workers…