Global Investors Are Telling Donald Trump His Deficits and National…
Washington is unnerved these days about budget deficits and the national debt. Deficit angst comes along periodically, often as a pretext for cutting social spending. This time, however, there’s genuine cause for alarm. Outsized deficits are par for the course when the economy is in recession or reeling from a shock like the pandemic or the financial collapse; most of… Continue reading
Who’s Really to Blame for High Unemployment, and What to…
An economic slowdown is now here – one we repeatedly cautioned would come – so even the Federal Reserve is downgrading its forecast.  Alas, the United States isn’t alone.  The prospects for Europe look even worse, especially with their largest banks so heavily invested in the bonds of EU member countries still skirting the edge of sovereign debt defaults. And…Continue reading
Rebuilding a National Consensus for Economic Reform
The Washington politics around America’s economic policies has become dysfunctional. In Barack Obama’s first 18 months, the broad support for Democrats expressed in the 2006 and 2008 elections, the big congressional majorities they produced, and the public’s loud demand for change from the Bush era were enough to enact major stimulus, followed by health care and financial reforms. The full-throated…Continue reading
Jobless Benefits, Deficits, and the Art of Washington Compromise
The President will sign another $34 billion extension of unemployment benefits this week, and this is only the beginning of a debate almost certain to produce uncomfortable moments for both parties. For now, the Republicans have embraced the more shameless position. Their new talking points tell us that the economy cannot afford any new measures that would increase the deficit…Continue reading
The Economy is Slowing Down – Alas, Much as We…
Recent polls have left most Democrats discouraged, even if the loss of public confidence reflects economic weaknesses largely beyond their control. Americans these days seem to both blame President Obama for economic developments that were not his doing and discount his real accomplishments in other areas. It’s hardly a surprise that life in politics is unfair. The real misstep here…Continue reading
In Promoting Universal Broadband, Less Truly Is More
The right federal policy isn’t always hard to figure out. Take broadband. As broadband becomes an increasingly important factor in securing access to economic opportunities and public information, it’s obvious that the right public policy is to promote universal broadband service. Not only are most job openings today posted only online, so is most information about health care, government services,…Continue reading
The Importance of Blaming the Right People for the Wall…
This year’s notorious Supreme Court decision on campaign finance found that corporations have the full rights of individuals, at least in the area of campaign finance. While that ruling may have serious consequences for how we conduct elections, most of us already approach big companies as if they were people — and then, when those companies wreak havoc on the…Continue reading
Memo to the President and other World Leaders: Resist a…
A dangerous and infectious economic idea is spreading around the world. Last week, the liberal majority in the House of Representatives rejected efforts to inject a little more stimulus into the economy; and across much of Europe and Asia, presidents, prime ministers, parliaments and congresses are calling for tighter budgets. Many economies face some genuine threats these days; and suddenly,…Continue reading
Some Hard Truths about Globalization and Jobs
I find myself in Stockholm, an old capital city of a small economy animated by the drive of ingenious entrepreneurs and the extraordinary global success of more native companies than any other nation its size, from Ikea and Erikson to the Tetra Laval packaging giant and the Axel-Johnson conglomerate. Sweden’s economic drive and success are predicated on an acute understanding…Continue reading