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Dean Baker

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Why the "Jobs Bill" Won't Creat Jobs

Dean BakerMar 18, 2010

The NYT article on the jobs bill passed by the Senate yesterday included the views of economists Timothy Bartik and John Bishop as to why the bill will likely create few jobs. It would have been helpful to include the fact that the private sector adds roughly 4 million jobs a month, most of which are replacing jobs lost due to either workers quitting or being laid off.

Senator Simpson's China Bashing

Dean BakerMar 18, 2010

The NYT ran a profile of former Senator Alan Simpson, who was selected as one of the co-chairs of President Obama's deficit reduction commission. The article quotes him as saying: “when Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security suck up the entire revenue stream, we will be going to China and others to finance two wars, and that means borrowing it.”

More Europe Bashing

Dean BakerMar 17, 2010

The NYT notes the recent decline in the euro and points out some of the negative economic effects (e.g. higher oil prices), then tells readers: "more important, there is a queasy feeling that the decline of the euro makes an uncomfortable statement about Europe’s chronic tendency to underperform the United States in economic growth."

Hmmm, "there is a queasy feeling." Where does one find this queasy feeling? The NYT quotes the chief executive of a German health care company who seems to feel somewhat queasy, but that is the only evidence presented in an article with the headline: "ailing Euro Seen as a Signal of Deeper Woes on Continent." They may have overstated their case somewhat.

The Fed Controls the Consumer Protection Agency's Budget

Dean BakerMar 17, 2010

At this point people are still combing through the fine print of Senator Dodd's financial reform bill to determine all its ramifications, however one point is very clear in assessing the independence of the new Consumer Financial Products Protection Agency. The Fed will have control over the agency's budget. This means that if the Fed believes that the agency is causing too much trouble to the financial industry, it would have the power to squeeze its budget so that it would become less troublesome.

Manufacturing Output: Which Way Is Up?

Dean BakerMar 16, 2010

The Post article on the Fed's monthly industrial production report told readers that "February's numbers gave economists other signs that manufacturing would continue to recover this spring, as the capacity utilization -- portion of plants used for production -- climbed to 72.7 percent from 72.5 percent."

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