As the sequester looms, what’s most clear is that both parties have given in to the idea that our chief problem is deficits.
Dean Baker
Dean Baker is senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. He is the author of several books, including Rigged: How Globalization and the Rules of the Modern Economy Were Structured to Make the Rich Richer. Read more about Dean.
Posted inSpecial Report
Tax Tricks: Time to Go on Offense
Our current tax system rewards unproductive speculation and punishes the working middle class.
Posted inSpecial Report
The Bipartisan Attack on Medicare
To fix Medicare, fix the larger inefficiencies in America’s health-care system.
Posted inEconomic Policy
And, I Am Out of Here! — Thanks TAP — See You at CEPR
Today is the last day that Beat the Press will be appearing on The American Prospect’s website. You’ll have to go to Beat the Press’ new home page (or new RSS feed) from now on to read it. Thanks again to TAP for hosting BTP and exposing it to its well-informed and thoughtful readership over […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
Which Country Got All the Royalties in February?
That might have been a good question for reporters to address when they reported on the February trade data released yesterday. The data showed that royalties and licensing fees had increased by $883 million from January, a rise of more than 40 percent. This has occasionally happened in prior months and presumably reflects one-time payments […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
People Are Losing Their Homes and Their Jobs, But They Are Really Mad About the Deficit
That’s effectively what the Washington Post told readers in another front page editorial highlighting the need for deficit reduction. The article said: “But by suggesting the deficit may have peaked, administration officials are taking a political gamble. If the favorable number does not hold up in coming months and the budget shortfall surpasses the $1.4 […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
Pew Shows the Lack of Creativity Among Creative Workers
A new Pew poll of reporters and editors found a great deal of pessimism about the prospects for the newspaper industry. At one point, the article reports the poll’s finding that: “about three-quarters of the editors who took part said they would have serious objections to accepting direct support from either the government or interest […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
Ben Bernanke, Who Missed an $8 Trillion Housing Bubble, Warned About the Deficit
In an article reporting on the debate over extending unemployment insurance benefits the Washington Post told readers: “on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned that growing budget deficits imperiled the economy’s long-term stability.” It is worth noting that in his capacity as a Federal Reserve Board governor from 2002 to 2005, chief economic […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
Texas and the Housing Bubble
Paul Krugman asks in his column this morning why Texas managed to largely escape the worst of the housing bubble while Georgia leads the country in the number of failed banks. Both are states in which the major cities have relatively few zoning restrictions or natural barriers, which allows for easy sprawl to meet new […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
How Big Is China and How Ignorant Are They at the WAPO?
Those are the questions that readers of the WAPO’s Sunday Outlook section must be asking. The Post told readers that: “this year, China’s economy is expected to produce about $5 trillion in goods and services. That would put it ahead of Japan as the world’s second-biggest national economy, but it would still be barely one-third […]