Dean Baker

In an article that discusses a serious issue, the laibility of state governments for retiree health benefits, USA Today also tosses in a bit of holiday fearmongering. It tells people that the liability of all levels of government for retirement pension and health benefits is at least $57.8 trillion, or $510,000 per household. So as […]

According to the NYT, drug giant Eli Lilly knew that Zyprexa, a drug used to treat schizophrenia, had a number of serious side effects, but decided not to trouble doctors with this information. The NYT has done a great job over the last decade uncovering cases where the pharmaceutical and medical supply industries have engaged […]

Most people probably saw the news about the sharp fall in the incidence of breast cancer. This was attributed to a drop in the use of hormone replacement treatment for menopause. And why were so many women getting hormone replacement treatment? Well, the pharmaceutical industry pushed it as a way of combatting aging. That is […]

Real wages have risen less than 2 percent over the last five years. Because of the sharp drop in gas prices over the last four months, real wages have grown rapidly over this period. Of course, once oil prices stop falling (as they already have) real wages will be growing in the range of 1.0-1.5 […]

Suppose Wal-Mart had to certify that it could not find any adequate shoes/pants/toys/toasters etc. made in the United States before it was allowed to purchase these items from a foreign supplier. Suppose further that the company and its managers could be fined and possibly jailed if they lied. Odds are that Wal-Mart would not buy […]

I have never been one to lose sleep over modest rates of inflation (2 percent to 4 percent), but I think that some of the reporting may have overplayed the low inflation in the November CPI. Both the overall and core CPI were flat, which brings the annual rate of inflation to -3.9 percent over […]

The Post once again raises fears that less educated workers might gain some of the protection currently enjoyed by more educated workers. In an article on Treasury Secretary Paulson’s trip to China, it quotes without comment Senator Schumer’s comment that China’s continued refusal to raise the value of its currency could damage the “increasingly fragile […]

The credit rating agencies are the umpires of the financial world. They are supposed to be giving objective assessments of the financial status of the companies they rate. This is why it is big news that Standard & Poors may have altered its rating of Portland General Electric at the request of the company. David […]

NPR presented an interview with Wall Street Journal reporter David Wessel this morning in which he asserted that controlling inflation is the Fed’s charge. This is not true. The law says that the Fed is obligated to run its monetary policy in order to promote price stability and high levels of employment, and specifically sets […]

Did anyone get a 6 percent (nominal) wage increase last year? Congratulations on your “skyrocketing” paycheck. This is the term that the Post applies to Social Security expenditures, which have risen at an average rate of 5.2 percent in the last five years and are projected to rise at a 5.5 percent rate over the […]