Dean Baker

The weak second quarter GDP numbers were driven in part by the housing sector as noted in the NYT. See also the separate piece on the housing market. In addition to the GDP data, the Commerce Department also released data on vacancy rates for the second quarter. The vacancy rate for ownership units hit a […]

Remember the inverted yield curve and the hoola hoop? A few months back, the prospect of an inverted yield curve was seen as an ominous warning sign of bad times ahead. An inverted yield curve was supposed to signal an upcoming recession. This seems worth mentioning now because the yield curve is becoming seriously inverted […]

Reporters should always use inflation adjusted numbers when making comparisons of dollar values at substantially different points in time. A dollar is worth much less today than it was 20 or 30 years ago. While most readers may know this, they do not typically have ready access to the consumer price index tables, so they […]

If we use protectionist barriers to artificially prop up health care prices in the United States, then people go overseas for health care. It’s extremely wasteful (it’s much cheaper and better for people’s health to have the medical procedures done here), but that is what happens when you have protectionism. –Dean Baker

Several comments and e-mails on my last post on trade expressed confusion about restrictions on highly educated foreign workers in the United States. (There was one complaint about repetition, as long as the press repeats the error, I will repeat the complaint.) These restrictions take two forms. The first is formal licensing restrictions. The highest […]

The latest numbers certainly show a slowing. Existing home sales are down by 10 percent from their peaks last year. Prices have stabilized on a year over year basis (down slightly after adjusting for inflation), and inventories are building. It is worth noting in the latest report that the inventory of unsold condos stood at […]

It would be nice if reporters were forced to read what they write before it appears in the paper. What do they mean when they say “free trade?” What makes increasing patent and copyright protection (an essential part of recent U.S. trade agreements) free trade? These are government granted monopolies. Isn’t that obvious? Yes, they […]

I was going to give this one a pass, since it’s a column in the Post Outlook section, not a news story, but even opinion pieces should be able to pass the laugh test. The basic point of the piece is that the public and media are wrong to be concerned about the fact that […]

A Washington Post editorial this morning criticized efforts in Maryland and other states to force large employers (especially Wal-Mart) to pay for their workers’ health care. The article contrasted these efforts with the approach being followed in Massachusetts, which it asserts is “a state that is trying to responsibly address rising health-care costs.” This is […]

David Cay Johnston has a great piece in today’s NYT reporting on the Bush administration’s plan to halve the number of lawyers who audit estate tax filing. According to the article, these lawyers generate an average of more than $2,000 per hour of work in revenue for the government. This implies, that unless they are […]