Dean Baker

The lead editorial in Saturday’s New York Times noted the recent drop in the dollar. It then blamed President Bush’s deficits and warned of an impending recession unless the budget deficit is reduced. As best I can tell, the editorial was incoherent, like much of the discussion on the trade deficit and the budget deficit. […]

The financial press eagerly reported Federal Reserve Board Chairman Benjamin Bernanke’s comments this week saying that he expected a gradual softening of the housing market, not a serious collapse. Mr. Bernanke’s comments may reflect his true view of the housing market. However, it is also possible that these statements were made simply to soothe the […]

The New York Times had an article this morning about efforts in Congress to renegotiate federal oil and gas leases that gave the industry a windfall projected to be $20 billion over the next 25 years. The sums at stake are not huge for the country or the industry (the $800 million annual windfall is […]

The Times ran a piece this morning on a budget resolution passed by the House last night. According to the article, the resolution provides for a substantial increase in defense spending (not counting war expenditures) and some degree of cuts for everything else. However, it is not clear where (if anywhere) adjustments have been made […]

To increase sales, we now have my new book, The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer, available for free download in html format. It is still possible to get a free PDF download, or you can also order a paperback copy. Also, for those interested in […]

Both the Clinton and Bush administrations were eager proponents of European union expansion, calling on the EU to quickly admit the former Soviet bloc countries, as well as Turkey. The media have typically presented resistance to rapid expansion as reflecting perverse European fears of globalization. The Post had another piece in this vein this morning. […]

Perhaps I’m missing something, but it seems that there is an obvious flaw with President Bush’s proposal to have a tamper proof identification card for guest workers. As I understand it, under his program guest workers would be required to present this ID to employers when they get a job. The flaw in the logic […]

The Times had a piece this morning about how Major League Baseball is suing to prevent fantasy baseball games from using players’ statistics without paying a licensing fee. The article tried to be fair in presenting the views of both parties as well as independent legal scholars. What is missing from the discussion is any […]

Since questions continually arise on my health care postings, I will make a couple of points here that do not directly relate to the news coverage. First, health care costs have posed a problem everywhere, but nowhere do they pose as much of a problem as in the United States. If we look at the […]

Medicare and Social Security costs are projected to soar over the next decade as the baby boomers retire. Medicare and road maintenance costs are projected to soar over the next decade as the baby boomers retire. Health care costs in the United States are out of control, with per capita health care costs rising at […]