I want to follow up quickly to a couple of notes on my posting where I referred to the “Die at the Border” policy. I was not arguing for open borders. I don’t think that anyone who has given the issue serious thought advocates open borders, since a literal open border policy would almost certainly […]
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 inEconomic Policy
Sick Europe and the Italian Elections
The elections in Italy prompted another round of knowing comments about how Europeans must get over their silly attachment to employment security (e.g. “Europe Stalls on Road to Economic Change“). None of the comments I saw even considered the possibility that the contractionary policies of the European Central Bank (ECB) play any role in Europe’s […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
Immigrants and “Low Wage” Jobs
One of the great absurdities in the debate over immigration policy is the frequently repeated claim that the U.S. economy is generating more “low wage” jobs than can be filled by the domestic workforce. This line has been endlessly repeated in news stories on the issue. Quick trip back to econ 101: recall the concepts […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
When Out of Context Is Untrue
A couple of days ago, I gave my standard diatribe about the importance of putting numbers in context, especially budget numbers, which as isolated billions or trillions are virtually meaningless to the typical reader. In some cases, the issue is not just one of being uninformative, it’s also a question of actually being wrong. In […]
Posted inSpecial Report
Bush’s Numbers Racket
The word from President Bush and his minions is that Social Security is on its last legs, facing imminent danger of bankruptcy. Fortunately, Bush is prepared to rescue this antiquated program by offering workers the opportunity to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in private accounts. He would like us to believe that […]
Posted inArticle
Bush’s Numbers Racket
The word from President Bush and his minions is that Social Security is on its last legs, facing imminent danger of bankruptcy. Fortunately, Bush is prepared to rescue this antiquated program by offering workers the opportunity to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in private accounts. He would like us to believe that […]
Posted inArticle
Anti-Social Behavior:
When President Bush first described the war against terrorism, he warned that we may never learn of some of the victories therein. One such victory that has largely escaped public attention occurred last week, when the Bush administration kept the 2002 Social Security trustees report out of the hands of terrorists. Ordinarily, the annual trustees […]
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
Two Cheers for Clinton’s Social Security Plan
Think Social Security should invest in the stock market? Take a closer look.
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
Behind the Numbers: The Privateers’ Free Lunch
The flawed mathematical assumption behind privatizing Social Security.
Posted inEconomic Policy
Bull Market Keynesianism
What if the reasonable growth, low unemployment, and low inflation of the last few years are in fact the vindication of Keynesian theory about consumption spending? And what if this spending has been driven not by government but by the stock market run-up? And what if the stock market collapses?