Dean Baker

USA Today gives readers the tragic story of Robert Westover, a homeowner who is desperately hoping to be able to sell his ocean view vacation home for a profit of just $265,000 (approximately $175,000 after adjusting for inflation). This intended profit is equal to more than five times the median worker’s annual pay and more […]

The $3.44 billion in profits that Goldman Sachs reported for the 2nd quarter indicates that their bets with taxpayer dollars paid off. In addition to the $10 billion that Goldman borrowed through the TARP, it also borrowed $28 billion that was guaranteed by the FDIC. In addition, it likely borrowed substantial amounts of taxpayer dollars […]

USA Today listed several items that gave readers a basis for assessing the size of the $1 trillion health care bill being debated in the House. It would have been useful to compare the cost to projected GDP over the decade. GDP is projected to be approximately $190 trillion over the next decade. This means […]

The Washington Post is very unhappy with Japan’s government, which it complains (in a “news” story) “has all but ignored an impending demographic calamity.” The calamity is a rising ratio of retirees to working age people. The “calamity” in this story should be an intense labor shortage. That is not consistent with the relatively high […]

Doesn’t the NYT have copyeditors anymore? Why are they referring to the WTO as a “free trade” group in an article on China’s efforts to promote its domestic green power industry. It can accurately be referred to as a “trade group” or more accurately as a “commerce group,” but no agency that actively promotes the […]

In the top of hour news segment on Morning Edition, NPR told its listeners that Goldman Sachs has repaid the taxpayer money it received. This is important because it is about to report that it earned approximately $1.8 billion in the 2nd quarter. It will also be giving large bonuses to its executives. While Goldman […]

The WSJ tells readers that: “Some lawmakers fear mandated clearing and higher capital charges could hurt small businesses that won’t be able to afford customized hedging anymore.” Yeah, right. This is what the politicians say. The secret that the WSJ apparently has not learned is that some (yeah, right, “some”) politicians are not always truthful. […]

The Washington Post had a front page article pushing some vague and unspecified plan by the Obama administration to aid small businesses by using TARP money to guarantee loans. The article implies that economists debate the amount of employment by small businesses: “Some economists estimate that small businesses, defined as firms with fewer than 500 […]

This is really great. There is an ongoing issue about whether global warming deniers should be treated seriously by the media given, that they have about as much scientific support for their position as the flat earth crew. However, the NYT goes them one better in finding a global warming ignorer. Apparently, Ben Stein has […]

A well-off young doctor will have to wait another year to buy a home — did you ever hear anything so tragic? The NYT ran a misleading piece on the mortgage market, wrongly extrapolating from the experience of a relatively well-off young doctor. According to the NYT, the doctor makes a six-figure salary, but because […]