I’m not sure of the point of David Brooks’ column today other than to fill space and earn his paycheck, but one of the items on his list of complaints simply does not make any sense. He tells readers, presumably in reference to the stimulus, that “the money is spent.”
It’s not clear what Brooks thinks he means by this. Insofar as the country still suffers from high unemployment (Brooks tells us in the next paragraph, “unemployment will not be coming down soon”) there is no lack of money for additional stimulus. The government can have the Fed hold the debt issued to finance the spending so as not to increase the interest burden on the Treasury in future years. (The Fed refunds its interest to the receipts.) So there is no plausible meaning to the idea that “the money is spent”. This just seems to be a case of Brooks wanting to express his generic unhappiness with the current situation.
I’m not sure of the point of David Brooks’ column today other than to fill space and earn his paycheck, but one of the items on his list of complaints simply does not make any sense. He tells readers, presumably in reference to the stimulus, that “the money is spent.”
It’s not clear what Brooks thinks he means by this. Insofar as the country still suffers from high unemployment (Brooks tells us in the next paragraph, “unemployment will not be coming down soon”) there is no lack of money for additional stimulus. The government can have the Fed hold the debt issued to finance the spending so as not to increase the interest burden on the Treasury in future years. (The Fed refunds its interest to the receipts.) So there is no plausible meaning to the idea that “the money is spent”. This just seems to be a case of Brooks wanting to express his generic unhappiness with the current situation.
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The Washington Post notes the conventional wisdom of the Washington elite that there should be a run on U.S. bonds because of the size of the country’s debt and deficits. It then points out that the markets seem to be contradicting the conventional wisdom. It is worth noting that nearly all of the purveyors of this conventional wisdom completely missed the $8 trillion housing bubble, the collapse of which wrecked the economy. Missing a bubble of this enormous size suggests that this convention wisdom is not grounded in a serious understanding of the economy. It would have been worth noting this point in discussing the conventional wisdom.
The article also asserts that: “the mix of spending cuts and tax increases that could close the gap [the budget deficit] are wildly unpopular.” This is not true. During a period of extraordinarily high unemployment, like the present, there is no reason that the Fed could not simply buy and hold the debt being issued in order to prevent future interest burdens from increasing. To reduce future health care expenditures the government could publicly finance clinical trials for prescription drugs, thereby allowing all new drugs to be sold as generics for a few dollars per prescription. It could also allow Medicare beneficiaries to buy into the lower cost health systems in other countries, sharing the huge savings with the beneficiaries. The government could also roll back defense spending to the levels projected before the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And, to raise revenue the government could impose a financial speculation tax like the one that currently exists in the UK.
There is no evidence to suggest that any of these measures are wildly unpopular although powerful interest groups may object to them.
The Washington Post notes the conventional wisdom of the Washington elite that there should be a run on U.S. bonds because of the size of the country’s debt and deficits. It then points out that the markets seem to be contradicting the conventional wisdom. It is worth noting that nearly all of the purveyors of this conventional wisdom completely missed the $8 trillion housing bubble, the collapse of which wrecked the economy. Missing a bubble of this enormous size suggests that this convention wisdom is not grounded in a serious understanding of the economy. It would have been worth noting this point in discussing the conventional wisdom.
The article also asserts that: “the mix of spending cuts and tax increases that could close the gap [the budget deficit] are wildly unpopular.” This is not true. During a period of extraordinarily high unemployment, like the present, there is no reason that the Fed could not simply buy and hold the debt being issued in order to prevent future interest burdens from increasing. To reduce future health care expenditures the government could publicly finance clinical trials for prescription drugs, thereby allowing all new drugs to be sold as generics for a few dollars per prescription. It could also allow Medicare beneficiaries to buy into the lower cost health systems in other countries, sharing the huge savings with the beneficiaries. The government could also roll back defense spending to the levels projected before the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And, to raise revenue the government could impose a financial speculation tax like the one that currently exists in the UK.
There is no evidence to suggest that any of these measures are wildly unpopular although powerful interest groups may object to them.
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The Washington Post reported that several state governments are now trying to remove a clause in the financial reform legislation that could limit the fees that credit card companies charge retailers. The article noted the states’ claim that it cost them just 1.5 cents to load benefits like Food Stamp payments onto an electronic card while it can cost 60 cents to issue a check.
The article implies that states could be forced to go back to issuing checks for benefits if they were not able to take advantage of electronic cards that the credit companies now issue for free since they can get back their costs by charging retailers high fees. This is of course absurd. If the credit card fees are limited then states may have to pay a somewhat higher cost to the credit card companies so that they can recoup the cost of issuing the cards, however this would almost certainly be far below the cost of writing checks.
In effect, the credit card companies are using their market power to gouge retailers and sharing some of their gains with state governments to buy their support on this issue. The news article should have pointed this fact out to readers.
The Washington Post reported that several state governments are now trying to remove a clause in the financial reform legislation that could limit the fees that credit card companies charge retailers. The article noted the states’ claim that it cost them just 1.5 cents to load benefits like Food Stamp payments onto an electronic card while it can cost 60 cents to issue a check.
The article implies that states could be forced to go back to issuing checks for benefits if they were not able to take advantage of electronic cards that the credit companies now issue for free since they can get back their costs by charging retailers high fees. This is of course absurd. If the credit card fees are limited then states may have to pay a somewhat higher cost to the credit card companies so that they can recoup the cost of issuing the cards, however this would almost certainly be far below the cost of writing checks.
In effect, the credit card companies are using their market power to gouge retailers and sharing some of their gains with state governments to buy their support on this issue. The news article should have pointed this fact out to readers.
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Robert Samuelson invokes the cellphone standard of living in his column today which complains about the Obama administration’s adoption of a new measure of poverty as an alternative to the official standard. The administration will use both.
Samuelson argues that we have failed to pick up all the gains for the poor over the last four decades noting, among other things, that 48 percent of poor households own cellphones. Needless to say, the reduction in price of many products in recent decades has made them accessible in ways that would not have been possible in the recent past, but it is not clear how much this tells us about living standards.
In China, there are more than 600 million cell phones in use. This means that roughly the same percentage of people in China have cell phones as do poor people in the United States. China’s per capita income on a purchasing power parity basis is less than one-sixth as high as per capita income in the United States. By Samuelson’s cell phone standard of living the average person in China has the same standard of living as do poor people in the United States.
There are a couple of other points worth noting about Samuleson’s diatribe. The Obama administration did not just invent the measure that Samuelson denounces as a “propaganda device.” This is a measure developed by the National Academies of Science based on research by many of the country’s leading poverty experts. It is fine to criticize the measure, but Samuelson should have at least noted its origins.
Finally, Samuelson reports on research from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) that shows that spending on the poor from all sources may be as much as double their reported income. It is worth noting that much of this spending involves Medicaid expenditures, many of which may provide little benefit to the patient. For example, if a lab bills (or overbills) Medicaid for an expensive test that was not really needed, this would count as spending on the poor. For this reason, the AEI measure may not provide much insight into their well-being.
Robert Samuelson invokes the cellphone standard of living in his column today which complains about the Obama administration’s adoption of a new measure of poverty as an alternative to the official standard. The administration will use both.
Samuelson argues that we have failed to pick up all the gains for the poor over the last four decades noting, among other things, that 48 percent of poor households own cellphones. Needless to say, the reduction in price of many products in recent decades has made them accessible in ways that would not have been possible in the recent past, but it is not clear how much this tells us about living standards.
In China, there are more than 600 million cell phones in use. This means that roughly the same percentage of people in China have cell phones as do poor people in the United States. China’s per capita income on a purchasing power parity basis is less than one-sixth as high as per capita income in the United States. By Samuelson’s cell phone standard of living the average person in China has the same standard of living as do poor people in the United States.
There are a couple of other points worth noting about Samuleson’s diatribe. The Obama administration did not just invent the measure that Samuelson denounces as a “propaganda device.” This is a measure developed by the National Academies of Science based on research by many of the country’s leading poverty experts. It is fine to criticize the measure, but Samuelson should have at least noted its origins.
Finally, Samuelson reports on research from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) that shows that spending on the poor from all sources may be as much as double their reported income. It is worth noting that much of this spending involves Medicaid expenditures, many of which may provide little benefit to the patient. For example, if a lab bills (or overbills) Medicaid for an expensive test that was not really needed, this would count as spending on the poor. For this reason, the AEI measure may not provide much insight into their well-being.
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The NYT asks the right questions in this piece on the European Central Bank’s (ECB) policies. The ECB continues to insist that its main job is fighting inflation even though there is no inflation in sight. As the article points out, deflation is likely to pose the bigger risk for the immediate future.
The NYT asks the right questions in this piece on the European Central Bank’s (ECB) policies. The ECB continues to insist that its main job is fighting inflation even though there is no inflation in sight. As the article points out, deflation is likely to pose the bigger risk for the immediate future.
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This could have reasonably been the headline of news articles on the decision of many moderate Democrats to demand a smaller package of unemployment benefits and assistance to state and local governments. Instead, neither article noted at all the negative impact that the cuts would be expected to have on growth. The NYT piece even invented an alternative history, telling readers that the current debt and deficit levels come from a “lavish spending spree engaged in by both parties over the past decade,” as opposed to being the result of an economic collapse caused by the bursting of the housing bubble.
The plans by the deficit hawks seem likely to trim $30 billion in unemployment benefits and aid to the states from the bill. Using the methodology in the Romer-Bernstein paper put out by the Obama administration to promote its stimulus package, the cuts will reduce GDP by approximately $50 billion. This will correspond to a job loss of more than 300,000 people. It is irresponsible to report on plans to reduce deficits without noting their likely impact on the economy.
The Post piece included the comment that Congressional Democrats looking to cut benefits are “saying 99 weeks of unemployment benefits may no longer be justified after four consecutive months of job growth.” It would have been worth reminding readers that the rate of job growth over the last four months has only slightly outpaced the growth of the labor force. Projections from both the Congressional Budget Officie and the White House show that it will be more than 5 years before the unemployment rate returns to a more normal level.
This could have reasonably been the headline of news articles on the decision of many moderate Democrats to demand a smaller package of unemployment benefits and assistance to state and local governments. Instead, neither article noted at all the negative impact that the cuts would be expected to have on growth. The NYT piece even invented an alternative history, telling readers that the current debt and deficit levels come from a “lavish spending spree engaged in by both parties over the past decade,” as opposed to being the result of an economic collapse caused by the bursting of the housing bubble.
The plans by the deficit hawks seem likely to trim $30 billion in unemployment benefits and aid to the states from the bill. Using the methodology in the Romer-Bernstein paper put out by the Obama administration to promote its stimulus package, the cuts will reduce GDP by approximately $50 billion. This will correspond to a job loss of more than 300,000 people. It is irresponsible to report on plans to reduce deficits without noting their likely impact on the economy.
The Post piece included the comment that Congressional Democrats looking to cut benefits are “saying 99 weeks of unemployment benefits may no longer be justified after four consecutive months of job growth.” It would have been worth reminding readers that the rate of job growth over the last four months has only slightly outpaced the growth of the labor force. Projections from both the Congressional Budget Officie and the White House show that it will be more than 5 years before the unemployment rate returns to a more normal level.
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The NYT headline told us: “Geithner sees consensus on finance reform.” USA Today’s headline was: “Geithner: US, Europe broadly agree on financial reform.” The Post took a different perspective: “United States and Germany remain divided over financial regulation issues.”
I’m inclined to agree with the Post. There is a push in Europe, led in part by Germany, for more extensive regulation of finance, including greater restrictions on hedge and private equity funds. It also seems likely that Europe will build up a reserve bailout fund in advance of a crisis, a provision that will likely be missing from the final bill coming out of Congress. And, Europe is very interested in taxes on financial speculation. The Obama administration is strongly opposed to any sort of financial transactions tax.
The NYT headline told us: “Geithner sees consensus on finance reform.” USA Today’s headline was: “Geithner: US, Europe broadly agree on financial reform.” The Post took a different perspective: “United States and Germany remain divided over financial regulation issues.”
I’m inclined to agree with the Post. There is a push in Europe, led in part by Germany, for more extensive regulation of finance, including greater restrictions on hedge and private equity funds. It also seems likely that Europe will build up a reserve bailout fund in advance of a crisis, a provision that will likely be missing from the final bill coming out of Congress. And, Europe is very interested in taxes on financial speculation. The Obama administration is strongly opposed to any sort of financial transactions tax.
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Yes, I’m reusing blogpost titles, but that is only because the papers appear to be repeating their bad reporting. The Labor Department releaased its data on weekly unemployment claims on Thursday and it was moderately bad news. New claims were at 460,000 for the week, with claims for the prior week revised upward by 3,000 to 374,000. This put the 4-week moving average at 456,500.
Generally claims have to be below 400,000 a week before we see job growth. The current level is consistent with we would expect to see in a relatively mild recession. The 4-week average only reached this level in the 2001 recession in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attack even though the economy continued to shed jobs for another two years.
Usually newspapers devote all or part of an article to reporting on weekly unemployment insurance claims. However, that was not the case this week.
Yes, I’m reusing blogpost titles, but that is only because the papers appear to be repeating their bad reporting. The Labor Department releaased its data on weekly unemployment claims on Thursday and it was moderately bad news. New claims were at 460,000 for the week, with claims for the prior week revised upward by 3,000 to 374,000. This put the 4-week moving average at 456,500.
Generally claims have to be below 400,000 a week before we see job growth. The current level is consistent with we would expect to see in a relatively mild recession. The 4-week average only reached this level in the 2001 recession in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attack even though the economy continued to shed jobs for another two years.
Usually newspapers devote all or part of an article to reporting on weekly unemployment insurance claims. However, that was not the case this week.
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Politicians sometimes don’t say what they really believe. Therefore it is very impressive that the Washington Post is able to determine their true feelings about the world. An article about the failure of the Senate to approve an extension of unemployment benefits attributed the impasse to: ” a growing concern among Democrats that government spending is out of control.”
It’s remarkable that the Post is able to determine the true concerns of politicians — especially when it is easy to show that these concerns bear no relationship to the underlying reality. The main reason that the government deficit has expanded in the last three years has been due to the economic downturn. If the deficit were smaller right now, then more workers would be unemployed and more of our children would have unemployed parents.
If the Post is right in its assessment of Democrats’ concerns then it owes its readers a good piece on how congressional Democrats became so far removed from reality and how this affects their views of other policies.
Politicians sometimes don’t say what they really believe. Therefore it is very impressive that the Washington Post is able to determine their true feelings about the world. An article about the failure of the Senate to approve an extension of unemployment benefits attributed the impasse to: ” a growing concern among Democrats that government spending is out of control.”
It’s remarkable that the Post is able to determine the true concerns of politicians — especially when it is easy to show that these concerns bear no relationship to the underlying reality. The main reason that the government deficit has expanded in the last three years has been due to the economic downturn. If the deficit were smaller right now, then more workers would be unemployed and more of our children would have unemployed parents.
If the Post is right in its assessment of Democrats’ concerns then it owes its readers a good piece on how congressional Democrats became so far removed from reality and how this affects their views of other policies.
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The first sentence of a Washington Post article told readers that the Democratic leadership in Congress is scaling back plans to help the jobless and deficit ridden state and local governments because of: “fire from rank-and-file Democrats worried about the soaring national debt.” It is not clear how the Post knows the real concerns of these politicians.
A politician’s first priority is usually getting re-elected. Politicians who claim to be worried about the “soaring” national debt tend to get favorable mention from news outlets like the Washington Post and the many organizations financed in part or in whole by Wall Street investment banker Peter Peterson. It is not clear how the Post has determined that as a policy question, these rank and file Democrats are really more worried about the deficit than the jobs that will be lost as a result of their efforts at deficit reduction.
The first sentence of a Washington Post article told readers that the Democratic leadership in Congress is scaling back plans to help the jobless and deficit ridden state and local governments because of: “fire from rank-and-file Democrats worried about the soaring national debt.” It is not clear how the Post knows the real concerns of these politicians.
A politician’s first priority is usually getting re-elected. Politicians who claim to be worried about the “soaring” national debt tend to get favorable mention from news outlets like the Washington Post and the many organizations financed in part or in whole by Wall Street investment banker Peter Peterson. It is not clear how the Post has determined that as a policy question, these rank and file Democrats are really more worried about the deficit than the jobs that will be lost as a result of their efforts at deficit reduction.
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