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Post Wrongly Calls William Daley a "Free-Trade Stalwart"Dean Baker / January 04, 2011
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David Brooks Says Financial Speculation Taxes Are Under ConsiderationDean Baker / January 04, 2011
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Haitian Presidents: When In Doubt, Fly ‘Em Out?CEPR / January 03, 2011
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Hugh Jidette and Hugh Janus Go to WashingtonDean Baker / January 03, 2011
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Robert Samuelson Trots Out the Second Great Depression Bogeyman AgainThe economy is doing well compared with the Great Depression, but not by any other measure. This is why Robert Samuelson and other spokespeople for the rich and powerful are so anxious to raise the prospect of the Great Depression. It implies that we should somehow be thankful for 9.8 percent unemployment, as he said in his column today. As informed observers know, this is a joke.
In a worst case scenario where the banking system did literally collapse, the Fed could have brought it back to life through its unlimited ability to print money. The first Great Depression was not the result of bad decisions at its onset. Rather it was the result of a decade of inadequate policy response. If the government had spent large amounts of money to boost the economy, as it finally did to fight World War II, the depression would have ended much sooner.
Samuelson uses the second half of his column to repeat Fox News talking points about how firms are not hiring because of concerns over the cost of the health care reform bill. If the Post required its columnists to have some evidence for its assertions Samuelson would have been forced to show that the firms most affected by the coverage requirement in the bill are more reluctant to hire than other firms. This would presumably mean that firms with just under or just over 50 employees are hiring fewer workers than other firms. This would be the case because almost all larger firms already provide health insurance for their workers and smaller firms will not be affected by the coverage requirements in the bill. Of course the data does not show any weaker hiring performance in firms of near 50 than in firms of larger or smaller size.
Dean Baker / January 03, 2011
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When Obama/Bush Work to Increase Boeing's Profits, The NYT Tells Us They Are Concerned About JobsDean Baker / January 03, 2011
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NYT Warns that Southern Europe Suffers from a Disastrous Shortage and Surplus of LaborDean Baker / January 02, 2011
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Public Pension Problems: No One Told the NYT About the Financial CrisisDean Baker / January 02, 2011
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Contrary to the NYT's Assertion, Japan Does Not "Face a Looming Demographic Squeeze"Dean Baker / January 01, 2011
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If Congress Was Not Dominated by Protectionists Medicare Costs Would be Easily ManageableDean Baker / December 31, 2010
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Ryan Avent at the Economist Still Has Not Heard of the Housing BubbleDean Baker / December 31, 2010
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People Were Not Signing Home Sales Contracts in November 2009 to Get the Tax CreditDean Baker / December 30, 2010
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Recount and Review of Haiti’s Election Tally Shows Massive IrregularitiesCEPR / December 30, 2010
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Latin America and the Caribbean
Brazilian Troops, and MINUSTAH, Should Leave HaitiMark Weisbrot / December 30, 2010
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Robert Samuelson's Social Security Demagoguery at the Washington PostDean Baker / December 27, 2010
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Public Employee Pensions: Does the Worst Case Provide the Best Guidance for the Future?Dean Baker / December 24, 2010