Publications

Economic Policy

Inflation

Inflation and Recession: Where Are We Now?

A lot of new data on the economy last week … was pretty good from the standpoint of stable growth and slowing inflation, but there is still much ambiguity and serious grounds for concerns about the future.

Dean Baker / October 30, 2022

Article Artículo

Budget

Government

Health and Social Programs

Contrary to What Ezra Klein and Mark Leibovich Tell You, Paul Ryan Was Very Much a Lightweight

Ryan was a lightweight who did not want his proposals to be taken seriously, and thankfully, most people other than centrist pundits did not.

Dean Baker / October 29, 2022

Article Artículo

Honduras

¿Por qué los EE. UU. condenan a Honduras por combatir la corrupción?

Si la administración Biden se tomase en serio el abordaje de las causas que son la raíz de la migración forzada en Centroamérica y realmente quisiera apoyar a la democracia constitucional en la región, entonces debería reconocer el fin de las ZEDE como un

Brett Heinz and Beth Geglia / October 28, 2022

Article Artículo

Government

Elon Musk Takes Over Twitter, Can We Stop Wasting Time on Campaign Finance Reform?

Do we have a plan to keep a right-wing jerk like Musk from taking over a major social media platform?

Dean Baker / October 28, 2022

report informe

Brazil

CELAC

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

MERCOSUR

Pink Tide

South American Integration

UNASUR

Vers Une Nouvelle Unasur: Les Voix De La Réactivation De L’Intégration Sud Américaine

Cette étude analyse (1) l'héritage de l'UNASUR, ses succès, ses erreurs et ses vulnérabilités ; (2) la situation juridique actuelle de l'UNASUR et le statut de ses membres fondateurs par rapport à son traité ; et (3) les réformes à mener pour assurer la p

Guillaume Long and Natasha Suñé / October 28, 2022

Article Artículo

GDP Shows Healthy Growth in Third Quarter, Driven by a Shrinking Trade Deficit

In short, this is a very good picture, but one with many clear warning signs.

Dean Baker / October 27, 2022

Article Artículo

Inflation

NPR Tells Listeners Not to Give Biden Credit for Falling Gas Prices, Even When its Story Effectively Does

The gist of this brief exchange is that Biden’s latest announcement that he was releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves was not lowering prices because he had earlier committed himself to this release.

Dean Baker / October 27, 2022

Article Artículo

California Can Work with Fire Survivors to Rebuild Resilient

The cycle doesn’t have to be “Rebuild, Reburn.” California can also “Rebuild Resilient.” Otherwise, the state faces a future in which more and more residents become climate refugees.

Matt Sedlar / October 25, 2022

Article Artículo

Economic Growth

PREVIEW: What to Look for In the Third Quarter 2022 GDP Report

The third quarter data is likely to look something like a normal healthy economy. We also should see a modest positive growth rate.

Dean Baker / October 25, 2022

Article Artículo

Economic Growth

NYT Calls the Obama Stimulus, Which Most Economists Think Was Too Small, “Huge”

The NYT doesn’t like the Democrats’ economic policies. They make this very clear in their news section.

Dean Baker / October 25, 2022

Article Artículo

Washington Post Preemptively Trashes Third Quarter GDP Numbers

We should never make too much of one quarter’s productivity data. …this quarter will be good news and a huge turnaround from the productivity numbers we saw in the first half of 2022.

Dean Baker / October 23, 2022

Article Artículo

Debt

Education

Corrected: What Difference Does It Make If Spending Is Over One Year or Forty? None to the New York Times

We have a right to expect more serious budget reporting from the country’s leading newspaper.

Dean Baker / October 21, 2022

Article Artículo

Inflation Is Not the Main Issue in the Election

No one likes to see rising prices, but it would be unfortunate if people overlooked so much that is good in the economy to focus on a problem that was largely outside the control of our elected leaders.

Dean Baker / October 21, 2022

Article Artículo

Is Inflation Forcing People to Live Paycheck to Paycheck?

While many people undoubtedly are being squeezed by inflation, it is not clear why there would be more people living paycheck to paycheck today than before the pandemic, when most news outlets were touting the strong economy.

Dean Baker / October 20, 2022

Article Artículo

Albertsons and Kroger Merger a Win for Private Equity and Loss for Workers

Regulators must halt payment of this special dividend both because its payment will unfairly enrich its former PE owners and because payment of the dividend will set Albertsons up for failure and increase the probability that the merger with Kroger will b

Eileen Appelbaum / October 19, 2022

Article Artículo

Inflation

Retailers Slashing Prices, More Bad News for Biden! (New York Times Edition)

Like the Washington Post article, the piece pretty much ignored the fact that large markdowns will be good news for people troubled by inflation. But, the New York Times one-upped the Post on this one.

Dean Baker / October 18, 2022

report informe

Brazil

CELAC

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

MERCOSUR

Pink Tide

South American Integration

UNASUR

Toward a New UNASUR: Pathways for the Reactivation of South American Integration

This study analyzes (1) UNASUR’s legacy, its successes, mistakes and vulnerabilities; (2) UNASUR’s current legal situation and the status of its founding members in relation to its treaty; and (3) the reforms that should be carried out to ensure the long-

Guillaume Long and Natasha Suñé / October 18, 2022

report informe

Brazil

CELAC

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

MERCOSUR

Pink Tide

South American Integration

UNASUR