Dean Baker’s Beat the Press
Beat the Press is Dean Baker’s commentary on economic reporting. He is a Senior Economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
Beat the Press is Dean Baker’s commentary on economic reporting. He is a Senior Economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
Trump’s proposed baby accounts rely on unrealistic investment assumptions, obscure the effects of inflation, and lock up funds while cutting programs that help low-income families.
The June jobs report points to a cooling labor market, with slowing wage growth, job gains concentrated in health care, declining prime-age employment, and no evidence that AI is boosting productivity.
Despite Trump’s claims of record investment, factory construction has declined sharply since its 2024 peak, following a surge driven by Biden-era industrial policies.
The Trump administration’s claims of widespread ACA fraud are unsupported by evidence and overlook the insurers that would profit most from fraudulent enrollments.
The Supreme Court’s latest ruling gives Trump broad authority to remove federal officials, opening the door to greater political control and corruption in government agencies.
Hidden fees, rising insurance costs, and differences between measured and perceived inflation may help explain why many Americans view the economy more negatively than standard economic indicators suggest.
One real world gauge of consumer sentiment is fast-food spending, which has been trending downward for months.
The rise of mandatory arbitration highlights how legal rules shape economic outcomes by limiting workers’ and consumers’ access to the courts.
The abundance agenda blames regulation for scarcity, but often overlooks monopolies, private equity loopholes, and the complex realities driving housing costs.
Alan Greenspan’s legacy is mixed; he defied conventional wisdom on unemployment and inflation, but he badly mishandled two major bubbles.