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New Economic Perspectives

Jean Tirole Fails the Tirole Test of What Makes an Economist a Scientist

By William K. BlackFebruary 11, 2017     Bloomington, MN (Part 2 in my Tirole series) In his letter to the French education minister denouncing French heterodox economists as a “motley crew” of academic failures, Jean Tirole, the 2014 Nobel Laureate in Economics, stated his test for the standard for an economist to be a scientist. Secondly, like the other great scientific disciplines, modern economic science relies on the continuous questioning of its hypotheses, testing its models...

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The “Motley Crew” of Heterodox Economists Freaking Out France’s Theoclassical Economists

William K. BlackDublin, Ireland     April 4, 2017 I presented a talk today at the Trinity Economic Forum in Dublin.  The Forum is a wonderful annual event run by the students that brings together thoughtful and forceful economic speakers from diverse viewpoints.  Steve Keen also gave a talk at the Forum and I thank him for bringing the subject of this column to my attention.  France is the home of some of the most theoclassical economists in the world. Orthodox French economists, a...

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Terror, Trolls, and Trump

By William K. BlackJanuary 30, 2017     Bloomington, MN How far have Fox “News” and the self-described “Deplorables” fallen?  They rushed after a lethal terror attack on Muslims in Quebec City to declare that Muslims must have committed the attack. “So, I retweeted the wrong pics, but I was right about the #QuebecShooters being freaking Muslims!! Close, if the Deplorable meant by his phrase “I was right” “I was wrong.” For purposes of what I am about to write, I am channeling my...

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CalPERS Seek to Destroy its Most Effective Director

By William K. BlackJanuary 26, 2017     Bloomington, MN CalPERS was once the crown jewel of institutional investors, known for combining competence, integrity, and care.  It invests funds and pays the pensions of California State workers.  Over a decade ago, however, CalPERS’ senior managers and board became a cesspool that stood for the opposite.  CalPERS’ corrupt culture is deeply rooted. Various California’s Treasurers have tried to clean up the mess, but the reforms have failed...

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When will the EU and the ECB Stop Torturing the Greeks?

By William K. BlackJanuary 30, 2017     Bloomington, MN The troika refers to the European Union (EU), European Central Bank (ECB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  The IMF, traditionally, was the greatest proponent of any international entity of inflicting extreme austerity on nations suffering economic crises.  The IMF’s economists have increasingly reviewed the evidence and concluded that austerity reduces growth and that putting nations into inescapable debt traps is...

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Why the Republicans Cannot “Replace” Obamacare

By William K. BlackJanuary 27, 2017     Bloomington, MN I have just listened to Lawrence O’Donnell’s program on Friday, January 27, 2017.  It was a strong program, but I offer these friendly amendments on his discussion of the Washington Post story titled “Behind closed doors, Republican lawmakers fret about how to repeal Obamacare.”  O’Donnell and his guests spoke exclusively of how difficult it was for the Republicans to come up with a plan to replace Obamacare and making the point...

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Trump’s Flack Says She Doesn’t “Resemble” Terrorists: Except this One

By William K. BlackJanuary 30, 2017     Bloomington, MN Maybe it is because I am part Irish, or because I am flying to Dublin this week to present at the Trinity Economic Forum, but Kellyanne Conway’s claim that though she does not “resemble” any “terrorist,” she has to go through security checks at airports, stunned me.  Given her name and looks, that struck me as a bizarre statement.  Surely, she must “resemble” some of the IRA terrorists.  It took me four minutes of research to find...

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