Mike Norman Economics

It is traditional to talk about Thomas Alva Edison. The most famous inventor in the world, "the wizard of Menlo Park", New Jersey, registered more than 1000 patents and founded 15 companies—including what is now called General Electric. But that story is too well-known. Let’s talk about Nicola Tesla instead.... If you look at a chart of economic growth relative to energy usage, it is understandable why Nikola Tesla is arguably the most important person in the economic history of humankind,...

Perhaps the biggest mystery in economic analysis in the last few years has been trying to find an explanation for the big decline in labor force participation since 1999. A recent NBER working paper by Abraham and Kearney has posited the most comprehensive answer to date. Since it was summarized in this Washington Post article, I’m just going to quote a few paragraphs and suggest that you read the entire article.... Angry BearChina, not automation, is by far the biggest factor in the...

It would be a shocking scandal if it came to light that the professions of medical science had, for decades, known about an easy to treat, underlying cause of cancer—but conspired to obfuscate and suppress the information to protect their participation in a medical industry raking in hundreds of billions a year to treat the disease. Professional standings, tenures, licenses would be in tatters. Lawsuits would abound. Outrage would march on every city hospital and medical college in the...

The American Conservative is not convinced of the Russian threat. Winding back NATO could save us a fortune, but the military-industrial complex might not be happy. The Soviet Union is long gone, along with those menacing troops and the strategic threat they posed. The rationale for NATO has evaporated. And yet it remains. Not only that, but it long since has abandoned its defensive posture and embraced an offensive temperament, moving inexorably eastward in a manifest effort to encircle...

Auto makers are worried about the Millennials. They just don't seem to care about owning a car. Is this a generational shift, or just a lousy economy at work?  Richard Eskow — Picture the United States Without Student Debt made me think of this. The elite own the means of production but every action can have unknown consequences. The elite decided to lower taxes on themselves and so they funded a big campaign through their think tanks to get the public behind it. It worked. But it was...

OMG! Is MMT going viral?Las Cruces Sun-NewsMMT economists look at debt, deficit differentlyMax Mastellone

Although mainstream economics prides itself on being highly precise and mathematical, this is not apparent when looking at the discussion of fiscal policy. It is very easy to find appeals to intergenerational fairness when discussing fiscal policy. Such a term is essentially meaningless in technical terms; it is mainly used as a ploy to evoke images of doe-eyed grandchildren being robbed by nefarious politicians. This article explains why the concept is largely worthless as an analytical...

The British Labour Party is currently leading the Tories in the latest YouGov opinion polls (February 19-20, Tories 40 per cent (and declining), Labour 42 per cent (and rising). They should be further in front, given the disarray of the Conservatives as they try to negotiate within their own party something remotely acceptable about Brexit. When there is this degree of political capital available, in this case for the Labour Party, a party should use it to redefine policy agendas that have...

Everyone knows governments need to tax before they can spend. What Modern Monetary Theory presupposes is, maybe they don't. Surprisingly decent article on MMT considering the dismissive headline. Covers most of the bases.ViceThe Radical Left-Wing Theory That the Government Has Unlimited Money Tom Streithorstht Ralph Musgrave

Let’s go back to the future and create livable wage jobs again for every man or woman who needs one. There is a new economics (Modern Monetary Theory aka MMT) that has designed Job Guarantee (JG) proposals that are carefully crafted to complement the need for real, full employment when the private and public sector​s​ fail to meet the needs of our workforce. MMT economists understand that our capitalist economy must be organized for the benefit of everyone (i.e., Main Street communities,...