Mike Norman Economics

Willem Buiter, the Columbia University academic who was a founding member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee before becoming chief economist at Citigroup, says the US and UK now have money on tap in almost limitless amounts. The funds can sit on a central bank’s balance sheet for as long as it takes. Critics of MMT argue it can prove to be too much and overheat an economy. At that point taxes would need to be increased – something that until now few believed western...

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC is obviously the biggest global emergency of its kind for more than a century. The social and economic impacts are without precedent and some will be long-lasting. Its lessons will be profound. Some of them will take years to unravel. Others are clear to many, and should be clear to all, even now. One of these lessons is that in countries like ours, the limitations on the ability of the government to engage in very large amounts of spending to support people,...

There is a pointless internet debate about the trade-off between "the economy" and "health." This is being fueled by a handful of articles from highly privileged people telling poor people to go back to work because it was impacting their stock or real estate portfolios. The reality is that there is no such thing as an "economy" at this point, just "society." Although a shutdown is tenable to flush out infections, the essentials must flow. From a North American standpoint, I believe that...

Not good for disease control.... With the restaurants closed the vermin are going to be coming in looking for food...no longer just an easy restaurant dumpster dive...[NOLA rat slowly gets up from his seat]https://t.co/nKFbeodKYD— MisterJayEm (@MisterJayEm) March 29, 2020 Here's a good resource for rodent control this guy evaluates traps... numerous trap configurations with pretty thorough evaluation for both mice and rats nice channel coming in handy these days: [embedded content]

Team Trump pumping the "V Shaped Recovery" thesis...“With the Tax Cuts and new Trade Deals, we were set for a tremendous growth rate this year.... and then the Virus came along.” @larry_kudlow @MariaBartiromo We were breaking all records, especially on employment. It will all come roaring back again, and fast!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2020

The Empire and its poodles insulting the intelligence (and self-determination) of Venezuelans by insisting he is The latest poll out of Venezuela, from early March, shows that US-backed Juan Guaido is not considered the nation’s present by hardly anybody in the country. With a 3% margin of error, only 3% identified Guaido as president. Antiwar.comPoll: Only 3% of Venezuelans Say Guaido Is President, Only 4 % Trust Him

Well at least they WERE $32 trillion....As of the end of December 2019, #retirement assets accounted for 34 percent of all household financial assets in United States. https://t.co/GoBbh4X9wS pic.twitter.com/Be396MGhEX— ICI (@ICI) March 29, 2020

Lots of hardware in this:With the courage of our doctors and nurses, with the skill of our scientists and innovators, with the determination of the American People, and with the grace of God, WE WILL WIN THIS WAR. When we achieve this victory, we will emerge stronger and more united than ever before! pic.twitter.com/sFmxKzXdGC— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2020

Might help:This is excellent news. American innovation is our best weapon against this pandemic. https://t.co/EFoVv1Ntmj— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) March 28, 2020

Johnson's Russia ListRUSSIALINK: “Spend an Evening at the Bolshoi; The ‘golden collection’ of ballet and opera will be broadcast online free” – Moscow Times Moon of AlabamaIt Is A Time Of Crisis And U.S. Foreign Policy Is Becoming Unhinged AntiWarPoll: Only 3% of Venezuelans Say Guaido Is President, Only 4 % Trust Him Jason Ditz Internationalist 360ºTrump’s Narcoterrorism Indictment of Maduro Backfires TASS [expect more sanctions on Russia] Russia's Rosneft stops operations in...