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from Dean Baker Ever since Donald Trump was elected there has been a huge backlash among elite-types against those blaming trade for their problems. Major news outlets have been filled with misleading and dishonest stories claiming that the real cause of manufacturing job loss has been automation and that people are stupid to worry about trade. In fact, people are exactly right to be concerned about the impact of our trade policies on their living standards. It is the fact that people are...

Scott Alexander at Slate Star Codex has a very good post on cost disease. It definitely betrays a strong libertarian or conservative bias, but is nevertheless, worth reading. The piece that resonates with me is posted below. It has some good insights, one or two that are questionable (for anyone not firmly ensconced on the right), but overall it methodically works its way to one hell of a punch-in-the-gut truth in last sentence. Imagine if tomorrow, the price...

from David Ruccio Apparently, the latest attempt to redefine the role of economists is to encourage them to be plumbers. Maybe it’s just my age but, when I read plumbers, I immediately think of the covert Special Investigations Unit in the Nixon White House—the operation that began with attempting to stop the leak of classified information (such as the Pentagon Papers) and then branched into illegal activities while working for the Committee to Re-elect the President (including the...

First the good news: Up more than expected and last month revised higher: Highlights Consumer spending data have been surprisingly moderate given the unusual strength in consumer confidence, but today’s retail sales report, which includes an important revision, now moves spending more in line with confidence. Retail sales rose 0.4 percent in January which tops Econoday’s very modest 0.1 percent consensus and the top estimate of 0.3 percent. Importantly December, which is the...

By William K. BlackFebruary 12, 2017       Bloomington, MN I am watching the film Too Big to Fail based on Andrew Ross Sorkin’s book of the same name.  It led me to check out the price of the used book, which has fallen to $1.02, which is low enough that I am willing to buy a copy of the book, particularly since not a penny will go to Andrew Ross Sorkin.  The financial analytics displayed in the movie and the book are so poor and dishonest that I need to have a copy by my keyboard as an...

from Peter Radford There I said it. There comes a point when we all have to stop banging our heads against the wall and just step back. Why, we ask in such moments, are we wasting our time? The wall is immoveable. It is indifferent to our efforts. It is solid. It has the appearance of permanence. It just won’t shift. So walk away. Do something else. In the case of economics go and study the economy instead. Too many people are wasting far too much time talking about economists as if they...

Trumped up expectations continue: I understand that by the numbers we aren’t currently considered in ‘recession’… So tell me he’s not a 7 or 8 year old juvenile in a 70 year old body? Play date…

I’m working a bit on (multi-factor) productivity at the moment. Part of this endeavour is taking a hard look at the details which, in my case, means taking a hard look at the productivity of cows (over the long haul). How did farmers, studbooks, veterinarians, (cooperative) factories and the government together manage to increase the productivity of cows? This is not just about the fat content of milk and yields per cow but also about quality improvement, which I operationalize as the...

We’ve gotten to another point where it’s hard for me to turn on the TV. I know this will have to change, but for now I’ll go back to one of my favorite topics, the fate of Ireland under austerity. As I suggested might happen, Ireland in its 2015-2016 immigration statistical year (May-April) was finally able to end its net emigration. According to the Central Statistical Office’s August report, 3100 more people came to Ireland than left during 2015-2016. This...