"Prove it or Climb a Mountain"

Why It's the Age of Uncertainty.

Some thoughts on recent developments . . . Elite persuasion and its limits News reports suggest that President Biden got Speaker Mike Johnson to put a Ukraine aid bill on the floor of the House through good, old-fashioned persuasion:  Biden and his team convinced Johnson it was the right thing to do by sharing intelligence with him.  Biden didn’t berate Johnson in public.  I suspect he flattered Johnson in private. Knowing how to deal with...

 – by New Deal democrat In the past few months, my focus has been on whether jobs gains are most consistent with a “soft landing,” i.e., no further deterioration, or whether deceleration is ongoing; and more specifically:  Whether there is further deceleration in jobs gains compared with the last 6 month average, vs. a “soft landing” stabilization – and even whether the recent increase in monthly jobs numbers signifies a re-strengthening....

The Manhattan Beads Mystery

I’ve written a blog post titled “Canada’s 2024 federal budget: What’s in it for rental housing and homelessness?” The English version is here: https://nickfalvo.ca/canadas-2024-federal-budget-whats-in-it-for-rental-housing-and-homelessness/ The French version is here: https://nickfalvo.ca/le-budget-federal-2024-quels-sont-les-avantages-our-le-logement-locatif-et-litinerance/

Ever since Reagan and Thatcher first tried them, trickle-down policies have exploded budget deficits and widened inequality. At best, they’ve temporarily increased consumer demand (the opposite of what’s needed during high inflation that Britain and much of the world are experiencing). Reagan’s tax cuts and deregulation at the start of the 1980s were not responsible for America’s rapid growth through the late 1980s. His exorbitant spending...

A revolution occurred in price theory about two-thirds of a century ago. Several scholars independently developed components of this revolution. This post merely lists selected literature. I have previously tried to briefly describe why some of these authors are precursors. Ladislaus von Bortkiewicz (1907) On the correction of Marx's fundamental theoretical construction i the third volume of Capital. Translated and reprinted by Sweezy. David G. Champernowne (1945-1946) A note on J. V....

by Andrew Sprung The latest scam in healthcare involves being enrolled in a different healthcare plan than what you initially enrolled in the beginning, The new ACA plan which will not be as good as the one you had. How easy is it for someone to do so to the enrollee? It can be done by using a person’s name, date of birth, and state. The licensed agent can access a policyholder’s coverage through the federal exchange or its direct enrollment...

by Dean Baker Commerce Department reported that GDP grew at a 1.6 percent annual rate in the first quarter, some-what lower than had generally been predicted. However, the headline number was held down by slow inventory accumulation, which subtracted 0.35 percentage points from growth, and a big rise in the trade deficit, which lowered growth by 0.86 percentage points. Pulling out these factors, final sales to domestic producers grew at a...