I believe in a relatively equal society, supported by institutions that limit extremes of wealth and poverty. I believe in democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of law. That makes me a liberal, and I’m proud of it.
And that’s just the beginning. More and more, conventional wisdom says that the responsible thing is to make the unemployed suffer. And while the benefits from inflicting pain are an illusion, the pain itself will be all too real.
For most Americans, economic growth is a spectator sport.
If it were profitable to have indentured servants in the modern world, I’m sure that Richard Scaife’s think tanks would have no trouble finding justifications, and assorted Christian groups would explain why it’s God’s will.
Rising inequality isn’t about who has the knowledge; it’s about who has the power.
Middle-class societies don’t emerge automatically as an economy matures, they have to be CREATED through political action.
There are no atheists in foxholes and there are no libertarians in financial crises.
What saved the economy, and the New Deal was the enormous public-works project known as World War II, which finally provided a fiscal stimulus adequate to the economy’s needs.
What our economy needs is direct job creation by the government and mortgage-debt relief for stressed consumers. What it very much does not need is a transfer of billions of dollars to corporations that have no intention of hiring anyone except more lobbyists.
If you want to understand opposition to climate action, follow the money.
Wealthy Americans who benefit hugely from a system rigged in their favor react with hysteria to anyone who points out just how rigged the system is.
So what are the effects of increasing minimum wages? Any Econ 101 student can tell you the answer: The higher wage reduces the quantity of labor demanded, and hence leads to unemployment.
Outrageous fiscal mendacity is neither historically normal nor bipartisan. It’s a modern Republican thing.
The goal in the end is not to win elections. The goal is to change society.
I’ve always believed in expansionary monetary policy and if necessary fiscal policy when the economy is depressed.
Congress has always had a soft spot for “experts” who tell members what they want to hear, whether it’s supply-side economists declaring that tax cuts increase revenue or climate-change skeptics insisting that global warming is a myth.
As I’ve often said, you can shop online and find whatever you’re looking for, but bookstores are where you find what you weren’t looking for.
If you want a simple model for predicting the unemployment rate in the United States over the next few years, here it is: It will be what Greenspan wants it to be, plus or minus a random error reflecting the fact that he is not quite God.
However, the fact that an economist offers a theoretical analysis does not and should not automatically command respect. What is needed is some assurance that the analysis is actually relevant.
The economics profession went astray because economists, as a group, mistook beauty, clad in impressive-looking mathematics, for truth.