Monthly Archives: January 2011

I’m still reading and enjoying the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission report.  I think it’s one of the best introductions to what has happened;  I’m learning new stuff throughout it.  Though one problem I’m having is that while the breadth of … Continue reading →

Brad Miller has a post at Huffington Post, Republican Amnesia on the Financial Crisis. The important story is that that during the 2000s conservatives and libertarians hated the CRA and the GSEs because they believed that these institutions blocked or … Continue reading →

Ezra Klein covers Pew’s new report on long-term unemployment. From the report: Thirty percent of those who are jobless have been unemployed a year or more (long-term unemployment) as of December 2010. Equaling 4.2 million people — roughly the population of … Continue reading →

H/T to Mark Thoma (who has covered similar ground).  The Nobel-winning economist Vernon Smith has an editorial in Newsweek – Mired in Disequilibrium – about balance sheet recessions and how to get out of them: …Some 23 percent of homeowners … Continue reading →

Jump forward 1 minute in the second video to see a random person stand down an armored vehicle. All the real news today is from Egypt. I have nothing much to contribute other than pointing out some things I’ve read. … Continue reading →

I’m currently reading the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission Final Report after having skimmed it, and so far it’s an excellent guide through the financial markets and how they’ve changed over the past 30 years, as well as the lead-up to … Continue reading →

1: Contrasting the Tax Cut Deal and the FOMC Announcement I’m capable of getting nostalgic for things that happened 7 weeks ago. Remember the debate over the tax cut deal? Remember that week with the fighting, the charts, the estimates, … Continue reading →

“A Thinner Slice from a Bigger Pie Still Means More Pie.”  How different things are from 1946. There’s been a series of posts about whether or not health care reform signals the completion of the liberal welfare state (Yglesias, Chait, … Continue reading →

Whatever happened to the goal of Full Employment?  Boston Review has a forum on the topic of Full Employment. It’s kicked off with a lead essay by economist Robert Pollin – Back to Full Employment – which also gives a … Continue reading →

There’s been a lot of interesting commentary on a recent debate surrounding Raghuram Rajan arguments on inequality and the financial crisis at the American Financial Association – see this Economist article for the best writeup.  MIT economist Daron Acemoglu’s AFA slides … Continue reading →