Month: March 2009
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Small is Beautiful? Maybe. But Big is Bad.
At least this headline holds true for banks. Steve Randy Waldman, as so often, gives us cogency–in this case on why big banks are a problem. My favorite part (and my emphasis): Scale breeds agency problems. Earning an extra five basis points on $100B in assets amounts to $50M in extra income a year, a…
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Want Prosperity and Stability? It’s About Wages and Salaries
What caused the Great Depression? What caused the current…whatever it is? According to James Livingston, the roots of both lie in shares of income. When not enough people are getting not enough wages and salaries–and when a large share of income is derived from financial investments, not work–we’re in bubble land, and things fall apart.…
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Businesses Constrained by Lack of Investment? Oh, Maybe Not.
A while back I pointed out that in 2007, only 9 percent of U.S. privately-held businesses cited a shortage of investment money as a constraint on their growth. In response to a rather maniacal comment on that post, I went looking to see what things are like today. Answer: about the same. The National Federation…
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Drill Here Drill Now! Oh….Wait…
It’s now clear that the McCain/Palin shout-outs for more domestic drilling were not, in fact, tawdry and childish pitches to get votes from jingoistic know-nothings. They were, in fact, calls for an energy policy that would lead this country into a future of responsibility, prosperity, and well-being. The free market is speaking… Related posts: Economist…
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Seattle’s a Happy Place! Outstate Washington, Appalachia: Not So Much
Showing that great minds think alike, my friend Steve also noticed the new national survey of well-being from Gallup. Though he only seems to have read an article about it, and based on that he wonders:
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Banks? Who Needs ‘Em?
James Livingston once again sheds serious light on our current situation, as illuminated by the Great Depression. Condensed: Economic recovery was actually going gangbusters ’33-’37. It wasn’t because banks started lending; they didn’t. The government (Reconstruction Finance Corporation) was doing the lending. We should try doing the same thing now. More detail on those four…
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Finally! The Filibuster Explained
“Why doesn’t Harry Reid make them filibuster? We’ve got a majority in the Senate. Why do we need a 60-vote supermajority? Reid should make Republicans pay the political price for obstructionism: standing up there reading the phone book before C-Span and the world. What’s the gig?” I’ve probably googled this question half a dozen times…
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Home-Work: Increase GDP by a Third?
I wrote recently about the fact that non-remunerated work — anything that doesn’t involve a money transfer — isn’t included in GDP. So painting your mother’s house, fixing your car, or cooking dinner isn’t reflected in that key measure of our prosperity and well-being — even though that work quite clearly contributes greatly to our…