From Michael Perelman: Lobbyists and Crises “The International Monetary Fund recently found that banks that spent more to influence policy over the last decade were more likely to take more securitization risks, have larger loan defaults and experience sharper stock falls during crucial points of the crisis.” Cyran, Robert and James Pethokoukis. 2010. “Formidable Lobbyists.” New … Continue reading Lobbyists and Banks
Day: March 6, 2010
Macroeconomic Productivity Measures Don’t Really Measure Productivity
Macroeconomic productivity measures don't really measure productivity. These measures, which purport to measure how much output is created per worker in the U.S. are actually pretty faulty. Unfortunately this leads to poor polices and a mis-reading of what's really happening. From the the NYTimes: FOR a quarter-century, American economic policy has assumed that the keys … Continue reading Macroeconomic Productivity Measures Don’t Really Measure Productivity
Social Security Is NOT In Trouble and Does NOT Need to be Cut
One of the real reasons why there's a growing deficit hysteria is because opponents of Social Security want to cut the program. But Social Security is immensely popular and any attempt to cut Social Security would fail politically unless somehow the public can be convinced that it's "absolutely necessary" to save the nation. Hence, the … Continue reading Social Security Is NOT In Trouble and Does NOT Need to be Cut
EconProph 