Does Size Matter?

The antithesis to market capitalism is monopoly.  High market concentration has been historically a reason to use the US Justice Department to trust bust.  We’ve had laws on the books since the late 19th century.  The last real monopoly challenge was during the Clinton administration that took on Microsoft and its software bundling practices.  [...]

London Calling

Grab the popcorn for the start of the G20 London Summit beginning April 2nd.  This will be an important meeting because it serves as a test of the resolve of the major nations’ commitment to both global development and trade.  It will also be a test for new US President Barrack Obama and his administration.  [...]

The “Incompetence Crisis”

All last year,  ALL  I heard was how experience didn’t matter.  I heard that being ‘ready on day one’  was a meaningless campaign slogan.  I was told that what mattered was perceived good judgment, intelligence, and speaking skills.  I remember watching the first Democratic Debates and thinking, this guy isn’t ready to be dogcatcher, let [...]

Toxic Treasuries Redux

While the equity markets are reacting positively to whatever bit of good news they can grab, economists are eying  the market for government bonds.  The United States and the United Kingdom have huge deficit driven budgets and stimulus plans that are testing the willingness of their creditors.  The US is skating on the thin ice.  [...]

Basic Truths and Common Sense

I woke up from nap with this thread writing itself.   This happens frequently to me when when I’m trying to reconcile ideas that look separate and unconnected but I know intuitively that isn’t true. I just haven’t found the way to make the connection. This latest dream tapestry came from what seems like three distinct [...]

Punch Drunk on Tax Funded Bailouts

While the Right Wing is off having tea parties and screaming class war, there appears to be some legitimate soul searching going on  in left Blogistan about our “punch drunk” POTUS and his continual campaign like appearances.  A lot of the discussion is focused on his dogged support of Turbo Tax Timmy and his bailout [...]

Super Heroes of Macroeconomics

Somebody must have a lot of time on their hands to write a song called “Hey, Paul Krugman” but still, if the angsty, artsy fartsy creative class that foisted this POTUS on us is finally waking up, then Twitter me when the Revolution comes.  I’ve even read the orange cheeto place  [...]

Zombie Banks must DIE!

Well, the Obama administration has decided to take the Zombie route which is something I’ve repeatedly argued against.  But why just take my word for it?  Let’s start with Nobel prize winning  economist Paul Krugman reporting  on his NY Times blog today in a thread aptly titled Despair over Financial Policy.
The Geithner plan has now [...]

The Endangered American Lifestyle

This economy has clearly shown that the lifestyle of most middle and working class Americans is precarious.  Many Americans now admit they could cover their bills for at best two months if the pink slip arrived in their paycheck. More and more people are dipping into their savings and credit to pay for food, gas, [...]

The Big Ease

I’ve had a couple of request to talk about how the Fed creates money and what happens if it over expands the money supply so that’s the topic of this post.  Yesterday, the monetary policy authority of the Fed, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced an injection of $1 Trillion.  It is doing so [...]