Category Archives: Economics

But Whatever Could We Spend Money On? The Transportation Edition

Posted on May 25, 2013 by

With our most recent bridge collapse–at least they’re not as frequent as gun-associated mass murders–there have been renewed calls for fixing the damn bridges. While a lot of commentators have focused on a chart showing how transportation budgets, as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Fucking Morons, Jobs, Transportation | 1 Comment

It’s Not the PhD That’s the Problem

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

Noah Smith has an interesting post, “If you get a PhD, get an economics PhD.” While I agree with most of it, I think he is wrong about biology PhDs when he writes: Lab science PhDs. These include biology, chemistry, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Education | 8 Comments

No, We Can’t Run Out of Money

Posted on May 7, 2013 by

The Krugman (boldface mine): Remember, Britain has its own currency, which means that it can’t run out of cash. Furthermore, the short-term interest rate is set by the Bank of England. And the long-term rate, to a first approximation, is … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

Thomas Friedman’s 401(k) Derpitude: Channeling the Spirit of Chief Big Data Cloud

Posted on May 2, 2013 by

The NY Times’ Thomas Friedman recently unleashed another bout of inanity, this time arguing how we live in an Exciting! New! Flat! World where if we’re clever we have the capability to maximize our self-potential by channeling the spirit of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Fucking Morons | 1 Comment

Money Should Never Be a Rate-Limiting Resource

Posted on April 28, 2013 by

Dean Baker: One could also add that the sequester is throwing around 600,000 people out of work according to the Congressional Budget Office. These are people who have the necessary skills to fill jobs in the economy but who will … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

The Original Sin of the Reinhart-Rogoff Paper Is the Errroneous Data

Posted on April 19, 2013 by

I realize many readers will have no idea what the hell “Reinhart-Rogoff” is. We’ll get to that in a bit. But first, as prelude, I want to dredge this bit from the depths of the archives about technique and technical … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | 9 Comments

Why We Owe the MMTers Our Thanks (Even If You Don’t Agree With Them)

Posted on April 16, 2013 by

While some modern monetary theory supporters (‘MMTers’) can be pretty relentless in their advocacy, the Coalition of the Sane owes them a huge debt of gratitude because without their efforts we wouldn’t have ever witnessed a Washington Post pundit writing … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

The Economics of NIH Research

Posted on April 10, 2013 by

While the austerians will never be convinced that God doesn’t shed a tear every time a federal tax dollar is spent, among the Coalition of the Sane, it’s acknowledged that government spending can stimulate economic growth beyond the amount initially … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Funding, NIH | 3 Comments

The Economic Crisis That Shall Not Be Named

Posted on March 25, 2013 by

Thankfully, Kenneth Thomas decides to do so (boldface mine): You read it here first: Real wages fell 0.2% in 2012, down from $295.49 (1982-84 dollars) to $294.83 per week, according to the 2013 Economic Report of the President. Thus, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics

The Folly of Long-Term Projections (Still the Punditiest Pundit EVAH!)

Posted on March 25, 2013 by

For reasons I don’t understand, pundits are finally starting to realize that most-long term economic projections are ridiculous–and, yes, we were out in front of the curve on this. While this is wonky, it really does matter: politicians use these … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords