the economy

What Happens When the Sky Isn’t Falling?

by May 14th, 2013
One big reason the deficit is falling faster than expected is a surprising—and surprisingly durable—drop in health care spending, the source of most of America's long-term fiscal problems. The seemingly inexorable rise in health care costs has been near the center of every big political and economic debate since Obama was elected. But the fact that it's finally slowing down was deemed worthy only of page B3 by editors at The New York Times.
the economy

Econ 101 From McSweeney’s

by February 5th, 2013

Learn economics the fun and intuitive way with Josh Freedman at McSweeney’s: “Susan, we need to talk. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. About us. I really like you, but ever since we met in that econ class in college I knew there was something missing from how I felt: quantitative reasoning. We can say we love each other all we want, but I just can’t trust it without the data. And after performing an in-depth cost-benefit analysis of our relationship, I just don’t think this is working out.”

the economy

Why the Fiscal Cliff is Called the Fiscal Cliff

by November 13th, 2012
Over at the Financial Times Cardiff Garcia has a great explanation about who coined the "fiscal cliff" (Ben Bernanke), why it has stuck, and why it's a dumb name ("If policymakers don’t work out a solution by January 1st, the harm is not immediate. Nor is it irreversible, nor is it even all that perilous at first.")
the economy

The Slow Climb Up

by October 17th, 2012
One of the biggest reasons people who voted for President Obama in 2008 are on the fence about voting for him in the November election is because they believe the recovery has been too slow, but in Bloomberg News, two economists argue that we have to view the recovery more realistically, and that historical data shows that systemic crises take much longer to mend (Bill Clinton has said we're in the middle of a 10-year economic recovery).
the economy

Bustillos on Bitcoins

by April 2nd, 2013
Maria Bustillos on the rise of bitcoin for the New Yorker's new tech blog, Elements, is excellent and readable.
the economy

A Coin Worth … One Trillion Dollars

by January 9th, 2013

At The Atlantic, Matthew O’Brien explains everything you never wanted to know about the TRILLION-DOLLAR COIN. (“[Supporters'] logic is that as silly as the trillion-dollar coin sounds, the debt ceiling is far sillier — and much more destructive.”)

the economy

Sandy, the U.S. Economy, the Election, and “Our Portfolios”

by November 6th, 2012
Lastly, the call concluded with: "There are no actionable changes to clients portfolio." No need to do anything with our portfolios, you guys. Sandy didn't do a thing to them!
the economy

Tell the Rest of Us How It Works

by March 28th, 2013
How are you experiencing this alleged improving economy?
the economy

Ben Says Fiscal Cliff, Paul Says Austerity Bomb, Heidi Explains All

by December 4th, 2012

Heidi N. Moore has a delicious translation of Speaker Boehner’s letter to Pres. Obama about THE FISCAL CLIFF, and you should definitely read it. (“We’ve been pretty clear that we don’t want to raise taxes on people making more than $250,000 a year – but if we absolutely have to, then we insist on cutting government spending on programs like social security and Medicare.”)

If this sarcasm piques your interest in the cliff and now you’re like, oh maybe I should read about that I guess, MAY I SUGGEST this thread in which Heidi and her Guardian pal Dominic Rushe answer reader questions about the fiscal cliff. Their responses are extremely readable and understandable.

FOR EXAMPLE, Heidi answered the question, “Why is it called a cliff?” super simply (TO SCARE YOU), and then explained the whole mess in four short paragraphs.

“There’s no good reason that it’s called a cliff! The phrase was invented by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke in February and everyone stuck with it.

the economy

McSweeney’s on the National Debt (No Jokes)

by October 22nd, 2012
The national debt!
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