With its deadline only a few days away, there seems a high probability that the deficit supercommittee will fail to reach consensus. Then, there may be cuts in defense spending that many, including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, deem disastrous. Such…
“Money multiplier” underlies the ripple effect caused by Greece
How could debt problems in Greece – a country of 11 million – trigger a financial crisis not only across Europe but for the world as a whole? Although the current crisis is more pronounced than earlier ones in its…
Welcome to our new look!
One of the benefits of our move to a new site is that you can search for any word you want in a column. Looking for the column on the vise I pulled out of a dumpster? Type “dumpster” or…
‘Christmas tree tax’ much ado over industry promos
This week’s kerfuffle over “Obama’s tax on Christmas trees” is the most imbecilic one I have encountered in 30 years as an economist. Fortunately, informed commentators eventually introduced some sanity, but not before the Obama administration caved into pressure and…