The fact that Barack Obama could name three people at one crack to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors shows how far the system envisioned in 1935 has broken down. Fortunately, neither these appointments nor ones made under similar circumstances…
Another inflation hawk is just fine
Under Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve adopted a policy of signaling any policy changes well in advance. So Wednesday’s steady-as-she-goes decision by the Fed’s key policy-making committee didn’t surprise anyone. Nor was Thomas Hoenig’s solo dissent any news; the Kansas…
A profound misunderstanding on taxes
Editorial pages in recent weeks have featured numerous commentaries on faults in the U.S. tax system, inspired no doubt by the fact that income taxes were due April 15. Many pieces expressed alarm that the lower-income half of the U.S.…
Nobelist Prescott’s work resonates on two fronts
The sort of economic work that wins Nobel prizes often is deemed esoteric but sometimes relates much closer to current events than one might think. Two very different items in the news this week relate to the work of Edward…