The more we hear about the government’s ever-changing $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program, the more it sounds like a trem de alegria leaving the station. Literally “train of happiness,” this is an episodic phenomenon in Brazilian politics where getting…
Crisis would be Minsky’s moment
If Hyman Minsky had not died too soon, he would be the man of the hour. A Harvard-trained economist who taught at the University of California-Berkeley and Washington University in St. Louis, Minsky argued that financial market crises like the…
U.S. hypocrisy shouldn’t tar sound economic policy
Suppose a minister preaches thrift, honesty, sobriety and hard work. Then he is seen knocking down shots with some floozy at a horse-track bar after losing the Sunday collection on the fifth race. His flock may think him a hypocrite.…
Taxes higher or lower? No easy answer
Sometimes you don’t know what to believe. Consider the possible consequences for moderate-income households if all of Barack Obama’s tax proposals are adopted. Some say most such households would pay less income tax. Others argue such households would face substantially…