The country faces difficult questions: Can bubbles in stock and real estate prices be deflated without hurting employment and output? Can a construction sector swollen by years of overbuilding return to normal levels? Will unsustainable imbalances in the flows of…
At some point, no one wants our dollars
Comments about the U.S. dollar at a recent OPEC meeting illustrate a common fallacy: that because oil is priced in dollars, a weaker dollar doesn’t affect our energy costs. This is a comforting idea, but it is false. World currency…
Perspective leads to thanks
As the U.S. economy slides toward recession in this Thanksgiving season, some grumps may note little for which to give thanks. Hundreds of thousands of homeowners are facing the loss of their homes, and more people are likely to be…
Export tax can help or hurt
Taxing exports is a nice racket under the right conditions, but self-defeating under others. The contrasting situations of Argentine farming and Wyoming coal production illustrate the complications that may someday face Minnesota, if world metal prices stay high. In Argentina,…