I went to work for the Federal Reserve in 1992 and the United States entered its greatest economic expansion in the 20th century. I left the Fed in 1999. Little more than a year later, the economy was spiraling into…
Can there be too much information?
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s call for a federal ban on advertising prescription drugs raises an intriguing question that sharply divides economists. Would society be better off if pharmaceutical companies were barred from placing commercials and ads that extol the benefits…
Mother Nature has final word on crop profits
This summer’s drought is gripping an increasingly large portion of the nation. That is good news for my former neighbors in extreme southwestern Minnesota where I grew up. They saw good rainfall in June so their crops still are in…
Fed is shielded from politicking
The important lesson from Federal Reserve news this week is a fundamental one: Our central bank system basically works well. Regardless of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony before Congress or what the Fed’s Open Market Committee decides in three weeks,…