President Bush’s Social Security proposals raise an interesting question: When is a cut a cut? Advocates of his approach assert their plan would merely slow the growth of benefits. Critics talk about large cuts in benefits. Who is right? To…
Tiers may unintended side effects
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has lobbed a hand grenade into the fishpond of Minnesota hospital management by instituting a new system of tiered hospital rankings. People covered by the insurer face doubled co-pays if they choose treatment…
Feds right to reject “Keynesianism,” raise key rate
Why did the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee raise interest rates when it appears the economy may be slowing? That good question has no definitive answer, but a couple of possible responses. The first is that the Fed must weigh…
Greenspan drank the Kool-Aid
As I was preparing to teach a macroeconomics course recently, I scanned the Web for late economic news, and reviewed the chapter I’d assigned. A bold-text assertion in the textbook jumped out at me. “Belief in fine-tuning the economy died…