No time to organize thoughts, so here are a few synaptic firings. –I was disappointed by the outcome but not surprised. As I’ve written, this was in no small part a referendum on immigration, and the timing of the vote interacted with rising anger about this and other impacts of globalization. –The structure of the EU–a common… Read more
Archive for the ‘Financial Markets’ Category
Do economists understand economies?
Consider: –The economist Greg Mankiw had an essay in the NYT last week on five theories as to why growth has been so sluggish for so long (Greg’s focus was on the US, but it could have applied to Europe as well). Mankiw, a Harvard professor and writer of widely used textbooks, has long been… Read more
Catching up on some old stuff
Given the horrific mass-shooting in Orlando over the weekend, it seems irreverent and off-point to scribble about the usual grist for the mill. So a bit of catchup and forward-looking stuff. –I’ll have a great interview in tomorrow’s WaPo with CBPPs Elizabeth McNichol on the need for infrastructure investment, with an emphasis on the state… Read more
How the Puerto Rican debt crisis could become a bailout
Meaning a cost shift from creditors to taxpayers. Obviously, the gov’t of the island borrowed far beyond their means–see the John Oliver link for great and even entertaining detail on the evolution of the crisis. And thus an oversight board is a reasonable quid pro quo for restructuring. But if not for the legal quirk… Read more
Puerto Rico by John Oliver
Early next week, I’ll have a piece out on the ongoing debt crisis in Puerto Rico which strongly urges Congress to act before restructuring morphs into bailout. But in the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about this issue from the absolutely brilliant John Oliver. If only I could be 1/10th this entertaining when… Read more