This morning I mentioned the drag that state and local fiscal contractions are having on jobs and growth and threatened to post some graphs. Coming up for air now, so here they are. In normal times, spending and investing by state and local governments adds to growth. But in recent quarters, they’ve either added little… Read more
Archive for the ‘New Posts’ Category
Cut and Grow? I Say No.
Neil Irwin’s WaPo piece this AM provides a useful review of the different ways economists and politicians are thinking about the short-term impact of spending cuts on growth and jobs. I’ve been pretty aghast to hear claims that large cuts would immediately generate job growth (and Irwin should have at least quoted someone with that view… Read more
Vouchers’ Impact on Price When the Price Isn’t Right
An interesting thread came up in the comments. It’s the notion that Ryan’s Medicare vouchers will reduce the cost of coverage because if enough people are out there trying to buy the same insurance coverage with less money, the insurers will lower the cost. That would be nice, but I don’t see it. Instead, I… Read more
The Times, They Are An Aging.
Bob Dylan is 70 today. I hate to think what that makes me. I still picture him like this: Anyway, we’re lucky to still have him around. “Tangled Up in Blue” says it all, as far as I’m concerned.
Just Because Rep Ryan Says It, Part 2
I riffed on the first part of this phony claim by Rep Ryan the other day–“Our plan is to give seniors the power to deny business to inefficient providers”—promising to get to the second part–“…their plan [Affordable Care Act] is to give government the power to deny care to seniors”—later. So here goes on the… Read more