Actually, NYT, Hurting Growth Is the Whole Point of Raising Interest Rates
The New York Times said the Fed “express[ed] confidence that raising borrowing costs now won’t hurt growth”–though that is exactly why it is raising rates.
Dean Baker
NYT’s ‘Economic Logic’ Ignores Italy’s Economic Reality
The New York Times says it would defy “economic logic” for Italy to leave the euro–under which Italy has yet to recover from the crisis of 2008.
Protecting Pfizer’s and Microsoft’s Patents in China Is Not ‘Our’ Concern
Why exactly should those of us who don’t own lots of stock in Microsoft and Pfizer care if China doesn’t pay them licensing fees and royalties?
If NYT Likes Stronger Copyright, That Doesn’t Make It ‘Free Trade’
Many folks in the media seem to think it is part of their job to promote trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)—not only in opinion pages, but in the news section, too.
The Deficit That Will Eat the Budget and Other Ever-Popular Scare Stories
Will interest payments take up the entire federal budget? A Wall Street Journal column by Greg Ip (3/28/18) gave us another rendition of this old scare story. The argument is that the interest paid on US government debt will soon impose an enormous burden on the federal government, choking off spending on important government programs. […]
Fear the Fiscal Future, WSJ Warns in New Version of Old Scare Story
The Fed could raise rates even in the absence of higher inflation. In that case, the Fed as a matter of policy would be increasing our interest burden.
For WaPo, It’s Never a Bad Time to Slash Programs for Elderly
The Washington Post calling for “reform” of Social Security and Medicare is a bit like the morning coffee, although somewhat less pleasant.
The Radical Dishonesty of David Brooks
The question is not whether we are better off today than we were 60 years ago. It would be incredible if we were not better off. The question is by how much.
Policy Choices, Not ‘the Market,’ Produce a ‘Small Number of Very Wealthy People’
We hear people asserting that the massive inequality we are now seeing in the United States is the result of an unfettered market. This is a convenient view for those who are on the upside of things, but it also happens to be nonsense.
NYT’s ‘Trump Effect’ Mainly the Effect of Higher Oil Prices
If we think that Trump is responsible for the rise in world oil prices, then he can reasonably be given credit for the uptick in investment that has occurred during his administration; otherwise, there is not much for him to boast about.
WaPo Nostalgic for Good Old Days of Trump Campaign Tax Lies
Republicans are putting in place a tax plan similar to what they campaigned on. If the fact that it mostly helps the rich is a surprise to anyone, it is due to the poor quality of reporting during the campaign.
The Reagan ‘Boom’ Echoed Glory Days of Ford/Carter
The “boom” following Reagan’s tax cuts was similar to the growth during the Ford/Carter years–which are not generally remembered as a time of great prosperity.
Don’t Say ‘Lowering Taxes’ When You Mean ‘Lowering Taxes for the Rich’
“Lowering taxes is, at heart, what makes a Republican a Republican,” the New York Times told us. The problem with this assertion is that the Republican plans actually raise taxes for close to half of middle-income families.
Fear, Not Debt, Limits Our Spending on Education and Infrastructure
There is no evidence that debt is limiting our ability to spend more in these and other areas. There is a strong case that fears over the debt, raised by folks like Fareed Zakaria, are limiting our ability to invest for the future.
To Make Trump’s Economy Look Good, It Helps to Not Look Very Hard
New York Times columnist Bret Stephens apparently knows literally nothing about the economy, and is so ignorant he doesn’t even know how little he knows.
Trying to Sell TPP by Repackaging It as an Anti-China Pact
Since economics won’t sell the TPP, the alternative is to make it a geopolitical pact, with the main target being China. The main problem with seeing the TPP as a pact designed as a weapon against China, though, is that it doesn’t seem to have been designed that way.
Do Corporate Media Need to Lie to Promote Trade Deals?
People can have reasonable differences of opinion on trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), but why is it that the proponents have to insist, with zero evidence, that not doing the deal was an economic disaster?
Paul Ryan Doesn’t Love Free-Market Healthcare; He Loves Giving Money to Rich People
The New York Times is again spreading the absurd myth that House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans want a free market in healthcare.
Tom Friedman Mourns a Trade Deal He Doesn’t Understand
Thomas Friedman, who is legendary for his boldly stated wrong assertions, is making absurd claims about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the great loss the US suffers from its going down.
The Washington Post’s War on the Disabled Continues
At a time when an ever larger share of national income is going to the richest one percent, and large segments of the working class population are seeing rising mortality rates, the Washington Post naturally turns to the country’s most pressing problem: the number of people receiving disability payments from the government.
