A Depression Hardly- July 23, 2008 The specter of depression stalks America. You hear the word repeatedly. Are we in a depression If not, are we headed for one The answer to the first question is no; the answer to the second is "almost certainly not." The use of "depression" to describe the economy is a case of rhetorical overkill that speaks volumes about today's widespread pessimism and anxiety. A short history lesson shows why.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/22/AR2008072202115.html?nav=r... A Baffling Global Economy- July 16, 2008 We've been having the wrong discussion about globalization. For years, we've argued over whether this or that industry and its workers might suffer from imports and whether the social costs were worth the economic gains from foreign products, technologies and investments. By and large, the answer has been yes. But the harder questions, I think, lie elsewhere. Is an increasingly interconnected world economy basically stable Or does it generate periodic crises that harm everyone and spawn...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071502428.html?nav=r... The Candor Gap- July 9, 2008 It is one of our fondest political myths that elections allow us collectively to settle the "big issues." The truth is that there's often a bipartisan consensus to avoid the big issues, because they involve unpopular choices and conflicts. Elections become exercises in mass evasion; that certainly applies so far to the 2008 campaign. A case in point is America's population transformation. Few issues matter more for the country's future -- yet it's mostly ignored.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/08/AR2008070802464.html?nav=r... Who's Behind High Prices- July 1, 2008 Tired of high gasoline prices and rising food costs Well, here's a solution. Let's shoot the speculators. A chorus of politicians, including John McCain and Barack Obama, blames these financial slimeballs for piling into commodities markets and pushing prices to artificial and unconscionable levels. Gosh, if only it were that simple. Speculator-bashing is another exercise in scapegoating and grandstanding. Leading politicians either don't understand what's happening or don't want to acknowledge.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/30/AR2008063001901.html?nav=r... |