Fed Nominations
A month and a half ago, the White House announced the names of three people the President would be nominating to fill the vacancies at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. And finally today those...
View ArticleThe Fed’s Dual Mandate
In her statement upon being nominated to be vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Janet Yellen mentioned the dual goals imposed by Congress on the Fed’s conduct of U.S. monetary policy....
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Sickness unto Debt (with Pie Chart)
This pie chart from the IMF, via Ezra Klein, shows the various sources of new debt taken on by G-20 governments since the recession began. Stimulus spending and financial-sector bailouts account for a...
View ArticleNeither Intelligible, Nor a Principle
The Fed’s “dual mandate” to promote maximum employment and curb inflation is problematic. It’s sort of like telling someone to work as much as possible and sleep as much as possible. The two goals...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Mark of W.
Arjun Jayadev at New Deal 2.0 finds the mark of George W. Bush’s presidency etched into the picture of our national finances over the past decade. Literally. And I don’t mean Joe-Biden literally. But...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Deficit Problem, in One Graph
There are lots of ways we could get the federal government deficit under control in the short and medium term, if we really needed to. But there is really only one way to control the long-term deficit:...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Five Unemployed for Every Job
From Scott Winship, via Matt Yglesias, here’s a graph comparing indexes of jobs advertised to unemployed job seekers. As you’d expect at a time of high unemployment, there are many more people looking...
View ArticleClik here to view.
If You Like Huge Deficits, More Tax Cuts Are for You
Via Ezra Klein: As you see, extending unemployment insurance benefits causes a temporary blip in deficit spending. But the effect of tax cuts is lasting and deep. And as Bruce Bartlett points out, the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Clearing the Brush, Trimming the Hedge
The Wall Street Journal provides this chart to show the projected effects of the two parties’ proposals regarding the renewal of the Bush tax cuts: Via Yglesias.
View ArticleQuantitative Easing Demystified
As if people need to be reminded that they, we, don’t understand how the Federal Reserve conducts U.S. monetary policy, the term “quantitative easing” periodically surfaces to do exactly that....
View Article
