The Radford Free Press – Page 376 – All life is problem solving.

Economics / banking, Keynes, Milton Friedman, Minsky, Paul Krugman, Paul Samuelson, Robert Lucas, stimulus /

Austerity: A Primer. The Ideas Behind The Debate.

July 22, 2010

In view of the ongoing, and fraught, discussion about austerity measures and their effect, I thought I would present the theories underlying the two sides of debate. Basically we are going through a rehash of the Orthodox versus Keynes argument that has been an episodic moment for decades. That it remains unresolved is testimony to […]

Economics / jobs, unemployment /

Jobs? What Jobs?

July 22, 2010

Today’s report of a jump in claims for unemployment assistance – by 37,000 to a total of 464,000 – is both disappointing and salutary. Yet expected. The declines of the past two weeks had been given an artificial boost by the auto industry’s policy this year of not shutting down for a summer break. This […]

Economics / austerity policies, deficits, fiscal policy, Hoover, Keynes, stimulus /

The Austerity Debate Continues

July 20, 2010

This morning’s Financial Times is a must read. It contains an excellent point/counter-point about the austerity argument now raging. The pro-growth argument is spelled out by Brad DeLong, while the austerity point of view is argued by Niall Ferguson. In this discussion DeLong is wearing the white hat. Ferguson’s use of numbers is flat out […]