Category Archives: Economics

Helicopter Money

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Roger

If you aren’t familiar with this expression by now, you shortly will be.  In just two recent days, articles on this subject popped up in The Wall Street Journal (here and here) and the Economist (here).  Both the European Central … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Policy | 1 Comment

Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Roger

We have all heard it.  Hillary Clinton repeated it in the February 11, 2016, Democratic Party debate: I know that a lot of Americans are angry about the economy, and for good cause.  Americans haven’t had a raise in 15 … Continue reading →

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China Innovates: A New Way to Lie with Numbers

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Roger

The Wall Street Journal has just run an article about the latest data manipulation coming out of China. China is experiencing strong currency outflows.   This is a combination of “hot money” from outside China, which came into the country to … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Finance, General Culture, Policy, Politics | Leave a comment

Obama’s Lego Movie Economy

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Roger

After the February jobs report, President Obama said “America’s pretty darn great right now.”  He then went on to disparage the “doomsday rhetoric” of the Republicans, which he said was pure “fantasy.” I think that there is a good chance … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics | 2 Comments

Land Use and Misuse: Crony Capitalism Goes Local

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Roger

In his New Year message, David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, promised to tackle the “moral outrage” of the UK’s housing crisis which is pricing “hard-working young people” out of the market.  Hopefully, this will be the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Policy | 1 Comment

The Statist Mindset and Other Short Takes

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Roger

I just read an article in BloombergView yesterday by Cass Sunstein, who is a law professor at Harvard.  It was a roundup of a number of books published last year on “behavioral economics” (which is an absurd descriptor, since all … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Finance, Politics | 2 Comments

Patently Absurd[1]

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Roger

It is presidential campaign season and we are getting a lot of incoming promises, particularly from the Democratic side, about how the government is going to make our lives better.  This makes it an opportune moment to report on some … Continue reading →

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Twins

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Roger

Both are long-term residents of New York City.  Both attended Ivy League business schools.  Both had successful business careers.  Both are Republicans with an independent streak.  Both are billionaires.  Both have self-funded their campaigns, in part to be beholden to … Continue reading →

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“Tax Expenditures” Are Not “Free Stuff”

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Roger

BloombergView has just published an article by Paula Dwyer entitled “Everything in This Column is Free Stuff.”  A better title would have been “Everything in This Column is Economically Ignorant and Offensive Nonsense.” The column attempts to draw an equivalence … Continue reading →

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Tesla

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Roger

I occasionally like to short[1] stocks for fun and profit.  One of my recent shorts is Tesla[2],  the maker of electric vehicles (“EV”) and energy storage systems.  This one gives me particular pleasure because it is a great opportunity to … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Finance, Politics | 10 Comments