Alan Greenspan “Takes On His Critics”

The March 1 edition of Fortune Magazine has an article titled “Alan Greenspan Fights Back.”  The link is found here. I found the article interesting for a variety of reasons. As the article mentions, rarely has Greenspan addressed his purported culpability in creating the housing bubble and its accompanying impact on the economy. Greenspan’s tenure …

Read more

Keynesian Theory – A Few Comments

Up to this point, I have yet to mention “Keynes” or any derivative thereof.  The reason for this is simple – I don’t believe that the efforts taken to stimulate the economy are reflective of the theories that Keynes espoused.  Instead, they are a type of “bastardized” Keynesian Theory – used by various parties in …

Read more

The Effectiveness Of Stimulus

“One of the biggest economic myths since the Great Depression is that governments can ameliorate or counteract the ebbs and flows of free markets. Government spending has never worked as a trigger for sustained and vibrant economic growth. Ever. Scholarship has demonstrated that the New Deal perpetuated the Depression rather than cured it. On the …

Read more

Tax Increases And Our Economic Situation – Follow Up

On October 16 I wrote a post titled “Tax Increases And Our Economic Situation.”  That post can be found at this link. Some may wonder what tax increases I am referring to, as at least headline tax rates have yet to increase in many areas.  Tax increases have been deferred for many reasons.  Among these …

Read more

A Notable Poll On Economic Conditions

Here is poll (in PDF format) on economic conditions that I believe is highly notable.  It is from CNN and was conducted February 12-15, 2010. The question presented was “How would you rate the economic conditions in the country today — as very good, somewhat good, somewhat poor, or very poor?” A total of 83% …

Read more

The Quality Of Deficit Spending

In the Wall Street Journal on Saturday, February 13 there was an editorial titled “High-Speed Spending.”  This discussed the dubious financial dynamics of a long-proposed “high speed” Orlando-to-Tampa rail project. I also heard of a proposal to do a similar project between St. Louis and Chicago. I have lived in the Chicago area for most …

Read more

Editorial Of Note: “Greece’s Crisis: A Warning To Profligate U.S.?”

On February 10th an editorial by Scott S. Powell appeared in Investor’s Business Daily titled “Greece’s Crisis: A Warning To Profligate U.S.?”  The link can be found here. I am highlighting this editorial as it discusses many important issues, most of which I have previously mentioned on this blog.  As well, it compares our current …

Read more

The US Dollar And Asset Prices

Over the last few years, there has been an inverse correlation between price movements of the US Dollar and many asset classes.  This inverse correlation appears to be strengthening over time. This inverse correlation can be seen in the chart below.  For the sake of simplicity, I am only comparing the USD to the S&P500 …

Read more

Debt And Taxation

On Saturday The Wall Street Journal had an editorial titled “Escape from Taxation.”  The link is here. In the editorial, it is mentioned that higher-income people are moving out of New Jersey as the tax rate is increased. In my article “America’s Trojan Horse” found at this link, I discussed the widely-held fallacy that debt …

Read more