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Tag Archives: economics
Gene Sperling in as Director of the NEC
It’s official – Obama has replaced Larry Summers with Gene Sperling as Director of the National Economic Council. Sperling served in the same position under Clinton from 1996 to 2000, where he got plenty of experience dealing with a Republican congress. In my personal opinion, this is great. The Director of the NEC is the top Economic advisory position to the President, and it’s responsible for interpreting all the information coming from elsewhere in the administration. Larry Summers may be a genius, but he’s not known as the diplomatic type – one had to wonder whether the President was hearing opinions from people that Summers disagreed with. When Sperling was head of the NEC under Clinton, he could filter people … More >>
Tagged barack obama, economics, economy
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How Obama Saved Free-Enterprise for the American Auto Industry
One of the true unsung accomplishments of the Obama administration: When GM was about to liquidate and fire hundreds of thousands in the middle of the worst recession since the 1930s, Obama chose to purchase their stock for $49B. Over the howl of free-market fundamentalists and disingenuous pundits shouting socialism, Obama used the government’s controlling share to force a change in management and let the free market take it’s course. There was no nationalization, there was no subsidization and the the moral-hazard question was resolved by the severe removal of ineffective managers. Today, GM has, for the first time in a decade, turned a profit. It’s expanding production and hiring new people in addition to the hundreds of thousands it … More >>
Tagged auto, economics, GM, obama
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What Goldman Really Did Wrong
Unsurprisingly, apologists for Goldman and Wall Street have been coming out of the woodwork in the last few days. Goldman CEO Loyd Blankfein himself was on Charlie Rose last week, arguing that Goldman is a “market maker” – and therefore it’s not a big deal that they were shorting the housing market while simultaneously telling people to buy. He’s actually kind of right… There are a lot of things that Goldman did during the collapse of the housing market that could be construed as immoral, insensitive, or dishonest, but might not be “against the rules”. We may think it’s disgusting, but Goldman does that sort of thing all the time, as does everyone else on Wall Street. It’s called hedging, … More >>
Tagged economic issues committee, economics, financial crisis, financial services reform, goldman sachs
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The Skinny On Recovery
Tricks are for kids and Republicans. Here’s the real deal on the effects of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act signed by President Obama. They say a picture is worth a thousand words but I only need one for this: wow.
Tagged American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, economics, economy, federal stiumulus, recession, stimulus
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The Value Added Tax
Chris is Chair of the Economic Issues Committee. To get involved, email him at econ [at] gomyd [dot] com or come to the meeting tonight (Tuesday the 27th) at 7pm at the Starbucks on 29th Street and Park Avenue. For some reason, Saturdays on C-Span seem to be Tea-Party day. Over the last few months, I’ve been idling flipping channels and suddenly Sarah Palin or Ron Paul will pop up on my screen and I’ll find myself dragged in for an hour of morbid fascination. Last week, I ran across a Tax Day protest on the mall in DC… I didn’t catch anyone particularly compelling, although I did enjoy watching former Saturday Night Live star Victoria Jackson crash and burn with a totally … More >>
Is Higher Ed a H.M.O’s Biggest Fan ?
On the Times Economix blog, Uwe E. Reinhardt suggests that higher education and heath care might have similarities that inform the health care debate. Reinhardt was on a panel of policy experts during the 1980′s that made recommendations on how Congress should pay physicians who handled Medicare patients. He notes that doctors felt that the H.M.O model did not compensate physicians appropriately for their services. He then moves on to dissect the doctors’ argument by looking at other goods the public deems vital, specifically education, and asks how those goods would look if they were provided in the same way as heath care. He writes: Correctly viewed, a modern university is a prepaid, staff-model, pedagogic group practice – the educational … More >>
