The Government Spends Money on Stupid Things: Video Edition
OK, I know these things are a bit of a cheap shot, which I’ve engaged in before. However, what our government spends money on is truly baffling (and upsetting/humorous depending on what sort of mood you’re in). Here’s a… Continue reading
The History of U.S. Defaults
Judge Andrew Napolitano gives a quick, concise history of defaults in the United States. A default need not be declaring bankruptcy as Napolitano discusses the gold seizure in 1934, the default on silver certificates in 1968, and Nixon closing the… Continue reading
Alan Greenspan and Economics 101
Alan Greenspan had this delightful little insight for us on Meet the Press the other day:
So I guess Zimbabwe and the Weimar Republic both had stellar credit ratings. And this guy was in charge of the Fed for almost… Continue reading
Geithner Was Wrong: U.S. Debt Downgraded
On April 25th of this year, our ever-so-competent Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was asked on Fox News whether U.S. treasuries could ever lose their AAA rating.
Geithner’s response: “No risk of that.”
Less than four months later and he’s made a Ben… Continue reading
Austrians vs. Keynesians: A Case Study
The Keynesian model and the Austrian economic philosophy continue to lock horns. Similar ideas have gone toe to toe for three centuries now trying to explain the business cycle. Thomas Malthus and Jean-Baptiste Say made their case in the 19th century,… Continue reading
The Ruse of “Budget Cuts”
So we almost had this odious “government shutdown” because the Republicans wanted to cut a heartless $60 billion from the budget and the Democrats only wanted to cut cuddly $30 billion. Luckily we averted it with a $38 billion dollar… Continue reading
The Canadian Budget Solution
Is it impossible to cut spending enough to balance the budget? Looking at the current budget crisis certainly makes it look that way. However, what the Canadian government did in 1995 may act as an example the United States should… Continue reading
New York Times Has Cool Budget Tools
Not So Easy To Do
I’m not a particular fan of The New York Times, but they have some very cool features on what they call the Deficit Project.
First there’s this nice interactive chart on government spending… Continue reading
Rand Paul: Cut Military Spending
Rand Paul, the newly elected Senator from Kentucky, discusses how we can actually balance the budget. First and foremost, he wants to push for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Unfortunately, that will take some time. Other than that,… Continue reading
Paul Krugman Recommends the United States Borrow, Inflate, Default and Steal
Time to Just Get it Over With?
Readers of SwiftEconomics know I’ve been just an incy wincy bit critical of Paul Krugman (see here, here, here and here), but I guess I kind of agree with a… Continue reading
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