OK, so this is the epitome of economic nerdiness, but admittedly I love it. John Maynard Keynes and F.A. Hayek come back to life to debate whether Keynesian or Austrian economics explain the economy, the only way they know how; rap-off:
Keynesian Economics's archives
Job Numbers Nonsense
Here’s the problem: the United States has lost approximately 3.3 million jobs since the stimulus package was passed. Unemployment has risen from 7.6% to over 10%. Furthermore, if you include people who are underemployed (working part-time even though they’d prefer to work full-time) or have simply given up on finding a job, unemployment is closer to 20%. So how, exactly, does Obama know he’s saved 640,000 or a million jobs or whatever it is? The exact methodology is difficult to ascertain, but the best explanation I can come up with is an extremely creative imagination.
under: Game Theory, Individual v. Collective, Obama Says, Trust
Tags: aggregate demand, Barack Obama, Darrell Issa, David Goldman, Earl Devaney, housing bubble, job losses, jobs, Keynesian Economics, Peter Schiff, recession, recovery, Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, Recovery.gov, stimulus package
How Government Spending Hurts the Economy
Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute gives a concise breakdown on why too much government spending can hurt the economy. It’s definitely worth watching:
Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics: A Primer
Statistics are often seen as infallible, though. Unfortunately, the truth is statistics are often very difficult to gather and compute in a methodologically sound way. Furthermore, there are a host of reasons a particular group may want to fudge these numbers. If anything, I hope this series will shine some light on how statistics can be flawed, and perhaps raise some healthy skepticism.
under: Complete Whimsy, Game Theory, Live and Learn, Trust
Tags: Al Gore, Alan Reynolds, austrian economics, Benjamin Disraeli, deconstructionism, food stamps, healthcare reform, immigration, income inequality, Keynesian Economics, lurking variable, Mark Twain, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Noam Chomsky, Paul Krugman, post hoc ergo propter hoc, Ronald Reagan, statistics, technology, Thomas Sowell, Washington Consensus
A Cato Institute Look Into a Second (Third Actually) Stimulus
Can anyone site one credible example where Keynesian economics and budget deficit spending effectively created economic growth?
Swift Wits: Vacant Housing Starts, Auditing the Fed and Foreign Aid to, uhhh, China?
Widely hailed as good news, housing starts increased 17.2% in May to annual adjusted rate of 532,000. This certainly means the real estate market and thus the economy are heading back in the right direction. Not so fast there slick. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the 2009, according to Bloomberg, there were 19 million vacant houses in the United States!
under: Deficits, Dollar, Federal Reserve, Treasury
Tags: bailout, Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke, Bernie Sanders, censorship, China, Federal Reserve, foreign aid, George Bush, global warming, H.R. 1207, housing market, housing starts, Keynesian Economics, real estate, Ron Paul, S. 604, stimulus package, United States, vacant properties
Sorry Folks, War is Actually Not Good For the Economy
War is horrible… but it’s good for the economy. I cannot, for the life of me, think of a more dangerous myth than that. This facade has become so prevalent in the national conscience that it’s simply taken for granted… Seriously though, why would anyone actually believe this without at least a little skepticism? Wars are enormously destructive and shift resources from human needs, to human destruction.
under: Deficits, Dollar, Energy, Federal Reserve, Live and Learn, Treasury, Trust, Uncategorized
Tags: Afghanistan War, Candide, deflation, Department of Veteran Affairs, Economic Stimulus, Franklin Roosevelt, GDP, Great Depression, Iraq War, Keynesian Economics, military-Keynesianism, New Deal, Robert Higgs, unemployment, Voltaire, War, World War II
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