links for 2010-07-29

• http://epi.3cdn.net/d144a03f5b38f7a137_aqm6b9p0y.pdf
  A rebuttal to the deficit folks who think US should lower its debt. An interesting read. PDF format
  (tags: economy this time its different growth gdp deficit hawk debt GNP market bond treasury yeild interest rate government usa)
• John Stewart Mill vs. the European Central Bank – Project Syndicate
  markets’ trust in the quality of government liabilities of the global North’s core economies most certainly is not on the brink of collapse. I see production 10% below capacity, and I see unemployment rates approaching 10%. More importantly for near-term economic policy, I see a world in which investors have enormous confidence in core economies’ government debt – for many, the only safe port in this storm.
• TIM GEITHNER DOESN’T GET IT | PRAGMATIC CAPITALISM
  Our treasury secretary just doesn't get it
  (tags: economy geithner politics market usa currency economics us recession tax cut hike flawed model)
• 22 Statistics That Prove That The Middle Class Is Being Systematically Wiped Out Of Existence In America
  Absolutely mind boggling statistics
  (tags: economy economics middle-class america usa politics wealth retirement depression feudilism)
• The Problem with Profits « The Baseline Scenario
  "if you see a company that has very high profits over a sustained period, there are two possibilities: either it is benefiting from a non-competitive market (e.g., it is a monopoly), or it is simply exceptional at innovating and staying ahead of the competition for years on end. If you see a whole industry that has sustained high profits, however, the latter explanation cannot hold, and you should immediately suspect a lack of competition."
  (tags: hcr health care reform profit insurance industry monopoly healthcare politics usa business economics sickcare)
• Rough justice in America: Too many laws, too many prisoners | The Economist
  A great read on America's prison/legal system.
  (tags: prison lockup california violent crime criminal overcrowded business economics law liberty usa politics america drugs)

links for 2010-07-28

• Economics: No, America lacks the necessary commitment to stimulus | The Economist
  I absolutely agree with this assessment about the current state of affairs in the U.S. economy
  (tags: economy japan usa recession depression deleverage asset homes private public spending stimlus balance sheet economics)

links for 2010-07-27

• Newsvine – Fix America? Fix the politicians
  Interesting article by Dylan Ratigan on fixing the political process
  (tags: .politics process democrat republican republicrat independent voters fairness doctrine)

links for 2010-07-26

• Mike Whitney: Shadow Banking Makes a Comeback
  the real economy is being strangled while unregulated shadow banks are re-leveraging their portfolios and skimming profits
  (tags: economy politics fed shadow banking banks leverage credit debt economics recession)

links for 2010-07-20

• "Top Secret America" _Washington Post_ Investigation Reveals Massive, Unmanageable, Outsourced US Intelligence System
  "Top Secret America includes hundreds of federal departments and agencies operating out of 1,300 facilities around this country. They contract the services of nearly 2,000 companies. In all, more people than live in our nation’s capital have top-secret security clearance."
  (tags: security war on terror 9/11 september 11 top secret america CIA FBI agencies military homeland)
• China's Billion-Dollar Aid Appetite – By Jack C. Chow | Foreign Policy
  Interesting story about China scamming money from countries that desperately need foreign aid to combat diseases & other ailments
  (tags: China Aid foreign policy Haiti USA Red cross Chinese American developing country 3rd world third)

links for 2010-07-15

• Affordable Green Energy – Project Syndicate
  Investing in R&D for green technologies would possibly accelerate the efficiency of the now low-efficient green tech we have now – thus lowering the costs.
  (tags: economy green tech solar wind geothermal power oil gas drilling global warming GDP Copenhagen)
• Foreign Policy In Focus | Stalemate at Camp Victory
  A great piece on Afghanistan. "Like the Afghan infantry soldier, villagers still do not have a lasting reason for being anything but fence-sitters in the fight"
  (tags: counterinsurgency afghan afghanistan us obama COIN)

links for 2010-07-14

• Foreign Policy In Focus | Press Room
  Was NAFTA the root cause of immigration problems that face America now?
  (tags: Arizona immigration policy mexican illegal worker boycott mexico washington obama republican democrat)
• Economist's View: Trade Deficit Widens, Again
  "One can continue to hold the fantasy that an army of well paid massage therapists or clerks at Trader Joe's can offset the impact of not just absolute declines in manufacturing employment but also absolute declines in manufacturing capacity."
  (tags: economy trade deficit surplus global re-balancing recession jobs china production)
• Should You Be Worried About Inflation? What About Deflation? – CBS MoneyWatch.com
  One way to combat deflation thus incentivizing banks to loan excess reserves is to create demand side mechanisms in investment opportunities > demand side mechanisms could include investment tax credits for alternative energy industries.
  (tags: economy green industry renewable alternative bernanke inflation deflation reserves recovery recession depression)

links for 2010-07-12

• The National Interest
  I loved the article – clearly explains the event leading up to the financial crises. Although I completely don't agree that caping the size of banks would hinder our competitiveness globally… Otherwise it's a great piece.
  (tags: economy financial crises depression recession economics goldman sachs AIG Geithner Rubin Bernanke Fed Federal reserve wall street main investment)
• Robert Holleyman – How to repair our economic ties with China
  Nearly four out of five software applications running on PCs in China have been stolen instead of paid for, the market research firm IDC has found.
  (tags: economy china trade news giethner software tech usa debt export import relationship piracy)

links for 2010-07-08

• Greg Mankiw's Blog: Are stimulus skeptics logically incoherent?
  Interesting rebuttal to Krugmans pro-stimulus stance in the NYT.
  (tags: economy krugman mankiw politics tax increase hike obama jobs investing stimulus)
• Andy Grove: How America Can Create Jobs – BusinessWeek
  Interesting article – though very controversial it is still worth the read.
  (tags: economy jobs job growth usa america manufacturing plants investment capitlaism innovation intel research business)
• The Risky Rich – Project Syndicate
  "if the US does use the inflation tax as a way to reduce the real value of its public debt, the risk of a disorderly collapse of the US dollar would rise significantly. "
  (tags: economy usa bonds market global recovery recession currency dollar inflation tax spending austerity)