Dean Baker's Blog, page 112

Trump Could Cut Off 0.05 Percent of Federal Spending in Aid to Pakistan

That probably would be have been helpful information to readers of a Washington Post article that told readers:

"Up to $2 billion in U.S. aid could be affected by President Donald Trump’s suspension of security assistance to Pakistan, which is accused of failing to crack down on Taliban militants targeting U.S. personnel in neighboring Afghanistan, a senior U.S. administration official said Friday."

Almost none of the Post's readers would have any idea of how much $2 billion means to the Un...

Without Rent, Inflation is Way Below Fed's 2.0 Percent Target

The NYT had a piece discussing the views of members of the Federal Reserve Board's Open Market Committee (FOMC), which sets monetary policy, on the course of interest rates over the next year. The piece notes that inflation has consistently been below both the Fed's 2.0 percent target and the FOMC members projections, as they have consistently over-predicted the impact of tighter labor markets on the inflation rate.

It is worth noting that even the modest inflation we are seeing is largely du...

We Upset Workers in the Auto Industry, Why Does the NYT Think We Should Be Worried About Upsetting People in the Health Care Industry?

Austin Frakt and Aaron Carroll had an interesting Upshot piece in the NYT on why the U.S. spends twice as much per person as other wealthy countries for its health care. The piece cites research pointing out that people in the United States do not use more health care services than people in other countries. The reason that we pay more for health care is that actors in the industry, such as doctors, drug companies, insurers, and medical equipment manufacturers, get more money than their count...

The Trump Investment Boom: Is It Really His Fault Oil Prices Jumped by 40 Percent

The NYT had an article touting the fact that businesses are investing more under Donald Trump than before he was elected. It notes that non-residential investment has risen at an annual rate of 6.2 percent in the first three quarters of 2017. It attributes this increase to a removal of regulations leading to a new found sense of confidence among investors.

There are two important points worth noting about this increase in investment. First it is not an especially rapid rate of growth. There h...

OMG The Old Are Eating the Young!

That one isn't mine, it actually is the title of a Bloomberg column. (The "OMG" is mine.) This one may be a bit over the top, it complains both that we have too many people on the planet and that we have rising ratios of old to young, but it shows that all is fair when it comes to attacks on Social Security and Medicare.

Now that the Republicans have just shifted another big chunk of national income to the one percent, it is only natural that the media would focus on the need to cut Social Se...

Career Change: Stepping Down as Co-Director

As of today I am no longer co-director at CEPR. Eileen Appelbaum, who has been a senior economist at CEPR for the last decade, will be replacing me as co-director. Prior to that, she was Distinguished Professor and the director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University in New Jersey, the research director at the Economic Policy Institute, and a professor of Economics at Temple University in Pennsylvania. CEPR will be in good hands.

I am stepping down after 18 years largely because...

Dan Balz Pushes Rich People's Propaganda on "Free Trade"

Okay, I know it was not deliberate, but how about in 2018 we get news reporters and columnists to think seriously about the concepts they are using? After all, at least the ones at elite outlets like the Washington Post are pretty well paid and have prestigious positions.

When Dan Balz discusses the Democrats political prospects for 2018 and asks about their economic policy, what does he mean when he asks:

"What is their response to concerns among many workers about the impact of globalizatio...

Dumb and Dumber: Donald Trump on Amazon and the Postal Service

I have not generally been in the business of defending Amazon, but I thought I would throw in a word or two of clarification around Donald Trump's claim that the U.S. Postal Service is "dumber and poorer" because of its deal with Amazon. Trump's claim is based on a Citigroup study that found that Postal Service loses an average of $1.46 on each package it ships for Amazon. The Postal Service claims that it profits from its arrangement with Amazon and that it would lose business if it raises i...

Washington Post Presents More Evidence of Skills Gap Troubling Employers

The Washington Post ran an article telling readers that employers are finding it difficult to attract qualified workers. As the piece says:

"Firms that save money from the tax cuts may simply be unable to find more workers to hire at the price they are willing to pay."

This is really the core of the problem. There is apparently a huge skills gap among employers at firms across the country. They don't seem to understand basic market principles. If they want to hire more workers then they have...

This Year's Contribution to the United Nations Is Equal to 0.08 Percent of Federal Spending

The New York Times had an article on President Trump's plans to cut the U.S. contribution to the United Nations. The article told readers:

"Under a formula tied to economic size and other measurements established under an article of the United Nations Charter, the United States is responsible for 22 percent of the United Nations operating budget, the largest contribution. It paid about $1.2 billion of the 2016-2017 budget of $5.4 billion.

"The United States also is the largest single financial...