Dean Baker's Blog, page 196

The Washington Post's Bernie Sanders Bashing

The Washington Post really, really doesn't like Bernie Sanders and they miss no opportunity to display this dislike. For this reason, it is not surprising that they had a field day highlighting a report from the Tax Policy Center showing that his program would increase the debt by $18 trillion over the course of a decade. As the folks at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) noted, this study was good for four different pieces over a seven hour period.

The main story in the Tax Policy Cen...

Mind Readers and Bad Math at the Washington Post on Trump and Ryan

It would be nice if the Washington Post tried to hire more reporters and fewer mind readers. In a piece explaining that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump opposes the privatization of Medicare and Social Security championed by House Speaker Paul Ryan, the Post told readers:

"First, Medicare: Many Republicans think the expensive federal system that guarantees unlimited health-care coverage to those 65 and older threatens to bankrupt the nation without spending cuts or si...

The Wall Street Journal Is Worried that Our Children May Pay Lower Rent

That would seem to be the implication of an article warning about the economic consequences of lower birth rates. The piece notes the falloff in birth rates following the recession and points out that it has not recovered. It presents the prospect of fewer young people as a serious economic problem.

It, of course, is a serious problem if people feel that they are too financially insecure to have children; however, it is difficult to see any obvious economic problems resulting from that decisi...

Ruth Marcus Neglected to Mention that Paul Ryan Wants to Shut Down Most of the Federal Government

Ruth Marcus used her column today to present the speech that House Speaker Paul Ryan should give to the Republican convention in order to disassociate himself from Donald Trump. She has Paul Ryan being somewhat less than honest.

Most notably, she wants Ryan to say:

"I have spent my life believing in, and fighting for, the ideals of the Republican Party: limited government, fiscal responsibility, free trade and free markets, the United States’ role as the world’s most important force for peac...

The 1917 Warnings About Illinois' Pension Fund Were Mistaken

The New York Times had a piece on Puerto Rico's financial problems which argued that they are a harbinger for the problems facing many state and local governments. In the process it managed to mix many different stories in a way that does not make much sense.

For example, it reported on the problems of deteriorating infrastructure in many cities and states, specifically citing the case of the troubled Metro transit system in Washington, DC. Infrastructure has historically been an area in whic...

Donald Trump Is Ahead of NPR on the Government Debt

All Things Considered got things badly wrong in talking about the government debt last night. As most folks know, Donald Trump seemed to imply that he would threaten to default on the debt in order to force creditors to take write-downs on their bonds. He then clarified what he meant, saying that if interest rates rise, he would look to buy back government bonds at a discount.

For some reason, this left NPR befuddled:

"It's not clear how that would work, though, since the cash-strapped gover...

Robert Samuelson, Who Wants to Cut Social Security, Complains People Are Saving Too Much

It really is amazing what you can find in the Washington Post's opinion pages. The latest is Robert Samuelson complaining that the problem with the weak recovery is that people are saving too much. This is amazing for two reasons: first, it is not true, and second if people saved less they would have even less money to support themselves in retirement.
Starting with the first point, the saving rate is actually quite low by historical standards. It is just over 5.0 percent. The only periods in...

ABC News Says That Spending 0.03 Percent of GDP on Fixing Lead Pipes Is "Colossal" Cost

I guess we can get a pretty good sense of the priorities of the folks at ABC News from the headline of a piece on the costs of replacing the country's lead water pipes. The headline noted the price for Flint and then warned of  the"colossal price tag for US-wide remedy."

The piece gives two estimates of the cost. One puts the costs at between a few billion dollars and fifty billion dollars. The other puts it at $30 billion. If we take the latter figure and assume that the pipes will be r...

Yes, the Economy Is Rigged, Contrary to What Some Economists Try to Tell You

I see Greg Mankiw used his NYT column to tell folks that politicians are spinning tales when they say the economy is rigged. I would say that economists spin tales when they tell you it is not. (Mankiw and I just ran through this argument on a panel in Boston last week.) Let's quickly run through the main points.

First, the overall level of employment is a political decision. We would have many more people employed today if the deficit hawks had not seized control of fiscal policy back in 201...

Interest on the Debt Is Near a Post-War Low

As the media erupt in fury over Donald Trump's comments on the debt, it is worth taking the opportunity to remind people that the interest burden on the national debt is near a post-World War II low. While the debt-to-GDP ratio rose sharply in the Great Recession, because interest rates are extremely low, we face an unusually low interest burden. 

This fact has largely been missing from reporting on the issue. For example a Washington Post piece warning of the end of the world if Trump t...