Dean Baker's Blog, page 286

Great Mystery at the Post, Why are People Without Jobs Unhappy About the Economy?

Yes folks, they pay people to ask such questions. Steven Mufson uses a wonkblog piece to speculate on why it is that even though we have been in a recovery for more than five years people are still not happy about the economy. He tells us that President Obama has the same problem as President Bush (I), who got trashed on the economy even though revised data show it had been growing rapidly at the start of 1992.

While Mufson seeks out expert analysis to try to resolve this paradox, he might tr...

The Washington Post Continues Its War on Public Sector Workers

Apparently the Washington Post editorial board is partying over the fact that bankruptcy judges are imposing cuts in the pensions of retired public sector employees in Detroit, Michigan and Vallejo, California. An editorial in today's paper noted these cuts and told readers:

"Yet in many jurisdictions the balance has tipped too far in favor of ­public-employee benefits, largely because neither public-sector unions nor the politicians whose campaigns the unions support have any incentive to bu...

Wage-Price Inflation and the Way Things Work In Economics

There's an old saying in economics that it doesn't matter if what you say is right, what matters is if the right person says it. I was reminded of this line when I read Matt O'Brien's wonkblog post on the success of the Fed in allowing the unemployment rate to fall below the nearly universally accepted measure of the NAIRU, without having any notable acceleration of inflation. 

This is a great history that should be tattooed on the forehead of everyone involved in the current debate on h...

If a Higher Dollar Costs More Jobs Than Measures to Stop Climate Change (i.e. "The War on Coal"), Why Isn't That a Problem?

Neil Irwin has a piece today on the causes and consequences of the recent run-up in the dollar. He argues that the rise is largely due to the fact that the U.S. economy seems to be doing better in recent months than most other major economies, especially the euro zone and Japan. In those cases, the central banks are looking to ease up further in the foreseeable future, while the Fed is debating when to tighten.

This is certainly a plausible explanation for most of the rise (doesn't work well...

Which Way Is Up Problems on the Dollar at the WSJ

The Wall Street Journal ran a short piece headlined, "Dudley [N.Y. Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley] elevates the strong dollar in the Fed's policy outlook." The point is supposed to be that the rise of the dollar in recent weeks will both put downward pressure on inflation and increase the U.S. trade deficit, as U.S. goods become less competitive. Unfortunately, the piece couldn't quite keep the story straight. The second paragraph told readers:

"First, Mr. Dudley has elevated t...

It's Hard to Find People With the Necessary Skills for Retail and Restaurant Work

That's the story that we may hear based on new data on job openings and hires. The data showed a rise in the number of job openings in August, coupled with a fall in the number of hires.

This might seem to fit the skills mismatch story that many folks are pushing. The idea is that the jobs are out there, but unemployed workers just don't have the necessary skills to fill them. If that's the case, then we apparently need more people with the skills to work as retail clerks and table servers.

T...

Lesson for the NYT: Companies Are Not Always Honest

At some point when we are growing up most of us discover that people don't always tell the truth. Apparently, some folks at the NYT have not learned this lesson.

In an article reporting on Walmart's decision to stop providing health insurance for 30,000 part-time workers, the NYT told readers:

"In scaling back coverage for part-time employees, Walmart joins retailers including Home Depot, Target and Trader Joe’s, which have dropped benefits in response to the Affordable Care Act, the health c...

It Is News That the AIG Bailout Was a Way to Give Money to Goldman Sachs

Andrew Ross Sorkin tells us that the fact the AIG bailout was about helping Goldman Sachs and other big banks is not news because we knew it all along. This is one that gets the blood flowing early in the morning.

This brings to mind the old line, what's this "we" jazz, white man? Yes, it was knowable that the AIG bailout was about saving the banks and many of us argued that at the time. But this money was not generally included on the list of handouts to Goldman Sachs and its CEO Lloyd Blank...

NYT's Bizarre Discussion of Consumption and Jobs

The Bureau of Labor Statistics came out with new projections of consumption driven employment. This seems to have created serious confusion at the NYT. Contrary to what the article seems to imply, this study is not making projections of macroeconomic growth. It is assuming a growth rate (2.6 percent annual average over the next decade) and then indicating how it will be divided. By contrast, the article seems to be asking whether the growth assumption is plausible.

Even for this latter purpos...

NYT Gives Up Distinction Between Editorializing and Reporting in Covering Pro-Business French Minister

Back in the good old days newspapers used to try to keep their opinions on the editorial page and try to stick to the facts on the news page. (I know, that's never neutral.) But the NYT didn't look like it was trying in its profile of Emmanuel Macron, the newly appointed minister of the economy in France.

As the piece tells us, Mr. Macron is pro-business. That seems to be agreed upon by all. However it also tells us that he "is bent on modernizing the country’s social model." It's clear that...