Dean Baker's Blog, page 486

NYT Puts an Anti-Obamacare Piece in the News Section

It's always good to get the perspective of the people on the ground when reporting on a policy. However, when they say things that are clearly not true, reporters should provide readers with the correct information. The NYT fell down on the job in a piece that presented the views of a number of people in Massachusetts who were unhappy with the mandate and employer penalties in its health care law, which is the model for Obamacare.

The piece begins by telling us about Wayde Lodor, a 53...

Retail Stores Fail in Germany for the Same Reason They Fail in the United States (see addendum)

The NYT had a story about an uptick in confidence among German retailers, suggesting that German consumers will increase their spending. The piece noted that Germans save more than people in the U.S. then told readers:

"Germany's economy has traditionally been driven by exports of cars and machinery, while domestic demand has been comparatively weak. In fact, the country has been something of a graveyard for retailers. Wal-Mart gave up trying to crack the German market in 2006. Karstadt, the ...

Retail Stores Fail in Germany for the Same Reason They Fail in the United States

The NYT had a story about an uptick in confidence among German retailers, suggesting that German consumers will increase their spending. The piece noted that Germans save more than people in the U.S. then told readers:

"Germany's economy has traditionally been driven by exports of cars and machinery, while domestic demand has been comparatively weak. In fact, the country has been something of a graveyard for retailers. Wal-Mart gave up trying to crack the German market in 2006. Karstadt, the ...

State Run Pensions: Just Because Something is New to the NYT, Doesn't Mean It Is New

The people who have been working for more than a decade to have states use their public employee pension systems to provide pensions to workers in the private sector will undoubtedly be happy to see the NYT's piece on the topic this morning. However they will be surprised to have the idea referred to as "new."

At the top of this list would be the Economic Opportunity Institute in Seattle, Washington, which has been promoting "Washington Voluntary Accounts" since 2000. They even got...

Krugman Nails It! Problem Is Crony Capitalism, Not Free Market Fundamentalism

Get out a second Nobel for Paul Krugman. His column today is exactly on the mark in its framing of the right-wing legislative agenda of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This is not a group that is committed to the free market.

In area after area, private prisons, private charter schools, private roads, ALEC is about allowing their members to feed off the public trough with sweetheart contracts. Calling these people "free market fundamentalists" is doing them a great favor...

The Latvian Model

The NYT reported on a conference of European leaders where Latvia's approach to economic policy was held up as a major success story. The article told readers:

"The small country of Latvia, with a population of two million, was cited as a good, and rare, example for its relatively quick recovery from a 2009 bailout."

It would have been useful to note that Latvia's unemployment rate is still well into the double digits. It also would have been worth pointing out that close to 10 percent of...

Steve Rattner Misleads on Inequality in the NYT

Steve Rattner seems to have found a new career in getting things wrong in the NYT. He was last seen ranting against those who say that "debt doesn't matter." Today the topic is inequality.

While Rattner is right to call attention to the growth of inequality, he is way off on the facts. Starting with a small one, he tells readers that:

"Pay for college graduates has risen by 15.7 percent over the past 32 years (after adjustment for inflation) while the income of a worker without a high school ...

Robert Samuelson Discovers the Secret of Obamacare: President Obama's Big Ego

Wow, nothing gets by Robert Samuelson. He tells us today that he has uncovered the secret as to why President Obama insisted on pushing for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It all boils down to his big ego.

At the end of a piece titled "Obama's Ego Trip," Samuelson cites a section of book by Noam Scheiber on the Obama presidency:

"Obama's advisers tell him he can be known for preventing a second Great Depression. 'That's not enough for me,' Obama replies."

There it is: President Obama's big...

Robert Samuelson Discover the Secret of Obamacare: President Obama's Big Ego

Wow, nothing gets by Robert Samuelson. He tells us today that he has uncovered the secret as to why President Obama insisted on pushing for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It all boils down to his big ego.

At the end of a piece titled "Obama's Ego Trip," Samuelson cites a section of book by Noam Scheiber on the Obama presidency:

"Obama's advisers tell him he can be known for preventing a second Great Depression. 'That's not enough for me,' Obama replies."

There it is: President Obama's big...

A Poor Defense of Ed DeMarco

Gretchen Morgenson has done a lot of outstanding reporting on the financial industry over the last decade, however today's of Ed DeMarco, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Authority falls wide of the mark. DeMarco has drawn considerable heat as of late because of his refusal to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to do principle reductions to make it easier for underwater homeowners to stay in her home.

Morgenson defends this refusal by saying that DeMarco's refusal is actually...