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The Economist

The Economist Speaks!

http://www.economist.com/node/21542174 Is fiscal stimulus not working? Then do more of it, say the neo-chartalists. Are monopolies and price controls a problem? Then get rid of the central bank’s monopoly in setting the price of credit and the supply of government money, say the Austrians The Economist, beloved and respected throughout the profession, ridiculed by outsiders…
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Crystal Ball

Do Economists Have a Crystal Ball?

It’s not uncommon to see a host of economists offer their predictions concerning economic conditions for the new year. This recent MSNBC article is a case in point. Unfortunately for those who rely on these forecasts, it turns out that they are less reliable than the weatherman. These faulty forecasts are a result of a…
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What is Elizabeth Warren Talking About?

“There is nobody in this country who got rich on their own. Nobody. You built a factory out there – good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were…
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Minimum Wage 2

Minimum Wage: $100/hr!

San Francisco is not the only area on the precipice of a minimum wage increase. This NYT article states that 8 states will see an increase in minimum wage on the new year. While most economists do, indeed, agree that the inevitable result of minimum wage is increased unemployment, the article, nonetheless, trots out several…
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Minimum Wage

Think Progress? Think Again.

The fallacy of the minimum wage has reared it’s ugly head yet again! Progressive political blog Think Progress announced on Wednesday that San Francisco will be the first US city to have a minimum wage above $10. Citing the Economic Policy Institute, they wrote: There are eight states that have legislated annual, inflation-linked increases in…
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St. Louis Monetary Base

Kontra Krugman

To piggyback on nfreiling’s post, Krugman’s article makes several oversights which only muddy his analysis. First, he relies on the mainstream definition of inflation—a rise in prices. However, a more accurate definition for inflation would be “an increase in the supply of money”—something that has happened at a historically unprecedented rate if the following chart…
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Inflation

Krugman Cherry-Picks Data to Avoid Inflation Warnings

Leave it to Paul Krugman to try and invalidate Austrian economic theory with a measly 3-year inflation figure: “Austrians…were sure about what would happen as a result: There would be devastating inflation. One popular Austrian commentator who advised (Ron) Paul, Peter Schiff, even warned…of the possibility of Zimbabwe-style hyperinflation in the near future. “So here…
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Saving economics one post at a time

Economics is the most misunderstood of the sciences. Perhaps because of the immense power the economist wields in the modern era of big government, the principles of economics have been abused and manipulated. To accurately portray economic truth to the public is self-defeating for those with political power, as they almost always work against the…
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