Mark Perry, Carpe Diem

Hmmm, kind of sad really... Its a lot like closing the stable door AFTER the horse has left...

Folks There's a depression on... go get it at the library. Besides the Mastercard is probably already maxed out. The library is free!

Curious for similar stats on competing bell-weather tomes, such as Zinn's "People's History of the US" and Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent", vs. Friedman's... More

Greg Mankiw, Random Observations Blog

HOW WILL IT ALL END? Over the last century, the largest increase in the size of the government occurred during the Great Depression and World War II. Even after these crises were over, they left a legacy of higher spending and taxes. To this day, we have yet to come to grips with how to pay for all that the government created during that era — a problem that... More

As the economy slows and unemployment rises, sharp differences are emerging among workers with various educational backgrounds. Unskilled workers, those defined as without a high school education, have the highest levels of unemployment and the largest growth in joblessness over the last year, while those with a college education have so far experienced only a modest uptick in unemployment. Source: Bureau of Labor... More

Although foreclosure rates are rising around the country, much of the growth in foreclosures nationally is being driven by failing mortgages in just a few states, including several where speculation was heaviest. In 2008, five states accounted for 70 percent of foreclosures, while the top two states, California and Florida, alone accounted for more than half of all foreclosures, according to an analysis by urban planners at the... More

Home ownership rates rose rapidly during the housing bubble, particularly among young households whose credit quality and financial stability are traditionally not as strong as older buyers. Above are home ownership rates by age, according to a new study by University of Virginia Professor William H. Lucy and researcher Jeff Herlitz.

For the second month in a row, American consumers have surpassed analysts' predictions in their spending. Retail sales in February declined a mere 0.1% from January sales, which were revised upwards from 1.0% increase to 1.8% increase. More importantly, excluding the volatile auto sector, retail sales increased 0.7%. While sales for motor vehicle and parts dealers declined 4.3% in February, rising purchases were seen at gasoline... More

Greg Mankiw, Random Observations

The Obama administration's outlook has private economists wondering: Has Rosy Scenario made a comeback?...

Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, a major private forecasting firm, called the administration's forecasts "way too optimistic" and said it could represent a return to the overly optimistic forecasts of previous administrations confronted by... More

Russell Roberts, Cafe Hayek

Greg Mankiw notes that deflation worries have subsided and points to this chart showing that inflation-adjusted Treasuries (blue line) no longer have a higher yield (anticipating deflation) than unadjusted Treasuries:

Mankiw writes:

The negative inflation compensation that showed up a few months ago (when the blue line was... More

Greg Mankiw, Random Observations

Although there may be broad disagreement among economists on certain issues, over the years a consensus has emerged on a number of key policy issues. Above are 10 propositions and the percent of economists surveyed who agree with them...

The provision for expanding government health care programs in the new Washington stimulus package has re-ignited debate about whether we are slowly nationalizing health care in America. Above are the proportions of all health care expenditures paid by government vs. the private sector today and in the near future, as estimated by analysts at the Heritage Foundation.