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"Despite all of the noise and fury coming out of Washington, activist government and Keynesian economics are alive and well. Last November’s reëlection of President Obama demonstrated that they have passed the political test. Today’s events on Wall Street show that they have passed the market test."
—John Cassidy on what saved the Dow: http://nyr.kr/10bbumL
(Source: newyorker.com)
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In today’s Daily Comment, Adam Gopnik writes about the sequester’s free market utopians: “… to impoverish us in the blind pursuit of an abstract philosophical point about the absolute virtues of the private seems a little crazy. Even a philosopher might find that an awfully steep price to pay.” Continue reading: http://nyr.kr/YH8v0K
(Source: newyorker.com)
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The Borowitz Report: Boehner Defends Decision to Remain on Ass→
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Minutes after telling the United States Senate to “get off their ass” to avoid the deep spending cuts that will take effect this Friday, House Speaker John Boehner called an impromptu press conference to announce his intention of remaining on his ass “for the foreseeable future.” Continue reading: http://nyr.kr/WpEvVc
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Bernanke’s Welcome Lecture on Austerity Economics
Not only did he put pressure on G.O.P. leaders to compromise in the dispute over the sequester; he also called on European countries to ease up on their austerity policies, saying that they could adopt a “more judicious balance” of short-term and long-term fiscal consolidation.
John Cassidy on Ben Bernanke’s lecture to Congress that spotlighted the harsh truths about austerity economics: http://nyr.kr/X944xQ
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"Events like the Oscars and the Super Bowl generate what game theorists call ‘common knowledge, which itself has value… If you thought nobody else was watching, would you really give up your Sunday night for such an event? Perhaps you would, but I would guess you are in the minority. The awareness that others are watching, and that you will be able to communicate with them about what happens, changes the cost-benefit calculus of the potential viewer."
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While the labor economists and econometricians are still arguing about which of their many studies can be relied upon, there are quite a few things about minimum wages, and their impact on the economy, that we know for sure. Taken together, these things amply justify raising the minimum wage, as President Obama called for in his State of the Union address…
John Cassidy makes the case for a higher minimum wage: http://nyr.kr/12m8CEi
…and here, see the charts that Cassidy references in his argument: http://nyr.kr/Xcjy0e
(Source: newyorker.com)
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A Platinum Coin as Big as the Ritz
Amy Davidson on whether minting a single platinum coin could solve the debt-ceiling crisis: http://nyr.kr/VL7fug -
"With Republicans in Congress still intent on pursuing a strategy similar to the failed one adopted by the Brits, this is a story that needs trumpeting. Austerity policies are self-defeating: they cripple growth and reduce tax revenues. The only way to bring down the U.S. government’s deficit in a sustainable manner, and put the nation’s finances on a firmer footing, is to keep the economy growing."
— John Cassidy on the U.K.’s official confirmation that austerity policies don’t work: http://nyr.kr/WMwJnY(Source: newyorker.com)
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“Downsizing Supersize” - In this week’s issue, James Surowiecki writes about why Bloomberg’s soda ban might work: http://nyr.kr/OEkkjb
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Cartoon of the night. Don’t forget to enter this week’s caption contest: http://nyr.kr/r46had
(Source: newyorker.com)
