Most people think that the president has a lot of power over the economy, but that isn’t true. Presidents have very little direct power over the economy by law. The Fed is the only part of government that has the…
Blog Archives
The minimum wage is nearly dead
The federal government has just set the record for the longest period of time without an increase in the minimum wage to keep up with inflation. The minimum wage has now been ignored for over a decade and Kevin Drum…
Is reading the most efficient way to consume information?
The average reader is a speed reader. Medium.com says they assume their average readers read at 275 words per minute (wpm) (or sometimes they claim 260 wpm). I averaged their estimated reading speed for nine essays and they really estimated…
Posted in Culture, Personal (not econ)
What immigration crisis?
The Pew Research Center reports data that unauthorized immigrants in the US are at the lowest level in a decade of gradual declines. Meanwhile, more and more Americans are favoring more legal immigration, so Americans aren’t suddenly becoming more nativist. …
Posted in Globalization & International, Labor
If you pay them, they will come.
Most immigrants to the United States come because of higher wages. If you look at any two countries in the world, the net migration almost always flows from low-wage nations to high wage nations because the biggest draw for migrants…
Posted in Globalization & International, Labor
Capital in the 21st century
Thomas Piketty’s blockbuster bestselling economics 816-page brick is about capital which he defines broadly as all sorts of wealth. Wealth is anything that earns money for its owner and it is extremely unequally distributed. The richest 1% own almost half…
Posted in Inequality
International comparison of the income tax rate on the wealthy
Thomas Piketty posted the top income tax rate in five of the richest big countries over the past 115 years. Most Americans don’t realize that the top tax rate in the US is considerably lower now than it was for…
Posted in Public Finance
Medianism 