In the 1960's, a period of rapid economic growth, falling unemployment, and accelerating inflation, liberals and progressive set out to make improvements in the social safety net, installing some lasting and well known programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Various other things were achieved in that period, including acts which advanced the causes of environmental … Continue reading The Minskyite Employer of Last Resort
Kitchin cycle. Juglar cycle. Kondratiev wave. Boom-bust. A whole bunch of malarkey. I don’t think recessions are nowadays really the result of ‘cycles,’ which is a term that sort of implies they are part of some natural order of things, like moon phases or the seasons. I think recessions are like ice ages. They are … Continue reading The Evolution of the Business Cycle
In early January 2003, a interesting bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee: H.R.269 Simplified USA Tax Act of 2003. This bill, sponsored by then-Representative of Pennsylvania Phil English, would, among other things, replace the federal income, estate, and gift taxes with a "progressive consumption tax." In the other words, a tax … Continue reading Discussing the Progressive Consumption Tax
In the year of the apocalypse 2020, a year fraught with pandemic, war, and economic recession, governments of the world have stepped up their game with respect to 'printing money.' In the month of March, the M2 money stock grew by $1.1 trillion, more than it grew throughout the entirety of 2019. This phenomenon can … Continue reading Inflation and Debt Monetization
