9/8/23 The Department of Human Services is charged with determining what constitutes poverty, which it does for three geographic regions: the 48 contiguous states, Alaska, and Hawaii, respectively. The posted poverty guidelines, as they are called, are used to determine eligibility for federal assistance; and cutoffs differ, depending on this…

8/26/23 I find myself thinking about taxes — a lot. I can’t help myself. As an economist, I recognize taxes to be a critical instrument of public policy. Not only do taxes fund governmental expenditures, but changes in tax collections affect behaviors and economic outcomes. Lowering taxes is widely recognized…

8/20/23 What’s wrong with the leadership of the Democratic party? I’m not talking about Biden; I’m talking about those in leadership positions in the House and Senate: Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) in the House and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Majority Whip Dick Durbin…

8/17/23 Remember when it was only other countries where political operatives were criminally prosecuted as an act of political revenge? These days, the majority of Republicans think that’s exactly what’s going on with the various prosecutions of Donald Trump; and I’d venture to say that many Democrats feel similarly about…

8/12/23 The litany of climate disasters continues, with the wildfire in Maui being the latest of many. Before this one, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration counted 15 other weather-related disasters just during the current year. …

8/2/23 I’d like to think that people of goodwill could listen to each other and find ways to accommodate to the points of view and perspectives of the other side. If only. That optimism seems quaintly naïve on some hot button issues. The abortion issue is one. It’s hard to…

7/19/23 While housing is an important sector in the macro economy, we don’t have a single, national housing market. Rather, we have myriad markets spread across the country. A common denominator for many such localities, however, is the shortage of affordable housing units. …

7/13/23 Companies can raise money either by issuing debt in the form of bonds or loans or by issuing stock. With stock, the buyer owns some portion of the company, meaning that he or she is entitled to a proportional amount of any income that management decides to distribute; and…

7/6/23 Paul Krugman recently wrote an Op-ed in the NY Times, “Biden Versus the Bad News Bros,” in which he confronted skepticism by those who would discount the positive information about our economy coming from data collected and published by federal agencies. …