It's the Aggregate Demand, Stupid - NYTimes.com

It's the Aggregate Demand, Stupid - NYTimes.com

Don't be fooled by the title- Bartlett suggests increasing money supply even further until the economy turns around. Interesting argument in that it uses measures of the velocity of money to arrive at its conclusion. Bartlett also agrees with Kenneth Rogoff at Harvard that a little inflation would be a good thing right now.

'Made in China,' but Still Profiting Americans - NYTimes.com

'Made in China,' but Still Profiting Americans - NYTimes.com

Great article about one of the many benefits of free trade.

A 'AAA' Q. and A. - NYTimes.com

A 'AAA' Q. and A. - NYTimes.com

This is a really good, critical look at the S&P's recent downgrade of US debt.

Five Things You Should Know About the S&P Downgrade « Donald Marron

Five Things You Should Know About the S&P Downgrade « Donald Marron

Really good reading material. Most interesting are 1, 3, and 5, for different reasons.

#1, although not strictly speaking on economics, is thought-provoking. Good governance is not always about just getting one's own way through brinkmanship.

#3 reminds us that this is not the end of the world, nor is it even necessarily a sign of the US's much talked about "inevitable decline."

Finally #5 should serve as a warning to not let the recent shenanigans in Washington distract from the tough economic realities we have been facing for a few years now and will continue to face however we go forward. The temptations is to listen to the media and throw up one's hands as if the current wrangling were the source or even cause of this downgrade by S&P. The truth is that the rating (and those of the Chinese agencies) reflects our economy's inability to climb out of its trough, due to long-term structural problems. True, solutions to some of those problems ought to come from Congress and the White House, but others have built up over the last 30 years. It would be unfortunate if voters, frustrated by our current political realities, responded by electing even more intractable or less experienced politicians.

One Cause of the Uneven Recovery: The Home Buyer Credit - Daniel Indiviglio - Business - The Atlantic

One Cause of the Uneven Recovery: The Home Buyer Credit - Daniel Indiviglio - Business - The Atlantic

Key line:

"Imagine if the housing market was showing real signs of stabilization and if prices, which had declined since the bubble burst, were steady or modestly appreciating. You would instead have heard a narrative of a slightly tougher road to recovery, but one that actually persists. Instead, we have a uneven, tentative rebound that makes Americans even warier about the future."

Question: Instead of providing a market-distorting subsidy, what alternative action could the Obama administration have taken-- one that would have worked with the market instead of against it?