We realize that ALL wisdom does not come from Zacks. Everyday I spend a significant amount of time reading and evaluating what smart people have to say about what is going on in the economy. Some of that finds its way into the posts I write, at least indirectly.
Often, however, it is better to get it straight from the horse’s mouth. I realize that most people do not have the luxury of reading Economics Blogs all day long, so think of this as a pre-screening service. I plan to start putting up a “links” post on a regular basis. This should make it a convenient place to find the “good stuff”. I will not agree completely with everything in each post I link to, but I will find them interesting and thought provoking, and I hope you do as well.
Joseph Stiglitz, a Professor at Columbia and a Nobel Laureate in Economics, argues that we are not as good at managing risk as we think we are. That is particularly true when we distort incentives so the gains from taking risk are kept private, but the costs of a losing bet are socialized. The result is often disastrous.
Bill McBride of Calculated Risk Blog weighs in on the looming government shutdown and the Ryan Budget. Both, if they were to come about, would do significant damage to the economy. I would note that he is much kinder in his assessment of the Ryan plan than I would be.
Read Budgets and Political Grandstanding
Stan Collender, a former GOP staffer on both the House and Senate Budget Committees and a regular columnist for Roll Call on Budget matters, comments on the tough job Speaker John Boehner has if we are to avoid that government shutdown.
Read Does John Boehner Have Any Friends These Days?
The Economist magazine reviews the CBO’s scoring of the Ryan proposal, particularly focusing on the part of the plan that privatizes Medicare and changes Medicaid to a block grant program.
Tim Duy, a Professor at the University or Oregon, gives a good overview of the recent economic data and argues that the Fed is unlikely to tighten soon, but that it will eventually. I agree and think we will see an increase in the Fed Funds rate early in 2012.
Read The Good, The Bad, and the Fed
Simon Johnson, a Professor at MIT and former Chief Economist for the IMF, argues that the “resolution authority” in the Dodd Frank Financial Reform bill is not workable, and that when (not if, when) the next financial crisis comes, we will have no choice but to once again bail out the big banks or see the entire world economy collapse.
