tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16856958463144967762026-07-24T02:02:38.527-04:00UndismalizationToward a Rational, Constructive, Non-Ideological Dialogue on Economics and Public PolicyBill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-39611091373762888222011-11-30T19:25:00.001-05:002011-11-30T19:35:16.283-05:00Robert Reich on the Disequilibrium of Employee Wages vs. Corporate Profits in Share of the Economy Image via WikipediaOn American Public Media's Marketplace today, Robert Reich cited a statistic that may be the most stunning I have heard since the financial crisis of 2008: currently, the share of the economy represented by employee wages is the smallest it has ever been since measurements were first takenBill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-91939986492892358222011-03-30T19:10:00.009-04:002011-03-30T19:44:15.051-04:00Is it Time to Reinvent Human Resources?Did you catch this article in the last issue of Reader's Digest, about the supposed dirty little secrets of the HR profession?If not, you should read it. As you'll see, the article created a firestorm of comment postings on the Reader's Digest online edition. And in my mind, it brought back to the surface the very mixed feelings I have had over the years toward the human resources function in Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-6059932396699109772011-03-21T06:53:00.004-04:002011-03-21T06:59:34.066-04:00Immigration Think Tank Comments on Rising Entrepreneurship Rate Among ImmigrantsThe Partnership for a New American Economy, an organization focused on U.S. immigration policies and issues, has released a statement on new Kauffman Study findings that the representation of immigrants among new entrepreneurs has more than doubled since 1996. “For generations, immigrants have founded businesses that are both the cornerstones of our national economy and the Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-5671378787758802582011-03-21T06:32:00.004-04:002011-03-21T06:39:38.616-04:00Congressional Commission Releases Report on Economic Security Implications of China's Increasing InfluenceThe U.S.-China Economic Security Review Commission, created by Congress to report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, has released a new report on the implications of China's growing influence on such international organizations as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-84268636834889599242011-03-21T05:36:00.007-04:002011-03-21T06:28:29.895-04:00Illinois Congressman's Bill Would Create Tax Brackets Up to 49 Percent for the Very WealthyThe Fairness in Taxation Act, introduced March 17 by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), would create new tax brackets ranging from 45 to 49 percent on personal incomes ranging from $1 million to $1 billion and over.Schakowsky, a member of President Obama's 18-member National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, is co-sponsor of the legislation along with Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rep. Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-91016165935525788042009-11-22T17:37:00.017-05:002009-11-22T18:04:32.458-05:00Ventry of UC Davis on NPR: Tax Deductions on Mortgage Interest, Property Taxes "Bad for the Economy"Economist Dennis Ventry of the University of California at Davis said on NPR's All Things Considered today that tax deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes are bad for the economy.Why? Because homebuyers simply price the expected deduction into their calculation of how much they can afford to pay for a house. This, in turn, artificially inflates the price of homes. Mortgage lenders Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-89396274343637847812009-09-06T19:28:00.010-04:002009-09-06T19:44:34.546-04:00“Naked Lunch” Economics: Our Everyday Micro-Vignettes of Money, Morality, and EvilI once knew an entrepreneur who insisted that, in a free enterprise system, a for-profit entity should have no heart. In this person’s view, every business issue should be described, evaluated, and decided upon solely in black-and-white, financial, profit-or-loss terms.I am 100 percent convinced that this person sincerely believed that, because it showed. This mindset was reflected in this Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-77751151647151872332009-08-28T22:18:00.004-04:002009-08-28T22:35:28.176-04:00The Recovery of OneReferencing my comments in an earlier post about the period of mixed signals we now seem to be entering, one potential concern is that, in this age of the 24-hour news cycle, we may be over-reporting on the indicators.Just as over-monitoring a stock portfolio can pose the danger of losing out on long-term returns by overtrading based on inevitable short-term fluctuations, excessive real-time newsBill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-72843911859280823552009-08-26T16:12:00.005-04:002009-08-26T16:17:49.336-04:00The Cycle of the StormFor the past several weeks, and often within the course of a given week, the tone of news about the economy has been like a roller coaster. One week housing starts or corporate earnings are unexpectedly up. The public likes it, and so does Wall Street.Yet another week a surprising uptick in jobless claims hits. The public turns pessimistic again and the Dow takes a dip. Then Chairman Bernanke Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-19665237094328703092009-08-24T15:43:00.007-04:002009-08-24T15:51:50.854-04:00More on the Origin of “The Dismal Science”In an earlier post I promised to elaborate on my research into the origin of the nickname “The Dismal Science” for economics. For the sake of keeping that promise, and for the benefit of those who may not already know, I’ll share my finding that the term appears to originate with the 19th-century British “man of letters” Thomas Carlyle.However, as some of you also may know already, there is much Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-25757692268781203752009-08-19T18:21:00.018-04:002009-08-19T18:58:12.809-04:00On the Profoundly Ironic Illogic of Screaming “Keep Your Government Hands Off My Healthcare!”When a system has been in place throughout your entire nation since well before you were born, it’s easy to make the conclusion--unwarranted, given a lack of exploration of the evidence--that it's normal and that it makes sense. So it is, it seems, with the opinion of many Americans about our employer-based healthcare system, which is anything but normal among the major economies of the Western Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-26224321964946652152009-08-17T13:24:00.017-04:002009-08-17T13:53:30.421-04:00So Now the Public Option Seems to be Off the Table -- And That's a Crying ShamePresident Obama, in the spirit of his reputation as The Great Compromiser--which I do in fact applaud as one of his stronger political attributes that enables him, like Bill Clinton, to at least get SOME things accomplished in the face of stiff opposition from within his party and without--has now backed down entirely on the much and very unfairly maligned "Public Option" for healthcare Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-48373856400603566792009-08-10T16:00:00.019-04:002009-08-10T16:24:09.734-04:00No Revisit, This Time, On Employer-Based Health InsuranceIn the earliest stages of his administration's engagement with the healthcare reform issue, President Obama made it clear that a "Canadian-type" model won't work for us, at least not now, since we are not starting from scratch.This makes complete sense from a pragmatic perspective. If we were to try to start from scratch, the likely result would be the same 30-plus years of inaction we have Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-712864989675437162009-08-08T01:18:00.003-04:002009-08-08T01:22:35.959-04:00Identify Yourself!If you read this blog regularly, I’d like to ask a favor. To ensure that you receive the most timely possible alerts on new postings, as well as information on opportunities to receive supplementary publications or ancillary products that we may announce from time to time, I would like to enroll you as a registered subscriber. To register, please e-mail haywardwc@gmail.com with the minimum Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-5208026560441880732009-08-03T01:07:00.005-04:002009-08-03T01:17:02.916-04:00Boring and Interesting at the Same TimeRecently some loosely related fragments of thought about economics were circulating in my mind. They seemed to be trying to find a way to coalesce into some form of higher level connection.The first fragment was simple enough, on the surface. I was wondering what the origin was of “The Dismal Science” as a nickname for economics. One might think I would have looked into that before deciding to Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-71370211352906975522009-07-20T16:46:00.024-04:002009-07-21T00:23:50.562-04:00The Undismal Weekly Wrapup - July 12-18, 2009Analytical Summaries of Key Stories of the Week on Economics and Public PolicyInteresting week, with major themes focusing on cautious optimism on signs of recovery (but with a tone of expectations management on its pace) and next moves for the Fed.America Needs a National Manufacturing Policy. Now. (Huffington Post)In a guest column for the Huffington Post, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Chairman Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-88903590126428186982009-07-16T15:48:00.005-04:002009-07-16T16:07:04.495-04:00Brought to You by Big GovernmentThis Plant Has Worked 307 Days Without a Lost Time Accident.The Best Previous Record Was 286 Days.Report All Unsafe Conditions to Your Foreman. My diverse and rather circuitous professional life has taken me at times to facilities where signs are displayed that read like my subhead above. It strikes me that these signs probably wouldn’t exist without unions and their negotiating power, without Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-67642819997371159932009-07-14T16:10:00.004-04:002009-07-20T16:45:24.198-04:00The Flaws of Quasi-Darwinist Arguments for a Pure Laissez-Faire SystemAdam Smith, having published The Theory of Moral Sentiments, in which the theory of “the invisible hand” first appears, precisely a century before Darwin’s Origin of the Species, created a model involving a “selection process” in the realm of commerce that could be said, from an analogous perspective, to anticipate Darwin’s theory of natural selection in the realm of biology.Just as sexual Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-80531328795417999332009-07-13T01:37:00.010-04:002009-07-13T01:44:56.448-04:00The Undismal Weekly Wrapup -- July 5-11, 2009Analytical Summaries of Key Stories of the Week on Economics and Public PolicyA Possible Bailout for Small Business (Forbes)Brian Wingfield reports on the possibility, currently under consideration by the Obama administration, of making a portion of the original $700 billion TARP allocation available to aid small enterprises via the small business administration.Do We Need Another Stimulus? (Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-67792473495972109872009-07-07T00:14:00.013-04:002009-07-07T00:26:57.227-04:00The Undismal Weekly Wrapup -- June 28-July 4, 2009Analytical Summaries of Key Stories of the Week on Economics and Public PolicyA Setback on Jobs (New York Times)In an analysis of unexpectedly high job losses reported for June, David Leonhardt describes the state of the economy as “stepped back from the precipice of depression” but far from being in good shape.As U.S. Celebrates July 4th, Rest Assured that Obama is No Socialist (Chicago Tribune)Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-28489164726566808522009-07-06T01:29:00.005-04:002009-07-06T02:22:10.627-04:00The Return of Cottage IndustryIn the Great Recession, resources like Craigslist, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, flyers on telephone poles and under windshield wipers, blogging platforms, slapped-together DIY business cards, and concepts like guerrilla marketing are fulfilling the same purpose as did the storied fruit stands of The Great Depression.An article originally published in the Hartford Courant reports figures from the Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-12597419303967553372009-07-02T15:28:00.046-04:002009-07-04T02:17:36.110-04:00Michael Jackson, Jesus, and the Dark Economics of Celebrity in AmericaYears ago, Joni Mitchell sang about "the star maker machinery behind the popular song." She was right that there is, in effect, a machine -- a very powerful one -- involved in the making of fame, in the extraction of monetary value from talented or otherwise desirable individuals.But she left out one important point. There's also a star breaker machinery that kicks in behind the fame of many Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-51296273523018343882009-06-30T02:06:00.012-04:002009-06-30T02:18:49.650-04:00The Undismal Weekly Wrapup -- June 21-27, 2009Analytical Summaries of Key Stories of the Week on Economics and Public PolicyA Funding Roadblock Ahead for Clean Energy (New York Times)Kate Galbraith of the New York Times explores the question of what will happen to efforts to finance green energy projects “once the stimulus funding runs out.”Analysis: Obama Scores Major, Much-Needed Victory (Associated Press)News analysis piece by AP’s Liz Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-81139305467048671782009-06-27T19:51:00.002-04:002009-06-27T20:05:06.431-04:00Do Something. Now.I’ve touched before on the issue of what I think, ultimately, will propel us out of The Great Recession. But I’d like to expand upon it a little more now. On the one hand I agree with those economists who have acknowledged that such measures as bank bailouts and the stimulus package have been essential to preventing a crisis from becoming a calamity, as well as those who have asserted that thereBill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1685695846314496776.post-31833063790486766612009-06-26T16:58:00.008-04:002009-06-26T17:04:28.777-04:00“That’s Crazy Talk!”: The Very Special Subfield of SchizonomicsSchizonomics is neither an original term that I can take credit for coining nor, on the other hand, a term that has any particular established meaning. A Google search on the word today produced a little over 200 hits, with usages spanning a variety of contexts and meanings.As I use it, it’s a term that popped into my mind as being especially descriptive of a particular category of lay economic Bill Haywardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13253185688113096813noreply@blogger.com0