Portside

Should Jerome Powell put on his Paul Volcker outfit and push interest rates through the roof? I would argue that, while modest rate hikes are appropriate, it is too soon to bring out the heavy artillery.

The rise in the index of aggregate hours would be equivalent to more than 630,000 jobs with no changes in workweeks. Drop in unemployment in Novembers were largest for the groups that face labor market discrimination.

We don’t need patent monopolies to finance the development of drugs or vaccines.

Biden’s investment plan addresses longstanding needs in the country. We will likely have to reduce other spending in the economy to make room for it. A financial transactions tax is a great place to look for some of the offset.

Donald Trump seems determined to double down and keep pressing forward on his trade war with China. He promises more and higher tariffs, not realizing that U.S. consumers are the ones paying these taxes - not China's government or corporations.

The GOP is steering the US in the opposite direction of proven paths to growth: well-educated workers and infrastructure investments. Low tax rates have never been the spur to growth. The spur to growth has been a well-trained and well-educated workforce, coupled with the infrastructure needed to support growth.

Because Republicans have been so successful in keeping many of their residents from getting insurance, they think the country should trust them to overhaul heath care.

If we have to give handouts to big corporations, it seems reasonable to put some conditions on the cash. After all, we put all sorts of conditions on TANF benefits of $500 a month, it seems reasonable to ask something of the companies that get tens of millions of loan subsidies through the Ex-Im Bank. This should be a great opportunity to see where people really stand.

When an economist confidently tells us that the unemployment rate can't get below 5.4 percent, 5.2 percent, or 5.0 percent without causing the inflation rate to spiral upward, why should anyone have confidence in this assessment?

Are the machines coming for our jobs? Dean Baker argues that we need to get beyond the fear of robots and address the real causes of inequality, low wages and changes in the labor market.