What if machines took most of our jobs? Things would become less expensive, and humans would become wealthier in real terms, just as has happened since the Industrial Revolution began. Fear of labor-saving technology continues unabated, nonetheless.
It appears that even economists are now being replaced by machines. At least it seems that way given a recent paint-by-numbers attack from the New York Times on James Grant's new book The Forgotten Depression.
Krugman is confused as to why so much technological growth in recent years has not led to more economic growth. The answer lies in the fact that true technological change requires funding — and thus real savings — to be implemented.
We’re often told that CEO pay is outrageously high and that increases in executive pay comes at the expense of worker pay. If we look beyond the few examples used by the pundits, however, we find that these oft-repeated “facts” are anything but.
Governments don’t like it when citizens emigrate to escape high taxes and other government-imposed costs. Governments would much rather keep productive citizens and their money at home. Bigger countries find it’s much easier to keep us in.
Mathematical economic models have a poor record of making accurate predictions, which makes sense since human action cannot be quantified by numbers. On the other hand, an understanding of sound economics can help us make good qualitative predictions.
Japan finally joined the US and the EU in their grand 2-percent-inflation-forever experiment in 2005. Many Japanese politicians have benefited from this. Meanwhile, nothing has been done in Japan to actually help the economy defend itself against the next economic disaster.
The state was being even more sadistic than usual when it handed down an unwarranted life sentence to Ross Ulbricht. Many libertarians hail Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road, as a hero of freedom. But did he really forward the cause of free markets?
Governments worldwide are turning to "financial repression" to manipulate the economy through easy money and aggressive regulation. In the end, we'll find it will amount to little more than slapping a band-aid on a serious problem.
All that is necessary for free trade to flourish is for governments to get out of the business of punishing people who import goods without government approval. We don’t need a system of government agreements and regulations like the Trans Pacific Partnership.
