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Economics: David Leonhardt's column today

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, Jul 27, 2011.

  1. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Leonhardt is leaving the business section at the NYT to become the paper's Washington bureau chief. That's great for him, but I will miss his thoughtful, nuanced, bipartisan columns on economics. I have learned a ton from him, and he makes me want to learn more. To me, his piece "Obamanomics" a couple years ago, was a gold standard of reporting about the formation of the President's economic philosophies.

    Anyway, here's his last column linked, with lots of great nuggets. It should be required reading for every American who wants to finally turn down the talk radio and start thinking about this stuff seriously:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/business/economy/lessons-from-the-us-economys-malaise.html?_r=1&ref=business

    * "We are too often occupied with distractions, rather than trying to answer a simple question: What works? What economic policies have succeeded before and are most likely to lead to the best life for the largest number of people?"

    * "One of the tricky things about the subject is that almost nothing is certain in the way that, say, two plus two equals four. Economics — which is at root a study of human behavior — tends to be messier. Because it’s messier, it can be tempting to think that all uncertainty is equal and that we don’t really know anything.

    "But we do. It’s just that the knowledge tends to come with caveats and nuances. Economic truths may not rise to the level of two plus two equals four, but they are not so different from the knowledge that the earth is round or that smoking causes cancer."


    * "When it comes to economics, we know that a market economy with a significant government role is the only proven model of success. The United States has outgrown Europe partly because of our greater comfort with market forces. China and India boomed after allowing more of a market economy. On the other hand, unencumbered market forces often lead to disaster, as 1929 and 2008 made clear."
     
  2. SockPuppet

    SockPuppet Active Member

    Fair, honest and balanced reporting. Who knew?
     
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