Economics

Gold and Genocide A writer for The Atlantic wonders why the United States government is hoarding so much gold [http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/11/uncle-sam-8217-s-mysterious-hoard/8254/] . It's a great question: if gold is the barbaric relic, and we're all Keynesians now, why hold

What the heck? Bernanke announced QE2 just five days ago. This morning, the WSJ runs a piece by Kevin Warsh [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704353504575596762375409760.html?KEYWORDS=Kevin+warsh#articleTabs%3Darticle] , a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. The piece is balanced and sane. The

Illusory Tuesday "This afternoon on National Public Radio James Fallows proclaimed that 'there is essentially no disagreement whatsoever' among economists that more stimulus spending is necessary today." Fortunately, people like the folks at Cafe Hayek provide correctives to such unbridled bunk [http://cafehayek.com/2010/10/

> "On average, our basic food costs have increased by an incredible 48% over the last year (measured by wheat, corn, oats, and canola prices). From the price at the pump to heating your stove, energy costs are up 23% on average (heating oil, gasoline, natural gas). A little

Econ Monday My apologies for another econ post, but I suspect things are reaching a fever pitch right now, so . . . * * * * * * * I wrote on Saturday that it's probably time to get out of the market. The mad geniuses at Zero Hedge vehemently disagree. In this (perhaps unhinged) post, they&

Lions and Economics First Armando Galarraga gets screwed out of a perfect game [http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37479309/ns/sports-baseball/], and now the Lions get screwed out of a victory [http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Video-Controversial-rule-strips-Lions-of-first-?urn=nfl-269035] . I swear, nobody likes Detroit and the

Book Review Looking for a fun, if somewhat shotgun, financial history? Check out Jack Cashill's [http://www.cashill.com/] Popes & Bankers: A Cultural History of Credit and Debt, from Aristotle to AIG. I bought it on a whim at Barnes & Noble, based solely on its cover

Rioters in the Pool and Wall Street The inner-city youths get classier and classier: Armed security guards have been posted at public pools in Buffalo after a lifeguard was pulled into the water by rowdy teenagers and other unruly behavior prompted safety concerns for parks employees [http://wcbstv.com/topstories/