You Care About The Deficit Because It

Tax Increases Appear To Have A Very Large Sustained And Highly Significant Negative Impact On Output.

Most Arguments For Instituting Or Raising A Minimum Wage Are Based On Fairness And Redistribution. Even If Workers Are Getting A Competitive Wage, Many Of Us Are Deeply Disturbed That Some Hard-working Families Still Have Very Little.

As An Economic Historian, I Appreciate What Manufacturing Has Contributed To The United States. It Was The Engine Of Growth That Allowed Us To Win Two World Wars And Provided Millions Of Families With A Ticket To The Middle Class. But Public Policy Needs To Go Beyond Sentiment And History.

I Think Something That Forces Financial Institutions To Write Down Underwater Mortgages, I Think, Would Be A Sensible Thing To Do.

If Every Other Store In Town Is Paying Workers $9 An Hour, One Offering $8 Will Find It Hard To Hire Anyone - Perhaps Not When Unemployment Is High, But Certainly In Normal Times. Robust Competition Is A Powerful Force Helping To Ensure That Workers Are Paid What They Contribute To Their Employers' Bottom Lines.