November 17, 2014
Originally appeared in The New York Times. THE Democrats’ drubbing in the midterm elections was unfortunate on many levels, but particularly because the prospect of addressing income inequality grows dimmer, even as the problem worsens. To only modest notice, during the campaign the Federal Reserve put forth more sobering news about income inequality: Inflation-adjusted earnings […]
October 19, 2014
Originally published in The New York Times. SO this is the thanks that Uncle Sam gets. Six years after a forceful rescue of the financial system (and, derivatively, the economy) by two presidents and the Federal Reserve, a megarich individual and a battalion of investment funds are claiming unfair treatment and trying to extract billions […]
October 9, 2014
Originally appeared in The Detroit News. At its recent “analyst day,” General Motors laid out an encouraging vision for the future, a presentation that was warmly received by Wall Street. That such a session would be occurring at all was certainly in doubt in 2008 and 2009 when General Motors (and much of the auto […]
July 24, 2014
Originally appeared in The New York Times. America Should Rescind the Ban on Crude-Oil Exports AS a young reporter covering energy for The New York Times, I saw firsthand the distortions and inefficiencies caused by the web of regulations that followed the Arab oil embargo of 1973-74, and the resulting surge in gasoline prices. So […]
June 22, 2014
Originally appeared in The New York Times. JUST over 50 years ago, the cover of Life magazine breathlessly declared the “point of no return for everybody.” Above that stark warning, a smaller headline proclaimed, “Automation’s really here; jobs go scarce.” As events unfolded, it was Life that was nearing the point of no return — […]
June 11, 2014
Originally appeared in The New York Times. For me, portions of the report of the investigation into General Motors’ safety problems with certain cars were a journey down memory lane: The empty gestures known as the “G.M. nod” and the “G.M. salute.” The reluctance to deliver bad news up the management chain. The overreliance on […]
May 2, 2014
Originally published in the New York Times. AFTER years of post-recession somnolence, corporate takeovers and mergers have ballooned to their highest level since 2007, fueled in part by American companies’ fleeing the United States to save tax dollars. Gaming the tax system has, of course, long been a popular blood sport for American business, particularly […]
April 13, 2014
Originally published in the New York Times. RETIREMENT is a financial obligation that today’s younger generations are not handling well. That may be through no fault of their own — they suffer from lower incomes, after being adjusted for inflation, and student debt that makes it a struggle to save. But regardless of the reason, […]
March 21, 2014
The European financial crisis may have disappeared from the front pages of American newspapers, but the Continent’s economic challenges remain worrisome. Most fundamentally, Europe is mired in a slow-growth rut with little sign of either sensible policy initiatives or the energy to implement them. Ironically, countries like Spain and Ireland that precipitated the crisis have […]
January 30, 2014
Originally appeared in The New York Times. Ben S. Bernanke ascended to the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve eight years ago as a little-known — albeit distinguished — Princeton economics professor who had notched just three years of federal public service. When he takes his leave this week, having presided over his final meeting of […]