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 […]
January 26, 2014
WITH metronomic regularity, gauzy accounts extol the return of manufacturing jobs to the United States. One day, it’s Master Lock bringing combination lock fabrication back to Milwaukee from China. Another, it’s Element Electronics commencing assembly of television sets — a function long gone from the United States — in a factory near Detroit. Breathless headlines […]
December 31, 2013
Originally published in the New York Times. Looking back on 2013, many of the economic and political themes seemed familiar: a weak economy. Growing income inequality. Gridlock in Washington. Partisan wrangling over fiscal policy. But others, like the disastrous rollout of the Affordable Care Act HealthCare.gov website and the government shutdown, were new or at […]
November 15, 2013
Originally published in the New York Times IF you’ve been wondering whether it’s possible to regularly beat the stock market averages — a natural question with the market at an all-time high — you didn’t get any guidance from the Nobel Prize committee this year: Two of the winning economists disagree on that perennial issue. […]