Ezra Klein


Joseph M. Firestone's picture

Disconnect: High Value Platinum Coin Vs. Austerity!

A little disconnect: what President Obama, through Treasury and the Federal Reserve, really said last Saturday:

"We're running out of money because the Republican House may not allow us to f more »

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Joseph M. Firestone's picture

I Still Choose Using High Value Platinum Coin Seigniorage To End Austerity!

Yesterday, Ezra Klein reported in the Washington Post that:

The Treasury Department will not mint a trillion-dollar platinum coin to get around the debt ceiling. more »

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Joseph M. Firestone's picture

Ezra Klein Chooses Fear Mongering the Big Coin, I Choose Ending Austerity!

(H/t to Lambert Strether for the title!)

Here's a commentary on Ezra Klein's recent diatribe against more »

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Joseph M. Firestone's picture

WaPo Covers MMT, But Does Its Usual Bad Job: Part Four, The Victory

This post concludes my critical evaluation of Dylan Matthews's, post published on Ezra Klein's blog called “You know the deficit hawks. more »

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Joseph M. Firestone's picture

WaPo Covers MMT, But Does Usual Bad Job: Pt 3, Banking, & “Hyperinflation"

This post continues my critical evaluation of Dylan Matthews's, post published on Ezra Klein's blog called “You know the deficit hawks. more »

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Joseph M. Firestone's picture

WaPo Covers MMT, Does Its Usual Bad Job: Pt Two, Inflation/Hyperinflation

This post continues the critical evaluation of Dylan Matthews's, post published on Ezra Klein's blog called “You know the deficit hawks. more »

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Joseph M. Firestone's picture

WaPo Covers MMT, But Does Its Usual Bad Job: Pt One, Basics and Solvency

It was very welcome to see The Washington Post cover MMT with a reasonably favorable post by Dylan Matthews, published on Ezra Klein's blog called “You know the deficit hawks. more »

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Richard Eskow's picture

Bitter Editorial Rant Kills Fact-Checker Model, "Ends Politifact As We Know It"

Today Politifact Editor Bill Adair probably ruined his outlet's chances of ever being taken seriously again as an objective debunker of political spin. What a shame. There's a glaring need for somebody to play that role, and Politifact was in a unique position to fill it. more »

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Richard Eskow's picture

"Helpless President Lit" - The Latest Trend in Political Tragedy

Call it "Helpless President Lit." A recent Ezra Klein column is the latest in a growing genre which celebrates our Commander-in-Chief, not as a powerful leader, but as a perennial victim. It portrays him as someone who's powerless over other people's actions, and sometimes even over his own. more »

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Richard Eskow's picture

Why Are Discredited "Agencies" Like S&P Dictating Our Economic Future?

"Who does Standard & Poor's think it is?" asks Matt Miller, the reasonable and congenial host who represents the "center" on NPR's "Left, Right, and Center." Miller's understandably outraged that this discredited organization still has so much power and influence. But he's asking the wrong question.

S&P knows exactly what it is, and so should everyone else. It's the for-profit company which, while masquerading as a credit rating "agency," bartered its coveted AAA ratings for increased profits. The real question is why? Why does S&P still have the power to cost the government billions of dollars in added interest payments, which is what would happen if they downgraded our credit rating?

The pronouncements of these for-profit "agencies" have no more credibility than the murmured compliments of an overpriced escort in a candlelit hotel room. So why do they still have the power to endanger the financial security of millions of Americans? more »

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