Had a laugh with this in my department. My caption was, “And in further news, the search ended for the next actor to portray Pinnochio.”
Caption Contest
Economic growth as silver bullet
Recently, the Economist had a special feature on economic growth. One of the consequences they pointed out related to growth was improved survival of endangered species. I do not think we need to verify that work at this time, though it got me thinking about the consequences of economic growth for economic policy.
Enter the Senate
It seems odd to think that we should now feel happier given that the responsibility for solving the immediate fiscal mess falls to the Senate. The House and the Senate Republicans have been at odds with each other publicly over the last several weeks. A significant part of the issue is the difference in electoral concerns for Senators when compared to the Representatives from the House. Larger electoral districts generally include more diverse sets of opinions and as a result the entirety of a state requires differing approaches from the House districts.
A hopeful sign for the economy
There are not many pictures that represent a truly positive outlook for the economy, which is to be expected coming out of a major crisis event like we saw in the U.S. and much of the world. However, if we believe that adjustments were necessary to fix what was wrong, then here is a hopeful picture.
Fiscal policy tempered the Fed’s taper
The Fed has been wrong about growth lately in their forecasts, and wrong in a very bad way. The Fed forecasts have not yet taken into account fundamental changes in individual behavior. It would not be a surprise that such forecasts were wrong during or in the immediate aftermath of the crisis, but to still be so wrong at this point is worrisome. What is the problem? People are scared.