When we think of economic downturns, we generally think of them as flat up or down. We are all familiar with terms like recession. That is what we are now very slowly getting out of. We know, from our parents and grandparents, what the utter devastation of a depression is. We know, from our most recent experience, the Great Recession, what that feels like. Some months back, a term was added to the economic conversation: secular stagnation. Though the concept isn’t a new one, it has recently been reintroduced. Continue reading Defining Secular Stagnation | Economics
All posts by Rima Regas
George Stinney: Executed In 1944, exonerated in 2014
George Stinney, Black Teen Executed In 1944, May Get New Trial
Associated PressPosted: Updated:
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Supporters of a 14-year-old black boy executed in 1944 for killing two white girls are asking a South Carolina judge to take the unheard-of move of granting him a new trial in hopes he will be cleared of the charges.
Continue reading George Stinney: Executed In 1944, exonerated in 2014
Analysis: “Blood on the hands…” | #BlackLivesMatter
Using the expression “blood on the hands,” Pat Lynch, the head of the NYPD’s largest union, blamed Eric Garner protesters as well as his own mayor for the murder of two of his fellow officers. Never once did Lynch pause in his tirade to mention what, in the first place, led to the protests or his union’s part in fomenting civil unrest. Continue reading Analysis: “Blood on the hands…” | #BlackLivesMatter
Pretending to be normal
Pretending that everything is normal while everything is crashing around you. Continue reading Pretending to be normal
I love America, even today
December 9 10, 2014
After a day like today yesterday, I still love America. Continue reading I love America, even today
To Annie from Pittsburgh, the NYT reader who asked why…
Originally posted in answer to my comment on Paul Krugman’s column: Recovery at last? Continue reading To Annie from Pittsburgh, the NYT reader who asked why…
Watch: NYPD uses military-grade sonic weapon on Eric Garner protesters
Long range acoustic devices (LRADs) have been previously implemented by police at protests throughout the world.
Thursday night at about 1am, at the intersection of 57 East and Madison Avenue in Manhattan—a populated area about four blocks from Columbus Circle—the NYPD used a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) to disperse about 100 protesters who were on the streets.
Continue reading Watch: NYPD uses military-grade sonic weapon on Eric Garner protesters
Police: Chokehold Victim Eric Garner Complicit In Own Death
| By TOM HAYS & COLLEEN LONGPosted:
NEW YORK (AP) — Eric Garner was overweight and in poor health. He was a nuisance to shop owners who complained about him selling untaxed cigarettes on the street. When police came to arrest him, he resisted. And if he could repeatedly say, “I can’t breathe,” it means he could breathe.
Continue reading Police: Chokehold Victim Eric Garner Complicit In Own Death
Perspectives on the #EricGarner case: Chief Bratton, #NYPD, Protests, Police Union
Watching Commissioner Bratton’s Face The Nation interview was a cringe-worthy experience. The commissioner rendered very opinionated answers, most of the time, very matter-of-factly and underhandedly. When you pressed your ear close to the TV speaker, you could tell that what was said so calmly wasn’t anything that should be taken as friendly to the people.
When asked how he felt when viewing the Garner choke-hold video, Bratton replied almost glibly:
“I don’t think that anybody watching that video isn’t disturbed by what they saw, that policing using involving use of force, it always looks awful. We have an expression: “lawful but awful…”
Continue reading Perspectives on the #EricGarner case: Chief Bratton, #NYPD, Protests, Police Union
Jared Bernstein: A deeper dive into the weeds of the CBO household income data
Jared Bernstein
November 25, 2014
Yesterday, I published a report by myself and Ben Spielberg analyzing the Congressional Budget Office’s comprehensive data series on household income. Here we dive a bit deeper into some of the weeds, expanding on some of our findings.
One motivation for our report was to correct the record of those who claim that the trend of increasing income inequality is significantly reduced when accounting for government taxes and transfers. In fact, as we show, between 1979 and 2011, inequality measured by the Gini coefficient rose 24% based solely on market outcomes and by 22% based on CBO’s comprehensive, post-tax and transfer income data.
Continue reading Jared Bernstein: A deeper dive into the weeds of the CBO household income data