That’s the title of a new EconoFact piece. Here is the key depiction of some key current account balances, past and (possibly) future.
Author Archives: Menzie Chinn
Mass Shooting Casualties in America as of October 2
Figure 1: Cumulative sum of mass shooting casualties, beginning in 1982M08; deaths (red), wounded (pink). October observation for data through 10/2. Source: Mother Jones.
Return of the Tooth Fairies
(as referenced by Larry Summers, quoted in this post).
As I watched Secretary Mnuchin on Meet the Press (before discussing his taxpayer funded trip to view the recent eclipse) state :
…the president is not going to sign something that he believes is going to increase the deficit.
I was struck by an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. Of course, the caveat “he believes” is important. Mnuchin mentions “dynamic scoring”, but most economists agree that it is not plausible that the tax cuts as currently sketched out would lead to a revenue neutral outcome.
At Least Nero Fiddled
Source: The Hill.
The View from 2012: The Hiatus in Per Capita US GDP
If one was looking back at the data available a half a decade ago, an observer (not me) might have concluded that there was a hiatus in per capita output that signalled an end to growth.
Figure 1: GDP per capita in thousands of Chained 2005$, SAAR, as of September 28, 2012, calculated using GDP and population reported at that date. On log scale. Source: St. Louis Fed ALFRED, and author’s calculations.
Guest Contribution: “Financial Markets Underestimate Risk”
Today, we present a guest post written by Jeffrey Frankel, Harpel Professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and formerly a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. A shorter version appeared in Project Syndicate on September 25th.
Defense Expenditures over the Last Half Century and Prospects for the Near Future
One common complaint heard about the current recovery is that the rate of growth has been particularly slow. In the past I’ve noted that omitting defense spending from GDP, the shortfall is not so large. Given past correlations, I believe we may soon see a pickup in defense spending which will boost GDP growth relative to what it otherwise would have been.
Cassidy-Graham Implications for Federal Health Spending
Even more draconian than outright repeal.
Source: CBPP.
Wildfires: Acres Burned, Suppression Costs
I received this message from USDA yesterday; it reminded me of some other adjustment costs of climate change.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that wildland fire suppression costs for the fiscal year have exceeded $2 billion, making 2017 the most expensive year on record. Wildfires have ravaged states in the west, Pacific Northwest, and Northern Rockies regions of the United States this summer.
That’s just USDA; it doesn’t include Interior Department expenditures.
Wisconsin Employment Continues Downward in August
And is over 12,000 below April peak. Private nonfarm payroll employment is also declining, with previous months’ data revised down.