Aug 24 Author of ‘Cheap’ Answers (More of) Your Questions Editor’s note: Paul recently sat down with author and professor Ellen Ruppel Shell to discuss her new book, Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture. At the heart of Shell’s premise is the idea that our love of… Continue reading
Aug 23 Correction to Friday’s Segment on Inflation Paul Solman: On Friday night’s program, in a story on inflation (you can see the clip below), I reported the following: “The traditional measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index, is DOWN over the… Continue reading
Aug 21 Taking a Lesson from Cash for Clunkers, Why Don’t We Recycle Old Cars? Question: With the success of the cash for clunkers program coupled with all of the auto plants that had to close this past year, why doesn’t the auto industry, the government, or some young entrepreneur reopen some of these plants… Continue reading
Aug 20 Is GDP a Good Metric for Gauging Economic Health? Question: Do you consider GDP a realistic metric for gauging economic health and prosperity? I have some skepticism because two of the three main factors are consumer and government spending, and both can be… Continue reading
Aug 19 Is the Stimulus Working? Question: Is the stimulus working? Paul Solman: Hard to argue otherwise, if what you mean is: Would things be worse right now if there were no stimulus? In the long run, maybe the stimulus will be seen as just having… Continue reading
Aug 18 Why Do Medical Costs Vary So Much Across the Country? Question: Why do medical procedure costs vary so much by region of the country? Paul Solman: I think the best answer I’ve come across is a piece in the June 1 New Yorker by the ever-excellent Atul Gawande, The… Continue reading
Aug 17 Have the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Hurt the Economy? Question: I often hear that WWII finally ended the Great Depression. How can it be that a relatively short war (WWII) was so helpful to the economy but… Continue reading
Aug 14 Who Gets the Interest on U.S. Government Debt? Question: We have a $12 trillion dollar debt and add to it pretty much every year. How does that work? I take on debt to buy, say, a car and I pay interest to the bank that loaned me… Continue reading
Aug 13 When Did Formerly Safe Bonds Become Unsafe? Question: My question is: What about U.S. bond holders? I’ve seen bailouts of incompetent banks and businesses and some selective shareholder groups. Investment grade bonds were considered to be the safest investment next to… Continue reading
Aug 12 Where Are Toxic Assets Now? Question: TARP was originally proposed to deal with “toxic assets” to unclog the books of financial institutions and prevent them from becoming insolvent. The toxic assets to date have not been bought up, so… Continue reading