Jul 14 Simon Johnson on China and the U.S. Economy By Business Desk Paul Solman: The second in this week’s series of video exchanges with Simon Johnson of the Peterson Institute of Economics, MIT, and (formerly) the IMF, concerns China. Continue reading
Jul 13 Simon Johnson on Whether Wall Street Has Changed By Business Desk Paul Solman: MIT’s Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the IMF, is a frequent contributor to the NewsHour and this page. He’s also coauthor of a blog… Continue reading
Jul 13 Is California Printing Its Own Money? Question: Is California printing its own money? Paul Solman: Funny you should ask. The State of California Franchise Tax Board website currently features this statement: “We will accept registered warrants…towards the payment of tax liabilities.” State taxes, of… Continue reading
Jul 10 Staying Positive in a Down Job Market Yesterday, we posted the latest segment from Paul’s Making Sen$e series. In it, he spoke to two very distinct groups — laid-off white collar executives and ex-cons looking for work — and was struck by what he heard from… Continue reading
Jul 10 By Saving on Cheap Goods and Services, Do We Pay More in the End? Question: During a recent story about the demise of the auto industry, there was clip of a Model T Ford driving through the Ford Museum. The narration made the point that one of the things that made Henry Ford successful… Continue reading
Jul 09 Why Do Tube Drivers Earn More than Bus Drivers in the UK? Robert Frank: A British reader posted the following query on my UK publisher’s web site: “Why do tube drivers get paid so much more than bus drivers?” An American economist trying to field questions about markets in the UK… Continue reading
Jul 09 In Case You Missed It: Finding Work in a Down Market On last night’s NewsHour, Paul Solman got some perspective on the difficult job market from two very distinct groups: former executives and former prison inmates. What was striking when he met with the two groups of job seekers was… Continue reading
Jul 08 Why Does the London Tube Charge More If You Use a Paper Ticket? Robert Frank: Why does the public transport system in London charge significantly more for a tube or bus journey if you buy a paper ticket than it does if you use their Oyster prepaid card? In most cities… Continue reading
Jul 08 The Cap & Trade Debate Paul Solman: Sometimes described as a “centrist” Democrat, Congressman Eric Massa, a former Republican, represents a district of New York state that includes Rochester. Recently, this press release of his came our way. Since part of what we’re… Continue reading
Jul 07 Send Robert Frank Your Questions Whether it’s tackling why brides buy outfits and grooms rent to explaining why drive-up ATMs have Braille dots and freezers don’t have lights, Robert Frank has been guest blogging fascinating… Continue reading