New Book: "Back from Serfdom: Restoring American Prosperity with a Pro-Market New Deal"

By Lynn Parramore, a senior editor at Alternet. Cross posted from Alternet In Washington-speak, “means-testing” is a scheme to deny or reduce Medicare and Social Security benefits for people who are “too wealthy” in the name of saving money. It’s a counterproductive, harmful idea, but one that well-intentioned liberals often get snookered into embracing.

A very interesting poll from the German FT is here (in German).  In addition to answering other questions, German economists speak to who are the important economists for the 21st century.  I'll add together the first two categories ("very important" and "somewhat important") for a total percentage measure for reported importance.  (By the way, I don't see the total number of respondents resported.)  The st

AMERICA is in desperate need of tax reform. It needs more revenue to close budget gaps, fund social programmes, and make needed investments, but the current tax system is so complex and riddled with loopholes that efforts to boost revenues are economically costly and lead to lots of tax dodging. Economists often recommend scrapping the income tax system entirely, or shrinking its role, and replacing it with a progressive consumption tax, which is more efficient. It's a good idea, and one that's worked in other rich countries.

In the introduction to the Roosevelt Institution's 'Make Markets be Markets' report, Rob Johnson quotes Chicago University economist Luigi Zingales making an important distinction on the nature of lobbying.

|Peter Boettke|

The Mole submits: Dodgy economic data continues to undermined confidence in the economic recovery and raises hopes for fresh Central Bank action.