Group items tagged

This article considers what governments should 'spend their money on'. Apparently, economists seem to have the answer to that question: lighthouses and autopsies; public goods that "we all need, that will make our lives better, but that the market will not and cannot provide". Other public goods that the society would benefit from when financially supported by the government are also mentioned in the article, examples of those are: court systems, the military, etc. The debate does not stop here however for another question arises: How MUCH should the government invest in each of the public goods that need to be provided?

This articles talks about how there are some recently discovered petroleum reserves in Sudan and how they exploit this abundance by selling it to other countries where there's a lack of it, and, with the profit, the buy weapons and ammo and promote a war that lasts for 19 years.

In Indonesia, where the land was once seemed to be covered by endless dark waves of treetops, almost indiscriminate logging is taking place - both legal and illegal. The irony is, this deterioration of forests in the country is actually recorded as progress. This is because the land which is cleared is used for other purposes which are considered less 'scarce'. Logically, in a country with plenty trees, the scarcity of trees will not be very high. Thus, by reducing supply of something which they have an ostentatiously an 'infinite' supply of and acquiring more scarce means of economic production, this economic phenomenon is recorded as progress in Indonesia.

Wikileaks might choose to relase the names of people and firms in posession of "black, unaccounted money". If it chooses to do so the CPI will use this money for pubblic goods. This would greatly benefit the economy from a pubblic point of view and would also probably prevent people from creating illegal bank accounts to evade taxes in the future.

China has been encountering substantial increases of monetary assets. However, this money growth may be stunted by a fast-approaching inflation. This article explores further into why there will be inflation in China, and what they can do to battle against it. One thing they mention is slowing credit growth. -Michael

This article discusses Keynesian economics, an economic theory named after John Maynard Keynes, a British economist. Keynes' economic theory was based on an circular flow of money: his ideas spawned a slew of interventionist economic policies during the Great Depression. Keynes stipulated that during such economically difficult times, the best way if reviving the economy is by an increase in government spending, which would trigger the multiplier effect.

This article talks about an increase in the price of gasoline due to a rally in the prices of oil and corn which are directedly involved in the making of gasoline. It also talks about how this will change because people are now starting to hold on to their money.

This article discusses how the prices of renting or buying condos, houses, apartments is determining the markets in different cities. It brings up the point of how prices are allocating capital goods; houses, apartments, condos, etc.

A lack of critical resources proved disastrous as the U.S. Forest Service was unable to stop a fire before it destroyed hundreds of buildings near Los Angeles. The high prices of equipment and such caused the station to purchase less of it, resulting in a disaster.

This is an article regarding the current situation in Uganda regarding their governments economics and refers to what they are attempting to do with public goods several times. It is somewhat on a commentary of the structure of the the economy of Uganda.

The tragic landslides in Brazil highlight the importance of public goods. Although, it certainly was a natural disaster the government has been criticised for not alerting people to the dangers. It was well known that this mountain in this area has a lot of rocky ground, which is impervious to water. Furthermore, rapid population growth causing the building of new housing did not improve the situation. The government failed to provide basic public goods, such as monitored flood control, efficient public drainage. "The Science and Technology Minister, Aloizio Mercadante, said five million people lived in some 800 areas considered at risk of mudslides and floods. He said it would take at least four years for a nationwide alert system to be in place."

More than 13,000 people have lost or abandoned their homes because of the disaster, government has already responded to this disaster by sending extra troops, ambulances , helicopters, first aid, food, water etc. this expenditure will be covered by tax payers money, if disaster was bigger i think government wouldn't have been able to help their people, the vivid example was the earthquake in Haiti,

This article explains how Germany has been able to stave off current trends and maintain a robust economy. Instead of firing workers to save money it has retained them saving their human capital. The also excel because they focus on small businesses that are usually niches and they also have very smart outsourcing practices.

"WHEN disaster strikes, the reaction of many investors is to scoot first and ask questions later." The recent natural disaster in Japan not only caused tsunamis that destroyed the cities, but it also caused ripples of detrimental effects on the world economy. Investors reluctant to put their money on the table due to the negative trends due to geopolitical and economic reasons around the world further contribute to the cycle of recession.

This article is about the top 10 Keynesian ways to boost the economy of Japan after this year's terrible disaster. Jason Kaspar wrote that Japan will have a GDP boost in about six months as a result of rebuilding, but the money that was lost in these days will easily negate any future upside.

Lower income earners will see a small increase in their pay packets from July 1 when the government rushes forward $1.37 billion in tax breaks.The tax cut was to be delivered when people filed their returns at the end of the financial year, but the government is changing the timing in a gesture to cost-of-living pressures and to encourage people into work and to work more.

When it comes to taxes, do the rich pay their fair share? The answer, of course, is subjective since "fair" is not an absolute concept and tax data, depending how it's sliced, can tell different stories. Those who say the rich pay their fair share point to the fact that the top 1% of taxpayers end up paying almost as much in federal income tax (and some years even more) as the bottom 95% combined. Still, it's unlikely that even the most anti-tax, pro-wealth advocates would find this particularly fair: A very small number of millionaires end up owing no federal income tax at all.

This article discusses the different views of the Republicans and Democrats on setting the 2012 fiscal budget. The US government almost shutdown because the parties could not come to an agreement on how to spend money. This is a big topic in the US right now, especially with the increasing debt.

The article discusses the Chinese government's intervention in the banking industry to avoid a 'boom and bust' cycle. Banks were seen to be lending large sums of money, increasing aggregate demand in the economy and 'overheating it' causing rapid inflation. The fear was that this inflation would then in turn lower consumer sentiment and cause a 'bust' in the cycle. The policies set to curb this lending were designed to reduce the sudden effect of a bust.