Greenspan wasn't just a thrill to cover as a journalist. Every meeting with him left me smarter. Equilibrium interest rates? Go study Knut Wicksell. Pessimistic about the U.S. potential? Read George Terborgh. He knew the meaning of the 1948 recession because he lived through it. He didn't just devour data: he created more of it. My column on the only celebrity central banker the world has known: https://t.co/AK1nM1mSyt
@LouisWoodhill Coining and regulating money is an Article 1 responsibility. To carry it out, Congress created a central bank independent of the president's day to day control.
The Fed is more independent than if SCOTUS had let Trump fire Lisa Cook; but less independent than before Trump even tried. Trump's action made plausible a path for presidential intimidation that cannot be unseen.
We over-protected children in the real world and under-protected them online. Since 2012, the results are undeniable—skyrocketing anxiety, depression, loneliness. Not by accident. Deliberate design choices by companies that knew what they were doing. So now we're at the tobacco moment. The lawsuits are succeeding. Public support is overwhelming.
Kids Over Clicks has the roadmap—age restrictions, safety-by-design, phone-free schools, AI accountability, end surveillance ads. No more excuses.
https://t.co/7FP6kCFBNU
In a new @CEIPStatecraft paper, I take a "big picture" look at American economic power. Takeaways:
1. Trump has the most ambitious agenda for American economic hegemony of any president in decades. But he has also triggered a backlash that may undermine US economic power. 🧵
Was good to talk to @greg_ip from the WSJ about the return of nationalization in economic policy and where new socialist politics fit into that trend: https://t.co/x4WM2RGhOI
@mtkonczal Should be noted that Basel 1 and 2 were both implemented under Greenspan. Though deregulatory overall, he tended to be hawkish on capital. The "50 mph headwinds" he said held back the economy in early 90s were greatly due to basel 1.
"There is little practical difference between the socialism advocated by Bernie Sanders and the state capitalism practiced by Trump. E.g. both want ...to take a stake in major AI companies." My take on the rise of actual (vs hipster) socialism. https://t.co/XqSe7cye0r
4/ Ask yourself: are Micron's 80% gross margins sustainable? Probably not. We are very likely to see supply rise appreciably and/or demand fall. Given the vertical nature of the supply curve, that will quickly drop memory prices.
1/ Before getting all hawked up on firm core PCE inflation, keep in mind core CPI is much lower, so we have to decide if sources of divergence are worrisome. On one, software and tech products, I am not that worried (my colleague Justin Lahart's analysis is here: https://t.co/uNlwB964ts)
3/ Because AI demand is pushing up memory prices, some treat this as unambiguously inflationary. But this repeats the erroneous treatment of a similar shock in Covid. In both, chip supply cannot quickly meet a sectoral demand shock, propagating through the supply chain.
Indeed👇:
@michaelxpettis : “This is why the distinction between efficiency and competitiveness is so important. Efficiency means producing more output with fewer resources. Competitiveness, by contrast, refers to the ability to expand production and market share regardless of profitability. While greater efficiency can certainly improve competitiveness, it can also be enhanced by transferring costs away from producers and onto households”.
A 70-year old supporter of Nigel Farage in Blackpool, England, recognizes no one at his pub: “It has all changed too fast.” Captures the battle between "anywheres" and somewheres" blowing apart British politics, by @MaximColch and @davidluhnow https://t.co/M7jfGr7bQo
A beautiful obituary of Greenspan written with sympathy and knowledge. You get to know the man, his economics thinking as well as his career. Great job by @greg_ip https://t.co/0Grsv1Xymx