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Week of December 28, 2008 - January 3, 2009

Ira Chernus on the state of Israel


There's a lot of truth in what this guy says, but I'm afraid he will be designated a self hater by those he is trying to enlighten.

The Paradox of Israel: Regional Super Power and the Largest Jewish Ghetto Ever Created


How does inequality affect stability?


I would like to see some comments from economists on how the inequality of wealth and income between the capital and consumption sectors affects economic stability. It seems to me that over the last several decades wealth and income has become concentrated in the capital sector while the consuming sector has required debt to sustain its consumption. When the world is awash in investment capital and investors can't find productive places to invest, they drift toward riskier investments and look for ways to sustain their diminishing returns through the use of leverage and derivatives that expand the money supply and hide risk. This leads to bubbles of fictitious wealth of one kind or another as the price of assets are bid up artificially. These bubbles ultimately burst and the economy freezes up as investors and consumers lose trust in the system.

 I see no way to avoid such instability unless government is willing to step in and rebalance the wealth and income in the capital investment and consuming sectors through adjustments in the way these sectors are taxed. It doesn't seem to make any sense to reduce taxes on capital gains when money is piling up in the capital sector, while the consuming sector is using debt to sustain its consumption. At such times it would seem more reasonable to increase capital gains taxes and reduce taxes on the middle class, which make up the largest portion of the consuming sector.

Do current economic models account for this wealth distribution effect? The federal reserve is an institution of the capital sector and it has control of monetary policy. Does this lead to wealth and income accumulation in the capital sector at the expense of the consuming sector? GDP growth seems to be the main goal of this institution, while it is a poor measure of the well being of the greater society. It seems to me that government should have more control to prevent bubbles from developing.
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eaanders

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