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Seymour Patterson received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Oklahoma in 1980. He has taught courses and done research in international economics and economic development. He has been the recipient of two Fulbright awards--the first in Botswana in 1991 and the most recent in Ethiopia in 2009. He was on the Truman State University faculty until 2008.
Saturday, June 8, 2013 The Burden of Education on Students Grows but It Shouldn't (3 comments)
Education as a public good is explored. The $1.1 trillion student debt is a burden hard to repay. Student loan interest rate boubling to 6.8 percent creates a disincentive for students to get an education. The U.S. ranks below many European countries in math and science scores, and some of these countries have lower education costs and no tuitions. Higher education should be affordable to everyone given its public nature.
Saturday, May 25, 2013 No Union is an Island, Entire to Itself . . . (2 comments)
This piece deals with the potential consequences of the assault on unionism, and the resulting decline in union membership and wages. This was followed by a rise in profits. The rift between the profit recipients and wage earners has the potential of causing the emergence of political instability, which could split the country apart.
Monday, May 13, 2013 The Weakening Case for Austerity (1 comments)
There have been a slew of articles discrediting austerity as the pathway to economy recovery. But there have also been many articles denouncing stimulus. I have written a few articles against austerity citing its failure under SAPs in Africa, and in the EU in countries like the U.K., Greece and Spain. Flawed research and condemnation of Keynes have been used to support austerity arguments.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 Bad Results Follow Flawed Reasoning about the Debt-to-GDP Ratio (2 comments)
The case for austerity made by Harvard economists Reinhart and Rogoff in their paper "Growth in a Time of Debt" fell apart when graduate student Thomas Herndon discovered errors in their argument. Neoliberal thinking about deficits, as it applies to developing countries, Europe, and America, cannot demonstrate that austerity, Structural Adjustment Programs, or sequestration promote economic growth.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013 Don't tamper with social security Mr. President (1 comments)
It is a disappointment the president chose to include chained CPI in his budget. This makes him the first democratic president to do so. It is an opening for republicans to push for Ryan's voucher plan, which models Pinochet's failed privatized pension plan Chile. There are costs and benefits to any plan. But the advocates for privatization ignore the costs.
Monday, April 1, 2013 Ramifications of the Frustrating Spending versus Taxes Debate Stalemate (2 comments)
Congress caused the credit downgrade of the U.S. by insisting on balancing the budget on entitlement cuts. Obama could have prevented this by invoking the 14th Amendment. Apart from Estonia, austerity does not produce economic growth. The deficit is not an issue, most of it is held by Americans. Confidence in the U.S economy is high. Foreign governments will lend us money with one percent interest rates. US should invest now.
Saturday, March 9, 2013 Interest Rates Policy Ineffectiveness Debacle (3 comments)
This piece deals with the fact that interest rates are low--the FED's attempt to deal with slow growth. So the government can borrow at very low rates. The debt is of concern (even that portion held by the Chinese). However, must of the debt is held by Americans. Further, poor people are blamed for the financial recession of 2007, but Wall Street got bailed out while millions of households around the country got foreclosed.
Thursday, February 7, 2013 Austerity again (1 comments)
Worry about the deficit is not the solution to slow economic growth. The 4th-quarter GDP drop is no excuse to cut entitlement spending. Also, irrational arguments are everywhere. For instance, Congress wants to destroy the U.S. Postal Service to save it; President Obama lied about closing Gitmo, but Congress failed to provide funds to close it. Government cannot create jobs--so, a government postal worker doesn't have a job.
Friday, January 18, 2013 Keeping your eye on the ball (1 comments)
We're still debating government spending. We've taken our eyes off the ball. Deficits are necessary in bad economic times for growth. This is not the time to defund Planned Parenthood, intrude into women's reproductive issues, and attack unions. The economy might have been well of the way to a robust recovery if the politicians weren't distracted by partisanship. Congress needs to focus on pro-growth policies.
Thursday, December 27, 2012 Throwing Social Security Beneficiaries Under the Bus (1 comments)
Obama tries to renege on no compromise on entitlement. He should never give in to people who want him to fail. The deficit is not related to entitlement benefits because payroll taxes are paid for Social Security and Medicare. The chained CPI for COLA makes the middle class and poor bear the brunt to fix the deficit. The answer to the economy is growth.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012 Euro-area Economy Austerity Bad Strategy for the U.S. (11 comments)
When politicians focus their attention on the wrong variables bad things happen. Austerity in the euro-area economy led to another recession. In this country politicians are debating what to do about spending and taxes--fiscal cliff. Taxing the top two percent of the population more will not hurt the economy--never mind Norquist and Rep. Boehner. Another stimulus--$50 billion Pres. Obama proposes--is what the economy needs.
Friday, November 30, 2012 Conspiracies and theories that didn't matter because they're flawed (4 comments)
In the political arena, some conspiracies and theories are attempts to assign nefarious motives for the actions of takers. The infrastructure of the arguments is lies and exaggerations. And they have as their main aim the destruction of political opponents. Americans did not buy into these arguments in re-electing President Obama.
Monday, November 12, 2012 The Community Organizer versus the Bain Capital Manager (1 comments)
Pres. Obama won re-election with a better ground game and understanding of the political landscape than the challenger Mitt Romney. The American voter is insightful and punishes those who disregard some ethnic groups, and disrespect women's right to control their own bodies. They don't take too kindly to voter-suppression efforts. The campaign organizer Obama did a better job of managing his campaign than the manager Mitt.
Friday, November 9, 2012 Startups and small business create most new jobs (7 comments)
Big business rests on pedestals. When they flounder their CEOs get generous severance payouts. The myth that tax cuts on big business and top marginal taxpayers is the path to growth has exploded. More fruitful is a shift in focus to more small business friendly policies, as small business is the engine of job creation. On the demand side, middle and low income tax cuts have empirical roots for economic growth.
Monday, October 8, 2012 The Debate on Tax Cuts: More Politics and Economics (2 comments)
Obama and Romney vie to cut taxes on Americans assuming tax cuts lead to economic growth. Tax cuts raise after tax income and buying power. But, the case for tax cuts is unclear--some plus in the short run, in the Kennedy and Reagan years; but not in the Clinton years--higher tax rates correlate with better economic growth. From 1913 to 2011 across the board tax cuts were less effective than targeted cuts of the same size.
Saturday, September 1, 2012 Try something novel when all else fails (5 comments)
The Economic Stimulus package snatched the U.S. economy from a depression, but the recovery has been anemic with interest rates near zero. This has not stimulated demand. Maybe, higher interest rates could temper future inflation, and right now make people with interest bearing assets feel wealthier, and thus they will spend more. The point is when all else fails, it is prudent to try something else.
Saturday, August 11, 2012 The 2012 Presidential Election a Referendum on Stimulus versus Austerity: Who's Right (or Wrong) Obama or Romney? (1 comments)
This article deals with the choices before the presidential candidates for fixing the economy--government spending or austerity--while coming to terms with the notion that China will overtake the U.S. economy by 2025, if the trajectory of economic growth rates for both countries continue on track going forward. There are lots of game-changer events that can derail China's economic hegemony--war, climate change, etc.
Sunday, July 29, 2012 Incentivizing Economic Growth (1 comments)
This article deals with the difficulty the Federal Reserve Bank faces trying to stimulate economic growth through quantitative easing of the money supply. But firms have profit maximization as their goal. On the other hand, the two political parties have different fiscal policy objectives--Democrats want to increase spending, while republicans want to cut spending. Ironically, both think recovery will follow from this.
Friday, July 6, 2012 Deficit, U.S. Default, and Economic Stimulus versus Austerity (1 comments)
This article deals with the dichotomy between the approaches of President Obama and Mitt Romney for dealing with the country's economic problems. Based on his policies to date, it is clear Obama thinks the problem facing the economy is low demand. Hence, the need for a stimulus. Mr. Romney has not clearly articulated any substantive policies but seems to prefer tax and spending cuts, to restore business confidence.
Monday, June 11, 2012 Wisconsin Recall Results: Why Some People Don't Vote Their Self-Interest (12 comments)
This article deals with the inconsistencies of votes cast be voters against their own self interest. It is gemaine to what took place just recently in Wisconsin and addresses the wider issue of inconsistencies in terms of gaps between factual events and fictional ones as voters perceive them.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 Marginal Tax Rates and Economic Performance (3 comments)
Marginal tax rate cuts are hypothesized to increase economic output. However, there is some evidence that suggest that marginal tax rates and economic performance are positively correlated. If rich and poor people have different propensities to consume, raising taxes on the rich would not reduce consumption and might help the national deficit. So it's hard to justify Grover Norquist's intransigence on hiking taxes on the rich.
Thursday, April 5, 2012 Deja vu all Over Again.
The article makes the point that elections matter in ways that affect economic and legislative policies. This was true when Hoover was president in the 1929 depression. It is true today when state governments put balancing the budget ahead of employment and economic growth, and when ideology dictates cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, education funding, EPA, and NPR. Recession requires stimulus spending not balanced budgets.
Sunday, March 18, 2012 Is Growing Ethnic Diversity a bad thing? (7 comments)
This article discusses the concerns about the change in the ethnic makeup of the U.S. by mid-century. Pat Buchanan paints a dreary portrait of America in his new book Suicide of a Superpower: Will America Survive to 2025. By assuming that "all human capital is no created equal," he must conclude that what is coming is bad. I argue high income and the democratic form of government give hope for a bright U.S. future.
Thursday, March 1, 2012 Economic Recovery Conundrum (4 comments)
Since recessions reflect reductions in aggregate demand for goods and services, particular private household and business demand, it is counterintuitive to cut government spending to promote economic growth. Cutting government spending (by laying off government workers) to balance the budget at the state and local level will lower income and thereby government revenue leading to deficits--this cycle repeats.
