Well, if we are after one-liners, everyone can play that game, e.g, "If the financial markets can't manage financial markets, how can we trust them to manage financial markets", or something like that.
Except, it's not like one has ever left managing financial markets just to the financial markets (e.g, subprime loans were partly about increasing minority home ownership rates), so who is to know if the quip makes sense or not.
The thing that makes life difficult for me, your regular Joe Schmoe, is that the whole things seems a bit too technical, so one can't really invoke "pattern recognition", otherwise known as gut instinct, to guess what's right.
// The subprime loans were indeed partly about increasing minority home ownership rates ... but we should not overemphasize it, as some right-wing commentators do. ... we've had a system where banker's compensation was tied to the volume of the product sold rather than their quality or than long-term financial well-being of their institution
( ... )
<< //I haven’t for example, been able to understand whether free trade is really as good as they say.//
I do not think there is a definite answer to that, the answer depends on what kind of economic activity you are involved in. >>
I was simply thinking of present-day US trade policies. At its most naive, when I walk into a store, see a lot of Chinese products, and ask a question if this is anything I should worry about, the prevailing attitude (not to say prevailing ideology) is that yes, it is a good thing for the US. I am just not so sure.
<< //... being able to understand the side effects of possible solutions takes a much deeper knowledge. The assumption is that there are people out there who have enough understanding that they can provide the type of oversight
( ... )
//I walk into a store, see a lot of Chinese products, and ask a question if this is anything I should worry about, the prevailing attitude (not to say prevailing ideology) is that yes, it is a good thing for the US. I am just not so sure
( ... )
And yet, I run into a news item like this - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122445840565148489.html - and realize yet again that I won't be able to untuit my way on free trade. Like I said before, I have a feeling free trade and finance are two areas I will not be able to put off educating myself on in somewhat greater depth forever
( ... )
I forgot to mention a useful stop-gap measure of getting oriented, namely, finding a commentator who seems trustworthy and follow his writings while you are getting yourself educated
( ... )
Yes, I read Krugman' s column regularly, but he is too unabashedly partisan for my taste to accept him a a source of scholarly wisdom, Nobel Prize or not
( ... )
Yes, he does come across as a somewhat unpleasant personality, but I don't automatically shy away from politically polarized commentators.
Sometimes they are better than the centrist at emphasizing certain aspects of the events, and it is easier in some sense to remain on guard when reading their opinions, so you get to extract what's useful and dispose of the chaff.
A good example of a more moderate commentator at New York Times is Thomas Freedman. He is a likable and not overly polarized fellow with a probably somewhat pompous but generally pleasant personality, but I've always felt that it is easy to be somehow led astray by his articles and books without quite realizing what's happening.
I happen to like Tom Friedman. I read all his books, and I am reading all his columns. You have to remember he is not an academic scientist like Krugman, but rather a journalist.
But sometimes his analysis is very concise - I wish people planning the invasion of Iraq would have read his "From Beirut to Jerusalem". Maybe we would have avoided the same mistakes (described by Friedman) Israel made in Lebanon.
I remember my wife once telling me about an article she'd read describing how the Chinese killed Brazil's shoe industry, so I assume they do trade some?
The effects of free trade is often described in terms of winners and losers almost at the level of individuals, but I have this old-fashioned question of what's good for the country as a whole, whatever that may mean. Maybe it's not even possible to ask this type of question, but it sure looks like when things hit the fan, it's a whole country that can end up in a pickle.
Except, it's not like one has ever left managing financial markets just to the financial markets (e.g, subprime loans were partly about increasing minority home ownership rates), so who is to know if the quip makes sense or not.
The thing that makes life difficult for me, your regular Joe Schmoe, is that the whole things seems a bit too technical, so one can't really invoke "pattern recognition", otherwise known as gut instinct, to guess what's right.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
I do not think there is a definite answer to that, the answer depends on what kind of economic activity you are involved in. >>
I was simply thinking of present-day US trade policies. At its most naive, when I walk into a store, see a lot of Chinese products, and ask a question if this is anything I should worry about, the prevailing attitude (not to say prevailing ideology) is that yes, it is a good thing for the US. I am just not so sure.
<< //... being able to understand the side effects of possible solutions takes a much deeper knowledge. The assumption is that there are people out there who have enough understanding that they can provide the type of oversight ( ... )
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Sometimes they are better than the centrist at emphasizing certain aspects of the events, and it is easier in some sense to remain on guard when reading their opinions, so you get to extract what's useful and dispose of the chaff.
A good example of a more moderate commentator at New York Times is Thomas Freedman. He is a likable and not overly polarized fellow with a probably somewhat pompous but generally pleasant personality, but I've always felt that it is easy to be somehow led astray by his articles and books without quite realizing what's happening.
Reply
But sometimes his analysis is very concise - I wish people planning the invasion of Iraq would have read his "From Beirut to Jerusalem". Maybe we would have avoided the same mistakes (described by Friedman) Israel made in Lebanon.
Reply
The particular area I am not quite sure how much I can trust him on is free trade.
Reply
Reply
The effects of free trade is often described in terms of winners and losers almost at the level of individuals, but I have this old-fashioned question of what's good for the country as a whole, whatever that may mean. Maybe it's not even possible to ask this type of question, but it sure looks like when things hit the fan, it's a whole country that can end up in a pickle.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment