Robert J. samuelson

Article

The middle-class comeback, sketchy and possibly temporary, inspires hope. Amid much pessimism, sometimes events surprise us for the better.

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: The middle class…

The middle class is back -- or so it seems.

September 19th, 2017

Article

North Korean deserters and activists shout slogans during a demonstration against North Korea's sixth nuclear test in central Seoul, South Korea. EFE

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Give South Korea a…

September 8th, 2017

Article

Para que Estados Unidos tenga éxito se requiere una clase media grande—y mayormente exitosa. El renacimiento de la clase media es prueba de optimismo. La pregunta persistente en este Día del Trabajo es si ese renacimiento perdurará. ¿O volverán los recuerdos de la Gran Recesión a perseguirnos?

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: The middle-class…

September 6th, 2017

Article

Mostly, through deficits, we would be shifting the costs of today’s lower taxes and higher benefits onto tomorrow’s Americans through higher taxes and lower benefits. File

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: We need higher…

September 1st, 2017

Article

It’s possible that the turmoil of the Trump administration could spill into financial markets, as investors conclude that many of the president’s proposals, including so-called tax reform, stand a scant chance of passage. File

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Is the stock…

August 28th, 2017

Article

In 1995, the largest five firms by market “capitalization” (the value of a company’s shares) were old-line businesses: Exxon, AT&T, Coca Cola, General Electric and Merck. By 2015, only Exxon (now Exxon Mobil) remained.

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: The curse of…

August 21st, 2017

Article

There isn’t enough money to satisfy all our demands, even at higher rates of economic growth. There will be conflicts between private and governmental spending; between national and local spending; between health spending and non-health spending; and between spending on the old versus the young. The present is contentious; the future may be worse.

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Trump’s great…

August 9th, 2017

Article

La manera en que Yellen maneje estos asuntos moldeará su legado. También podría determinar su futuro inmediato. Su período como presidenta de la Fed caduca a comienzos de 2018. Es difícil imaginar que el presidente Trump la reasigne a esas funciones si no puede guiar a la Fed sorteando los próximos escollos. dataifx.com

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Yellen’s gamble

August 2nd, 2017

Article

Just whether the persistence of high-cost care reflects good medicine, a deep human craving to cling to life, or both is unclear. But the rhetoric about “end-of-life” care has changed more than the reality. To the question -- Can we die in peace and with dignity? -- the answer is “not yet.”

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Can we die in…

July 28th, 2017

Article

The federal budget remains badly out of whack, even though we are near or at “full employment” (June unemployment rate: 4.4 percent). We cannot afford tax cuts; we need tax increases.

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Deficits forever?

July 20th, 2017

Article

“Upper-middle-class parents have the means to spend two to three times more time with their preschool children than less affluent parents,” he wrote. He also excoriated “the structural ways the well-educated rig the system” -- mainly restrictive zoning and easier college admissions, including legacy preferences. impakter.com

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Who’s hoarding the…

July 18th, 2017

Article

En un mundo ideal, los robots realizarían la mayoría de los trabajos repetitivos y monótonos, mientras que la fuerza de trabajo mejor educada y mejor paga se concentraría en trabajos que no pueden ser realizados por máquinas. Archivo

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Why robots won’t…

July 14th, 2017

Article

Trump may believe that trade and environmental issues can be kept separate from geopolitical matters, such as North Korea’s nuclear program. On the contrary, history suggests that trade and geopolitics go hand in hand. EFE

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Trump’s trade trap

July 11th, 2017

Article

Not surprisingly, the system has become self-perpetuating. It feeds on mutual recriminations. On this July 4, the Founders -- who had deep disagreements, but compromised -- would doubtlessly disapprove.

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Mad at everyone

July 3rd, 2017

Article

Economists from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland -- a bank for government central banks -- find that the pass-through from wage increases to price increases has weakened. If this is confirmed and continues, it implies that inflation will remain tame for some time even if the economy continues to grow. EFE

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Postponing the…

June 30th, 2017

Article

If companies compete fiercely for scarce employees, workers would benefit. Companies would increase wages and fringe benefits or risk losing their best employees to firms with more generous compensation packages.

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Is the labor…

June 26th, 2017

Article

To some extent, the future of America depends on Donald Trump. But it depends even more on how these social and economic trends evolve -- how we cope with them and whether we become a more cohesive society or a more contentious one. EFE

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Trump isn’t destiny

June 13th, 2017

Article

Based on present technology and knowledge, we don’t know how to solve global warming. There is no obvious way to eliminate our pervasive dependence on fossil fuels without plunging the world into a prolonged depression and inviting widespread civil strife.

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: The messy reality…

June 7th, 2017

Article

The “American economy will need a coordinated response, particularly if the entire financial system suffers a panic or lack of liquidity.” Bankruptcy judges cannot provide this response. It is best left to the Treasury, Federal Reserve and FDIC.

Thought Leaders

[OP-ED]: Preparing for the…

June 6th, 2017