Dean Baker
Dean Baker
Dean Bakeris an American macroeconomist and co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, with Mark Weisbrot. He has been a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and an assistant professor of economics at Bucknell University. He has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan...
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People are really stretched. They are banking on everything turning out right for them. That they won't lose their jobs, that they won't run into unexpected expenses. They're betting that the housing market will continue to appreciate.
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People are always trying to explain the lack of questions as saying there's a consensus around monetary policy, but there's anything but a consensus on monetary policy. What upsets me more than anything is no one is asking serious questions.
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It could be a very big hit. I'd say there's a 10 to 15 percent chance of negative growth if we see a spike in interest rates, or a really big jump in energy prices.
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Historically, rent prices and sale prices have moved together.
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He was the one who had the courage to let the unemployment rate fall. Very few people thought the unemployment rate could fall that low.
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He consciously promoted the housing bubble as a way of boosting the economy.
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There is a large psychological element behind current housing prices,
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I think Alan and really played a unique role here. He certainly expanded the power of the Fed, in the sense that he came to be the all purpose authority on economic matters -- he was commenting on trade policy, tax policy.
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Clearly, housing is going to be a drag on the economy; the question is how much does housing slow and how quickly.
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If Medicare could negotiate directly with drug companies it could save the federal and state governments hundred of billions of dollars and cut insurance premiums.
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Things do seem like they're out of line, but of course I've been seeing warning bells for several years.
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Home and rental prices will come back together by home prices falling. I don't think landlords will be in any position to raise rates too much.
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Home prices are going through the roof, forcing people to turn to exotic loans and unorthodox financing. These people have no room for error.
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Gore is keeping the existing system in place because it works -- using the budget surplus to add to the Social Security trust fund. So what's the point in dismantling it,