Yesterday I posted that the ECB just doesn’t “get it,” secure in the knowledge that Paul Krugman totally agrees with me on at least that one point.  And then look at what commenter Vaidas Urba sends me: Paul Krugman from a week ago: The good news is that the ECB does, I think, understand the […]

Vaidas sent me an interview with ECB board member Benoit Coeure.  Here’s the sort of quotation that I’ve made fun of in the past: On the definition of medium term: “There is an academic definition of ‘medium term’ which is the Milton Friedman definition. That’s 18 months. But it has always been recognized by the […]

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard suggests that the ECB might be moving toward easier money: The doves are seizing control of the European Central Bank. They are already laying the ground work for a blitz of Anglo-Saxon QE, whatever the Germans, Dutch, Austrians, and Finns (?) have to say about such wicked Latin conduct. Welcome to the next […]

I’ve frequently argued that the average person has no idea what “inflation” is, and hence public opinion polls about inflation are meaningless.  Even in the 1930s, when prices were falling fast, there was lots of concern about inflation.  Most people conflate the terms “cost of living” (price level) and “standard of living” (RGDP.)  Hence when […]

Matt Yglesias linked to this article: The conservative leader announced a 3-point hike in the main rate of Value Added Tax on goods and services to 21 percent and cuts in unemployment benefits and civil service pay and perks in a speech interrupted by jeers and boos from the opposition. “These measures are not pleasant, […]