Author Archive
Animal Spirits, by Akerlof and Shiller
Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism, by George Akerlof and Robert Shiller, 2009 Yale Prof. Robert Shiller, author of Irrational Exuberance (2000; 2005), predicted the 2008 financial collapse years before it happened. The Case Shiller Home Price Index, founded with his partner, Wellesley Prof. Karl Case, ...Read more.
Magic Mushrooms
It had been a rainy summer in Colorado. No surprise to find mushrooms as we hiked the Andrews Glacier trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. But these mushrooms! Three inches across, deep crimson with white splotches, glowing in the mountain sunlight! Amanita muscaria, the original deadly toadstool, the mushroom of fairytales, Alice in Wonderland’s mushroom. ...Read more.
Income Inequality and Financial Crises, NYT, Aug 21
A New York Times article by Louise Story asks, “Do widening gaps between rich and poor necessarily lead to financial crises?” (Aug. 21) The answer is yes, for a reason observed over 100 years ago by American economist and reformer Henry George: Economic growth enhances the value of titles to real estate and other natural ...Read more.
The Buyout of America
On vacation in Colorado, we drive through the Littleton shopping mall. There it is, a two-story building, black and empty behind its glass facade. Mervyn’s Department Store. Founded in 1949, Mervyn’s grew to a chain of 189 stores in 10 Western states. But in 2008, Mervyn’s went bankrupt , laying off 18,000 employees without severance ...Read more.
