The Fed’s Great ‘Slack’ Debate
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on August 10th, 2014 11:08 pm by HL
The Fed’s Great ‘Slack’ Debate
Robert Samuelson, RealClearPolitics
WASHINGTON — Call it the great “slack” debate. For nearly six years, the Federal Reserve has held short-term interest rates near zero to boost the economy. Is it now time to consider raising rates to pre-empt higher inflation? The answer depends heavily on the economy’s slack: its capacity to increase production without triggering price pressures. Although economists are arguing furiously over this, there’s no scientific way of measuring slack. Economic policymaking is often an exercise in educated guesswork, built on imperfect statistics, shaky assumptions, incomplete theories and political…
Obama: Military Operations in Iraq Are Open-Ended
Alexis Simendinger, RealClearPolitics
President Obama warned Americans Saturday that the U.S. military operation in Iraq is open-ended, and he did not discount that it could be years before the Iraqi government is able to independently thwart terrorists who seek a permanent foothold there. “I don’t think we’re going to solve this problem in weeks,” Obama said. “I think this is going to take some time.” Responding to questions after delivering a statement about Iraq, Obama stressed that U.S. military airstrikes in the near term are protecting American diplomatic and military personnel and…
Obama: U.S. “Here to Help” Iraq as Airstrikes Begin
Alexis Simendinger, RealClearPolitics
The United States military is back in Iraq. With President Obama’s decision Thursday to authorize airstrikes against a sophisticated terror group wreaking carnage throughout Iraq, a war he told Americans was over flared back to life. Hours after the president’s announcement, the Pentagon reported U.S. military aircraft dropped bombs on artillery used against Kurdish forces that were defending Erbil “near U.S. personnel.” There is no international diplomatic process that can eradicate the terror group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which Obama said aspires…
