tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post2777972732372608184..comments2024-03-22T06:05:36.544-04:00Comments on Kids Prefer Cheese: If Grandma had wheels we could end this recession!Mungowitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02340064320347875601noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-2852221075180233862013-09-07T21:45:52.827-04:002013-09-07T21:45:52.827-04:00I'm not an economist, I'm just a guy who t...I'm not an economist, I'm just a guy who teaches public budgeting. I've got a lot of former students out there working in local government. They all say pretty much one thing -- budgets are tight [or worse], property tax revenues haven't nearly recovered, and the taxpayers would bring out the torches and pitchforks if we tried to raise taxes.<br /><br />Now remember that for most local govts between 60 and 80 percent of their operating budget is payroll related and tell me how the heck they're going to hire new workers. They can barely pay the ones they have now.<br /><br />My Metro Detroit suburb is a really good budget shape, thanks to good budgeting and never having had a defined pension program. Despite this, the firefighters just signed a new 4-year contract with both no raise and new givebacks.<br /><br />Anyone who really thinks local govts are going to be hiring additional employees any time soon must be on powerful drugs.JorgXMcKiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07509568525555189690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-47903625271467313042013-09-07T11:52:24.393-04:002013-09-07T11:52:24.393-04:00And along come Nickel and Tudyka to smash the ball...And along come Nickel and Tudyka to smash the ball back into the Keynesians court;<br /><br />http://www.voxeu.org/article/fiscal-stimulus-times-high-public-debt-reconsidering-multipliers-and-twin-deficits<br /><br />'The cumulative response of private investment turns increasingly negative as government indebtedness increases. In particular, the cumulative effect on private investment turns negative for the first time at debt ratios of approximately 57%.'<br /><br />Guess what they find at 90%.<br /><br />Another old friend appears;<br /><br />'In sum, our findings lead us to conclude that the contradictory findings of previous studies may be the result of estimation within a static debt regime when indeed the debt regime is dynamic.'Patrick R. Sullivanhttp://hisstoryisbunk.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com