Points of Public Interest

1. Why Limiting Itemized Deductions (Still) Makes Sense - My former professor, Diane Lim Rogers, offers her support for a proposal to limit itemized deductions to a 15 percent rate. This policy will simultaneously increase the progressive nature of income taxes, substantially reduce total tax expenditures and raise revenue.
2. The Fed Is Misleading Congress About Europe - Warren Mosler, a founding member of Modern Monetary Theory, argues that the Fed’s dollar swap lines are unsecured lending and should therefore be the responsibility of Congress.
3. Philip Pilkington: Is QE/ZIRP Killing Demand? - Pilkington describes the counterproductive efforts of Fed policy. Milton Friedman also believed ZIRP (zero interest rate policy) would restrict demand as I outlined in Deflationary Monetary Policy.
4. The Liberalism of Classical Liberalism - Peter Boettke tries to correct some typical misrepresentations of classical liberalism with a good dose of historical background.
5. Show Me the Daylight 'twixt Sanction and Tariff - Samuel Wilson considers recent trade sanctions against Iran and China, and why the two are viewed in different lights by Americans.
6. The Future of Economics - Steve Keen, a leading post-Keynesian, makes a case for incorporating disequilibrium, dynamic modeling and emergent properties into the core of future economics.
7. The European Crisis Deepen - Peter Boone and Simon Johnson, former IMF Chief, explain why current optimism is likely unwarranted and how the realistic end may include a break-up of the Eurozone.