EconAir

Age and Class in America             As an economist, I define class in economic terms. In the past, income and income inequality were usually the main determinants. Now it is a combination of income and wealth (actual and potential) as more Americans grow old and retire.   There are four classes in America:   1) seniors over 65 with assets (wealth) and their inheriting children or relatives. Demographically, the fastest growing age group.The number of seniors is expected to double over the next 35 years while the number of all Americans is expected to decrease.           Total U.S. household net worth reached a record  $166.7 trillion  in the first quarter of 2026, according to the   Federal Reserve's Financial Accounts of the United States . This reflects the total value of all assets (like real estate, equities, IRAs, and bank deposits) minus all liabilities (like m...

  A play about John Maynard Keynes recently opened in London. People are paying to see a play about an economist? I hope it’s a comedy. Or at least a musical like  Hamilton .   Keynes was born in England in 1883. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge. His father was a professor at Cambridge. His mother was mayor of Cambridge in 1932-33. He died Lord Keynes in 1946. A member of the establishment.   He spent the first years of his professional life analyzing and writing about monetary theory and probability theory. This was in an environment in which the English economy was at the end of 100 years of political and economic dominance of the global economy (including English colonies) through advanced manufacturing technology, exports, and overseas capital investment. But already, by 1910, Germany and the United States had larger industrial output with better and more innovative technology (new industries and better manufacturing systems). England was falling behind. The...

The autocratic leader of Transylvania, Vlad the Inhaler (he had asthma), called together his cabinet and closest advisers, most of whom were relatives or clansmen. In a short three-hour harangue, he informed them there was a financial crisis. The country’s currency, the dracma, was almost worthless. The government had borrowed a lot of money from Western banks. The more they borrowed, the higher the interest rate. They couldn’t even pay the interest on the debt, let alone roll it over. Vlad railed against the bankers, calling them a bunch of bloodsuckers who were bleeding his country dry. He reminded them that was their job, not the bankers. Foreign bondholders and banks were screaming for their money. As usual, he called the IMF to bail out the government. This would be the sixth time in 15 years. Again, he promised fiscal and political reforms. The new head of the IMF, a former press secretary of the Trump administration, called him a liar, called his beautiful land a “shithole count...

Famous Headline     Before You Begin If you don't know the background of this complicated story, you might want to first read a shorter version that introduces some of the key factors explaining the Crash and the Depression. See,   Introduction to the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Beginning of the Great Depression     Before reading this essay, I strongly recommend you see the PBS video on YouTube. Type in Stock Market Crash 1929. Look for: US – The Crash of 1929 (PBS), ALLHISTORIES – PLAYLIST.  The documentary is broken into 6 parts to show commercials. Or buy the video on Amazon Prime. Great documentary with wonderful photos, videos, and scenes from movies of the 1920s and the crash. Shows what a crazy time it was.   The video is also a great introduction to Andrew Ross Sorkin's recent best-seller  1929:  Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History - and How It Shattered a Nation.  This book concentrates on the roles played b...