Economic History
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Alice M. Rivlin, Founding Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Dies at the Age of 88
Rivlin once described herself as, ” a professional critic of wishful thinking”. This critic of wishful thinking characteristic was an ideal trait for someone in charge of governmental purse strings; a perfect attribute for a budget official. Georgianna Alice Mitchell began life on March 4, 1931 in Philadelphia. She spent her childhood years primarily in Bloomington, Indiana. Her father, Allan C.G. Mitchell, was a physicist who helped develop the Atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. Her mother, Georgianna (Fales) Mitchell, was a national officer of The League of Women Voters. Alice was a Havard graduate and recipient of the Brookings fellowship. Her Ph.D dissertation was on Projecting Demographic…
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The Great Recession
The Great Recession began in December 2007 and lasted eighteen months. This was the longest economic decline since The Great Depression of 1929 to 1941. The NBER defines an economic recession as: “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.” According to Elizabeth Warren, United States Senator from Massachusetts, in the Sat 17 Sep 2016 article,” Elizabeth Warren is still mad about the financial crash, and we should be too,” there are facts about the recession that should not be ignored. Warren’s focus is primarily on the lack of…
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One of the Largest Financial Frauds in United States History
Bernie Madoff was at once family man, trusted friend, business success story, and one of the most notorious Ponzi Scheme Kingpins in history. His scheme devastated the lives of thousands including his own family. By all appearances the Madoffs were to be envied. They flew in private jets living the high life of luxury, but the stability of their American Dream was fragile built upon the shifty foundation of fraud. The decades long gig was finally up, when Madoff was arrested on December 11, 2008. He was surprised by the FBI in the early morning hours, while still dressed in his pajamas. Upon hearing the big confession his sons did not wait,…
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Keynes Essay of Possibility
In John Maynard Keynes’ 1930 essay, Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren , he comments on the then current “prevailing world depression” and the general feeling of pessimism hanging as a dark cloud overhead. The cloud being filled with joblessness, soup lines, and in some cases, suicide, in response to sudden financial ruin. The aftermath of economic disaster was so tremendous that its destruction created The Great Depression. Keynes purpose in putting forth this essay was to look beyond the 1930 economic state of affairs, and past the present malaise, to future generations and what possibilities there could be for them. He believed that there were redeeming, underlying trends, buried beneath the rubble of the fallen financial structure; and that these trends pointed to a…
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The History of Money
The objects of value that have served as forms of currency, have gone through considerable change over the past 10,000 years. We began with a barter system, where traded services and resources resulted in an agreed upon exchange of mutual advantage. In fact, individuals, organizations, and governments still prefer to use the barter system of exchange in some cases. In 9000 – 6000 B.C with agricultural based communities, cattle and other livestock (sheep, camels, etc.) are the first and oldest forms of money. The use of grain and other vegetable or plant products became standard forms of barter in many cultures. The first use of cowries, the shells of a…
