Washington insider exposes all!!

 
Hah. Well, any other title I came up with including the word economics did not seemed destined to inspire so I resorted to base and vile click-baiting. My Bad.

Anyhoo...I was fascinated by a Washington Post op-ed piece the was linked from Boing Boing.

 How America Became uncompetitive and unequal

Now this essay is very appealing to me. Pointing out errors of administrations that I have no love for, and offering a very simple solution to seemingly very complex problems. WIN!! 

Except that I can see some pretty major glossing over of some complicated issues, superficial understanding of things like the issues around medical costs (an area I know something about), and an apparently poor grasp of history.
They cite the Gilded Age abuses as the impetus for economic reform leading to prosperity. But the Gilded Age (about 1870 -1900) was followed by WWI, Black Friday, the Depression, and WWII.
The Robber Barons certainly had a large hand in the bubble that led up to the Depression, but WWII had a lot to do with the economic recovery from the depression by loss of population, innovation, and military contracts.
Today's economy is very different. But since my knowledge of economics is lacking, I sent out a plea via Twitter to my favorite Washington economist to weigh in on what she thinks of the essay above.

Competition policy and economic inequality

It is a very informative read! While our politics differ greatly, I have utmost respect for her knowledge and expertise.

I know this stuff looks pretty dry, but honestly this is talking about our daily lives and is VERY well written and understandable by those of us who ran screaming from economics and statistics!