https://znetwork.org/author/deanbaker/ Independent Left News, Analysis, Vision and Strategy Wed, 30 Jul 2025 17:55:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://znetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/cropped-Z_logo_512-32x32.png https://znetwork.org/author/deanbaker/ 32 32 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/donald-trumps-harvard-extortion-and-the-kneel-liberals/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/donald-trumps-harvard-extortion-and-the-kneel-liberals/#respond Wed, 30 Jul 2025 17:39:12 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1286738 The New York Times told readers yesterday that Harvard may be close to a deal with Donald Trump, where it pays $500 million in exchange for continuing to be able to get government grants and admit foreign students. This would likely be similar to a deal Columbia University struck last week where it agreed to [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/donald-trumps-harvard-extortion-and-the-kneel-liberals/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trumps-war-on-universities-increases-the-trade-deficit/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trumps-war-on-universities-increases-the-trade-deficit/#respond Mon, 26 May 2025 16:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1284226 Donald Trump seems to have even more trouble staying focused these days than usual. People may recall back to April 2 — which Trump declared as “Liberation Day” — when he imposed massive tariffs that were supposedly going to keep other countries from ripping us off. To Trump, ripping us off meant that they were running trade surpluses with [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trumps-war-on-universities-increases-the-trade-deficit/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trump-tariffs-and-the-dollar-as-the-world-reserve-currency/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trump-tariffs-and-the-dollar-as-the-world-reserve-currency/#respond Fri, 14 Mar 2025 15:39:45 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1281030 With Trump threatening to impose big taxes (tariffs) on imports from all our major trading partners, many people are desperate to find some grand scheme that would justify this seeming absurdity. Just to be clear, as economic policy, Trump’s tariffs are absurd. There can be arguments for tariffs as part of an industrial policy that [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trump-tariffs-and-the-dollar-as-the-world-reserve-currency/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-democrats-necessary-apology/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-democrats-necessary-apology/#respond Tue, 11 Mar 2025 16:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1280852 An old friend asked me to write a short piece on what I think we (progressives) should do now. I mentioned some immediate ways to stem the Trump Blitzkrieg. I largely agree with the Nicholas Kristof price of eggs approach, although I think it’s also essential to demonize “Elon the Nazi.” Politicians should be embarrassed to [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-democrats-necessary-apology/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-elites-big-lie-on-inequality/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-elites-big-lie-on-inequality/#respond Tue, 04 Mar 2025 17:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1280542 (I saw that Jeff Bezos wants the Washington Post’s editorial page to run pieces touting the merits of free markets. Here’s my submission.) There are not many issues on which there is largely bipartisan agreement, so the story we tell about the origin of economic inequality stands out. Both sides agree that the increase in [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-elites-big-lie-on-inequality/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/theres-one-word-for-trumps-erratic-negotiating-strategy-stupid/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/theres-one-word-for-trumps-erratic-negotiating-strategy-stupid/#respond Tue, 28 Jan 2025 17:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1279008 Donald Trump is carrying through his campaign pledge in threatening every country in the world with big taxes on the goods we import (tariffs) from them. However, he does keep changing the size of the taxes he wants to hit us with and who will be most affected. In the latest version imports from Mexico [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/theres-one-word-for-trumps-erratic-negotiating-strategy-stupid/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/senator-chris-coons-and-the-cult-of-patent-monopolies/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/senator-chris-coons-and-the-cult-of-patent-monopolies/#respond Fri, 27 Dec 2024 17:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1277636 Last week, Delaware Senator Chris Coons, the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, made an assertion about the nature of patents that is flat out wrong. Senator Coons said: “OUR FOUNDING FATHERS MADE IT CLEAR THAT INVENTORS SHOULD HAVE EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO THEIR INVENTIONS. IN OTHER WORDS, THE CONSTITUTION IN ITS SCRIPT GUARANTEES TO [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/senator-chris-coons-and-the-cult-of-patent-monopolies/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/fixing-the-media-and-campaign-spending-by-the-rich/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/fixing-the-media-and-campaign-spending-by-the-rich/#respond Thu, 19 Dec 2024 16:52:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1277322 Virtually everyone, except Elon Musk, agrees that the rich have too much political power these days. When a single individual can put tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars behind their favored candidate, it seriously distorts democracy. Unfortunately, there are few serious strategies for addressing this problem.  Given the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizen’s [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/fixing-the-media-and-campaign-spending-by-the-rich/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/rfk-jr-is-a-whacked-out-crank-but-he-is-right-about-the-pharmaceutical-industry/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/rfk-jr-is-a-whacked-out-crank-but-he-is-right-about-the-pharmaceutical-industry/#respond Sun, 17 Nov 2024 14:48:28 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1275507 RFK Jr.’s main claim to fame, apart from his ancestry, is from saying crazy things about vaccines. As has been well-documented, vaccines have not led to autism or killed thousands of people. They have saved tens of millions of lives and protected billions of people from debilitating illnesses. By discouraging vaccinations, RFK Jr.’s crazed rants contributed to dozens [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/rfk-jr-is-a-whacked-out-crank-but-he-is-right-about-the-pharmaceutical-industry/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-nyt-version-of-the-big-lie-technology-created-inequality/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-nyt-version-of-the-big-lie-technology-created-inequality/#respond Sun, 10 Nov 2024 14:21:20 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1275083 There is a Big Lie pushed by centrist types that is almost as pernicious as the Big Lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. It is that inequality was driven by technology, an autonomous force in the world, not policy choices made by politicians.  This lie permeates just about all political discussions in major [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-nyt-version-of-the-big-lie-technology-created-inequality/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-high-cost-of-protectionism-ai-edition/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-high-cost-of-protectionism-ai-edition/#respond Sun, 28 Jul 2024 14:57:24 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1269968 Economists go on endless diatribes against tariffs and quotas as costly policies that raise prices to consumers and slow economic growth. There is considerable truth to this story, even if economists and politicians often exaggerate their case to push favored policies. While virtually all economists will go to their graves touting the evils of protectionism [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-high-cost-of-protectionism-ai-edition/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-fight-billionaires-control-of-the-media/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-fight-billionaires-control-of-the-media/#respond Tue, 31 Oct 2023 16:45:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1256731 Mark Twain famously quipped that everyone always talks about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it. (This was before global warming.) In the same vein, it is common for people to rant about billionaires, like Rupert Murdoch and Elon Musk, controlling major media outlets and using them to advance their political whims. [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/how-to-fight-billionaires-control-of-the-media/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/should-people-be-happy-about-the-biden-economy/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/should-people-be-happy-about-the-biden-economy/#respond Wed, 06 Sep 2023 16:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1253407 We constantly see reports in the media that people are unhappy about the economy and they blame President Biden. I, along with many liberal/left colleagues, have been telling people to shut up and enjoy the good times. Okay, that is not quite what we have been saying, but we have been saying that the economy [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/should-people-be-happy-about-the-biden-economy/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/when-ai-assists-workers-it-is-displacing-them/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/when-ai-assists-workers-it-is-displacing-them/#respond Sat, 26 Aug 2023 14:10:48 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1252608 The discussion of AI continues to be almost otherworldly. We often see a contrast between the idea that AI will “assist” workers in doing their job and that AI will replace them. Pro tip: When AI assists workers, it is replacing them. The story here is actually pretty simple. Suppose we can get AI to write legal [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/when-ai-assists-workers-it-is-displacing-them/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/bad-things-that-could-end-the-good-times/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/bad-things-that-could-end-the-good-times/#respond Mon, 31 Jul 2023 16:14:04 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1250213 Along with everyone else (okay, not Republicans), I have been celebrating the great economic news we’ve been getting the last few weeks. Inflation is clearly slowing, the unemployment rate remains low, real wages are rising, investment is growing rapidly, and the green conversion is going faster than any of us could have imagined, even if [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/bad-things-that-could-end-the-good-times/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/what-to-look-for-in-the-second-quarter-2023-gdp-report/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/what-to-look-for-in-the-second-quarter-2023-gdp-report/#respond Wed, 26 Jul 2023 16:43:42 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1250021 We will likely see growth of close to 2.0 percent in the second quarter, roughly the same as in the first quarter. This is close to most estimates of the economy’s potential, indicating that it is growing at a pace that is sustainable and should not be associated with rising unemployment. The composition of growth [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/what-to-look-for-in-the-second-quarter-2023-gdp-report/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/washington-post-continues-its-demographic-scare-stories/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/washington-post-continues-its-demographic-scare-stories/#respond Sat, 01 Jul 2023 14:17:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1248728 The Washington Post has used both its opinion and news sections to push for cuts to Social Security and Medicare for many decades. It continues this effort with a piece in its series “Work Reimagined.” The headline tells it all: “More Americans are retiring than ever before. See what that means for you.” The basic point is [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/washington-post-continues-its-demographic-scare-stories/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-social-security-scare-story-industry/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-social-security-scare-story-industry/#respond Tue, 04 Apr 2023 16:30:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1242802 I’m on the road (literally, driving from southern Utah to western Oregon) but I thought I should quickly weigh in on the scare stories we heard yesterday after the release of the 2023 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports. I’ll make four quick points: + The scare stories stem entirely from how we account for [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-social-security-scare-story-industry/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/does-being-balanced-at-the-new-york-times-mean-giving-the-right-space-to-lie/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/does-being-balanced-at-the-new-york-times-mean-giving-the-right-space-to-lie/#respond Fri, 24 Feb 2023 17:30:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1240042 Guess so since it gave Brian Riedl, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, plenty of space to say things that are extremely deceptive, if not outright lies. The gist of Riedl’s piece is that it will not be possible to sustain Social Security and Medicare without tax increases on the middle class. Much of the piece [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/does-being-balanced-at-the-new-york-times-mean-giving-the-right-space-to-lie/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-debate-markets-vs-government-when-we-let-the-right-rig-the-market/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-debate-markets-vs-government-when-we-let-the-right-rig-the-market/#respond Thu, 19 Jan 2023 16:06:27 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1237372 I was happy to see this segment of Ezra Klein’s show (hosted by Rogé Karma) which featured an interview with Columbia University Law Professor Katharina Pistor. Pistor is the author of The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality. I’ve not yet read the book, but got the gist from the interview. [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-debate-markets-vs-government-when-we-let-the-right-rig-the-market/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/industrial-policy-is-not-a-remedy-for-income-inequality/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/industrial-policy-is-not-a-remedy-for-income-inequality/#respond Tue, 27 Dec 2022 17:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1235555 The idea of industrial policy has taken on almost a mystical quality for many progressives. The idea is that it is somehow new and different from what we had been doing, and if we had been doing industrial policy for the last half-century, everything would be better. This has led to widespread applause on the left for [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/industrial-policy-is-not-a-remedy-for-income-inequality/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/crypto-meltdown-is-a-great-time-to-eliminate-waste-in-bloated-financial-sector/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/crypto-meltdown-is-a-great-time-to-eliminate-waste-in-bloated-financial-sector/#respond Tue, 15 Nov 2022 16:30:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1231892 I remember talking to a progressive group a bit more than a decade ago, arguing for the merits of a financial transactions tax (FTT). After I laid out the case, someone asked me if we had lost the opportunity to push for an FTT now that the financial crisis was over. I assured the person [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/crypto-meltdown-is-a-great-time-to-eliminate-waste-in-bloated-financial-sector/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-case-for-the-trumpers-anger/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-case-for-the-trumpers-anger/#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2022 16:14:24 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1231538 At this point, a large majority of non-college educated whites (especially white men) are willing to follow Donald Trump off any cliff. They have open contempt for more educated people (a.k.a. the “elites”) and their institutions, such as universities, mainstream media outlets, and science. There is no justification for the racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and other [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-case-for-the-trumpers-anger/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/inflation-reduction-act-may-transform-the-corporate-income-tax/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/inflation-reduction-act-may-transform-the-corporate-income-tax/#respond Tue, 08 Nov 2022 16:00:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1231259 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/inflation-reduction-act-may-transform-the-corporate-income-tax/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/elon-musk-takes-over-twitter-can-we-stop-wasting-time-on-campaign-finance-reform/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/elon-musk-takes-over-twitter-can-we-stop-wasting-time-on-campaign-finance-reform/#respond Mon, 31 Oct 2022 14:17:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1224157 There is an old saying that intellectuals have a hard time with new ideas. The pursuit of campaign finance reform by many progressives is probably the best example of this difficulty. Many progressives have argued for the urgency of getting money out of politics to prevent the corrupting influence of major corporations and generic rich [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/elon-musk-takes-over-twitter-can-we-stop-wasting-time-on-campaign-finance-reform/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/hey-if-the-government-pays-for-the-research-it-doesnt-have-to-grant-patent-monopolies/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/hey-if-the-government-pays-for-the-research-it-doesnt-have-to-grant-patent-monopolies/#respond Tue, 20 Sep 2022 22:40:18 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1220452 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/hey-if-the-government-pays-for-the-research-it-doesnt-have-to-grant-patent-monopolies/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/do-workers-have-to-take-it-on-the-chin-to-fight-inflation/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/do-workers-have-to-take-it-on-the-chin-to-fight-inflation/#respond Sat, 17 Sep 2022 15:12:11 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1220250 I have had many people ask me if there is not a better way to fight inflation than the current route of Federal Reserve Board rate hikes. Just to remind people, this route fights inflation by slowing the economy, throwing people out of work, and then forcing workers to take pay cuts. The people who [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/do-workers-have-to-take-it-on-the-chin-to-fight-inflation/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-big-myth-on-inequality-it-just-happened/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-big-myth-on-inequality-it-just-happened/#respond Mon, 12 Sep 2022 15:48:09 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1219879 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-big-myth-on-inequality-it-just-happened/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/inflation-where-are-we-now/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/inflation-where-are-we-now/#respond Sat, 20 Aug 2022 15:39:26 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1200036 With the data we have seen from the last few months, it’s fair to say that no one has a very good idea of where the economy is. At the most basic level, we have seen seven months of incredibly rapid job creation this year; the economy added 3.3 million jobs through July, along with [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/inflation-where-are-we-now/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/structuring-the-economy-to-give-money-to-the-rich-is-inflationary/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/structuring-the-economy-to-give-money-to-the-rich-is-inflationary/#respond Mon, 18 Jul 2022 19:31:07 +0000 https://zcomm-staging.work/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1067863 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/structuring-the-economy-to-give-money-to-the-rich-is-inflationary/feed/ 0