The Washington Monthly

When I worked in the New York bureau of U.S. News & World Report, the fax machine was constantly spewing out self-congratulatory pabulum from high-tech firms. … more

Most people are relieved by the fact that the Asian economic crisis did not turn into the worldwide, government-overturning, riot-and famine-inducing catastrophe some predicted, and no doubt Paul Krugman is relieved, too. But the entrepreneur in Krugman must also feel a small twinge of remorse. His new book, The Return of Depression Economics, was written in the darkest moments of the Asian flu, and it is packaged as a doomsaying prophecy. And now the crisis has disappeared from the headlines,… more

Social Security's critics make much of the program's age. It is a relic of the New Deal, designed during a depressed era when people died younger, and trusted the market less, than they do today. And if you really want to make Social Security look dated, you point out that its basic blueprint comes from Otto yon Bismark. The implication of these historical references is perfectly clear: If we could… more