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<title><![CDATA[Caroline Baum - Articles - RealClearPolitics]]></title><link>http://www.RealClearPolicy.com/authors/rss/archive/15732.xml</link><description><![CDATA[Caroline Baum]]></description><category domain="15732">Author</category><item>
							<title><![CDATA[Lessons of 2013, Guaranteed to Be Forgotten]]></title>
							<link>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.realclearmarkets.com/]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 26 Dec 2013 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[It&rsquo;s that time of year when journalists let their creativity run rampant to produce 10-Best and 10-Worst lists, revisit the year&rsquo;s biggest whoppers (look no further than the Oval Office), and offer prognostications for the coming year. With that in mind, I&rsquo;ve gleaned...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Last Gasp of the Keynesians]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-04/last-gasp-of-the-keynesians.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-04/last-gasp-of-the-keynesians.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 05 Dec 2013 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Larry Summers is talking about it. So is Paul Krugman. So are other economists. And everyone else is talking about the folks who are talking about it.The &ldquo;it&rdquo; is secular stagnation, which seems to be the New New Thing or the new new normal: a way to describe the persistent...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[A Guide to Obama's Inside-Out Economics]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-07/a-user-s-guide-to-obama-s-inside-out-economics-caroline.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-07/a-user-s-guide-to-obama-s-inside-out-economics-caroline.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 08 Aug 2013 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[The president may be out of ideas, but he is never out of words. He has been sharing voluminous amounts of them with audiences over the last two weeks on his latest speaking tour, or pivot, on the economy.And for good reason.]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Why Govt Spending Does Nothing for Jobs]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-19/why-government-spending-does-nothing-for-jobs.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-19/why-government-spending-does-nothing-for-jobs.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[While most economists and policy makers are focusing on the International Monetary Fund&rsquo;s epiphany on the perils of austerity, some researchers at the IMF have offered another take on the fiscal-policy debate. They found that less is more, even when it comes to the size and scope...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Ben Resuscitates QE, Downplays Risk and Cost]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-26/bernanke-resuscitates-qe-downplays-risk-and-cost.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-26/bernanke-resuscitates-qe-downplays-risk-and-cost.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Last week, the Federal Reserve&#194;&#146;s quantitative easing was about to undergo some quantitative adjustment. At least that was the take-away from the minutes of the Jan. 29-30 meeting, suggesting that Fed policy makers were starting to view the costs of long-term asset purchases as...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Obama's Phony Default Drama]]></title>
							<link>http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/obama_phony_default_drama_sJgRMsRg3RXNJ23fLybYxI</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/obama_phony_default_drama_sJgRMsRg3RXNJ23fLybYxI]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Sat, 12 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[The United States of America isn&rsquo;t going to default on its debt, even if Congress doesn&rsquo;t increase the statutory borrowing authority in the next couple of months. Everyone in Washington knows, or should know, this. Any assertions to the contrary are tantamount to (perish the...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Ryan's Seriousness Puts Obama in a Bind]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-13/romney-s-taxes-ryan-s-budget-democratic-delight.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-13/romney-s-taxes-ryan-s-budget-democratic-delight.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Fri, 17 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[No sooner did Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney announce his choice of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan to be his running mate than the criticism started flowing, fast and furious."Right-wing ideologue," declared David Axelrod, President Obama's campaign strategist."Plutocrat...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Milton Friedman: More Relevant Than Ever]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-08/flying-with-milton-friedman-is-a-trip-unto-itself.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-08/flying-with-milton-friedman-is-a-trip-unto-itself.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[As I was leaving the house last Friday for a full day of travel, I wanted something to read during airport holdovers and almost-certain delays. My only prerequisite was that the book be small enough to fit in my purse.Whether I grabbed Milton Friedman's "Capitalism and Freedom" because...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[The Ruling Class: Too-Big-to-Fail?]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-18/congress-needs-to-lose-its-too-big-to-fail-status.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-18/congress-needs-to-lose-its-too-big-to-fail-status.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 19 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Last August, as part of an agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, Congress created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to come up with a minimum of $1.2 trillion of cuts over the next 10 years.Failure of the so-called supercommittee to produce a bill with at least that...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Last Thing Economy Needs Is Another DC Plan]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-27/congress-would-hate-to-lose-its-tax-code-toys.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-27/congress-would-hate-to-lose-its-tax-code-toys.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Sat, 30 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[It isn&rsquo;t working. Or it didn&rsquo;t work. At least it hasn&rsquo;t worked yet. Why not try something different?&ldquo;It&rdquo; refers to traditional countercyclical monetary and fiscal policies that are used, as the name suggests, to counteract the effects of recession and subpar...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[10-Year Treasuries: Two Shocks Away from 1%]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-13/europe-may-force-bernanke-to-flip-the-twist.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-13/europe-may-force-bernanke-to-flip-the-twist.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[As the Federal Reserve prepares to meet next week, policy makers are under conflicting pressure to do more to stimulate the economy and to swear off quantitative easing. And that's just from inside the Fed.In congressional testimony last week, Fed chief Ben Bernanke refused to tip his...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Gov't Snake Oil Is No Cure for Jobs Ailment]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-09/government-s-snake-oil-won-t-cure-jobs-ailment.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-09/government-s-snake-oil-won-t-cure-jobs-ailment.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Sat, 12 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Want to know what Federal Reserve policy makers are thinking at any given time? Take a look at what the research staff is doing.Back in the early 1990s, the staff was busy trying to explain the inexplicable weakness in M2, the Fed's broad monetary aggregate. Nowadays its efforts are...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Inflation Lurks as Stealth Tax Increase]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-11/inflation-lurks-as-stealth-tax-on-top-of-form-1040.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-11/inflation-lurks-as-stealth-tax-on-top-of-form-1040.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Inflation is sometimes referred to as a hidden tax. Unlike other taxes, it doesn't require legislation by Congress or the states. It doesn't merit a line item on the 1040 federal income-tax form many Americans will file this week. And it doesn't appear on the bottom of sales' receipts as...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Just Fill the Darn Potholes, We'll Do the Rest]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-02/just-fill-the-darn-potholes-we-ll-do-the-rest-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-02/just-fill-the-darn-potholes-we-ll-do-the-rest-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Let&rsquo;s face it: U.S. presidents are hopelessly in love with the idea of a manufacturing renaissance and an export-driven economy.It isn&rsquo;t hard to understand why. Factory jobs, on average, pay more than those in the services sector. A job at the local General Motors plant, with...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA['Fool in the Shower' to Give the Fed a Scalding]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-26/-fool-in-the-shower-to-give-fed-a-good-scalding-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-26/-fool-in-the-shower-to-give-fed-a-good-scalding-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Long and variable lags. That&rsquo;s all I could think of yesterday when I read the Federal Reserve statement and learned that economic conditions &ldquo;are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014.&rdquo;My first instinct was to...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[You Can't Fix Housing with Even More Hot Air]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-03/you-can-t-fix-a-burst-bubble-with-more-hot-air-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-03/you-can-t-fix-a-burst-bubble-with-more-hot-air-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[It&#194;&#146;s almost six years since the air started to leak, then gush, out of the U.S. housing market, and the best one can say is that residential real estate is bouncing along the bottom.Almost every housing indicator, from starts to sales to prices, has been flat-lining for three years....]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Obama Stimulus 2.0: Misinformed or Insane?]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-14/what-do-you-call-a-jobs-bill-minus-the-jobs-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-14/what-do-you-call-a-jobs-bill-minus-the-jobs-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[When President Barack Obama &ldquo;pivoted&rdquo; to jobs a few months back (from what, the White House didn&rsquo;t say), he said he was going to take his plan to rebuild the U.S. economy directly to the American people.It&rsquo;s a good thing, too, because Congress isn&rsquo;t...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[F in Economics: Obama Fires Blanks]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-23/obama-takes-aim-at-tax-targets-fires-blanks-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-23/obama-takes-aim-at-tax-targets-fires-blanks-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Two weeks ago, President Barack Obama unveiled his $447 billion plan to put Americans back to work.Eleven days later, he told us how he&rsquo;d pay for it: $1.5 trillion in tax increases over 10 years and $3 trillion in spending cuts -- on top of the $1 trillion already agreed to in last...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Obama Doesn't Really Have a Plan]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-08/a-layman-s-guide-to-the-president-s-jobs-speech-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-08/a-layman-s-guide-to-the-president-s-jobs-speech-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Let&rsquo;s face it: If the president had a plan to create jobs, he wouldn&rsquo;t have kept it under wraps until now. Why take flak from Republicans and heat from the public if you have what it takes to turn the economy and labor market around?Barack Obama doesn&rsquo;t have a plan to...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[White House May Regret Threats of Default]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-29/obama-geithner-may-regret-threats-of-default-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-29/obama-geithner-may-regret-threats-of-default-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[I'm sitting at my computer, watching the national debt clock tick relentlessly higher, as if to challenge me to make mental computations. How long does it take the U.S. to accumulate an additional $1,000 in debt?Answer: Faster than my eyes can move from the screen to the second hand of...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA['Generic Republican' Is One to Unseat Obama]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-04/-generic-republican-is-one-to-unseat-obama-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-04/-generic-republican-is-one-to-unseat-obama-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 05 May 2011 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[A subset of the wild and woolly field of potential Republican presidential candidates will meet for the first time this evening in a debate sponsored by Fox News and the South Carolina Republican Party.None stands a chance of beating President Barack Obama in 2012, according to public...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Macroeconomics Is Stuck in the Dark Ages]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-03/goldman-sachs-model-evokes-blood-sucking-leeches-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-03/goldman-sachs-model-evokes-blood-sucking-leeches-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 03 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Macroeconomics really is stuck in the Dark Ages.Take &ldquo;fiscal stimulus,&rdquo; for example, the idea that the government can step in to fill the void when the private sector isn&rsquo;t spending and boost economic growth in the process.Economists have been debating the pros and cons...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[The Underlying Strength of America]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-24/u-s-leads-in-nobels-trails-in-alleyway-sex-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-24/u-s-leads-in-nobels-trails-in-alleyway-sex-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Before you sell the house, auction the family heirlooms, gather up the kids and book passage on a boat to anywhere to escape the decline of the American Empire, take a deep breath. Things aren&rsquo;t as bad as some would have you believe.Perhaps you&rsquo;ve read articles or seen...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Bernanke's Worst Nightmare Is Inside a Box]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-10/bernanke-worst-nightmare-is-this-man-s-boxes-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-10/bernanke-worst-nightmare-is-this-man-s-boxes-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Ben Bernanke arrived at his office a week ago and came face to face with his worst nightmare.Staring out at the Federal Reserve chairman from page C1 of the Feb. 3 edition of the Wall Street Journal was a photo of a man and his boxes. The man was John Anton, founder and president of...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Is Obama Stuck in Central-Planning Mindset?]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-25/obama-s-pro-business-optics-are-an-illusion-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-25/obama-s-pro-business-optics-are-an-illusion-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[Who says President Barack Obama didn&rsquo;t get the message of the 2010 midterm elections?In the last few weeks alone, the president reconfigured his inner circle to look less like America and more like Bill Clinton&rsquo;s White House.He appointed one of those formerly disparaged...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Economic Growth: Politicians Don't Create It]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-10/some-manure-please-to-grow-the-economy-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-10/some-manure-please-to-grow-the-economy-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[When he was running for president in 1992, Bill Clinton promised to "grow the economy."? Presidents, politicians and the press have been growing it ever since."Grow the economy?"? The phrase is painful to the ears -- and only one reason it makes me wince. We grow old, we grow up, we grow...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Big Government Not Invited to Thanksgiving]]></title>
							<link>http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&amp;sid=a6wNi39zr7QE</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&amp;sid=a6wNi39zr7QE]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 25 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[It is the tradition of this columnevery year at this time to recount the story of Thanksgiving.The history of the Pilgrims' early struggles in their newland and triumph over obstacles resonates on many levels, fromthe personal to the political. The government's actions in thewake of the...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Fed Wants to Hoodwink Public]]></title>
							<link>http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-15/fed-wants-to-hoodwink-public-fools-itself-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-15/fed-wants-to-hoodwink-public-fools-itself-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Sat, 16 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[If I were a central banker, I would be afraid.If I were a central banker getting ready to embark on another round of quantitative easing, I would be very afraid.]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Pelosi Wasn't Kidding About Health Care Law]]></title>
							<link>http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&amp;sid=aKEtiXcWNKBk</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&amp;sid=aKEtiXcWNKBk]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Fri, 08 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA["We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, March 9, 2010. She wasn't kidding. The public got to peek under the hoodlast week when the Wall Street Journal reported that McDonald's Corp. wanted out: out of a requirement in the new...]]></description>
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							<title><![CDATA[Problem Is Obama's Vision, Not His Advisers]]></title>
							<link>http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&amp;sid=a_lxgck7vFpE</link>
							<guid><![CDATA[http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&amp;sid=a_lxgck7vFpE]]></guid>							
							<pubDate>Thu, 23 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
							<author>Caroline Baum</author>
							<description><![CDATA[With the departure of Larry Summers, President Barack Obama has lost three-quarters of his economic team and much of its heft. White House budget director Peter Orszag resigned in June. Christina Romer, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, left earlier this month to...]]></description>
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