Dean Baker

Utah

Senior economist at the Center for Economic &Policy Research (@ceprdc). Blog-- Beat the Press (@beat_the_press) Tweets are my own views.

Featured in: Favicon

medium.com Favicon

theguardian.com Favicon

nytimes.com Favicon

huffpost.com Favicon

washingtonpost.com Favicon

nbcnews.com Favicon

nydailynews.com Favicon

yahoo.com (+1) Favicon

fortune.com Favicon

thedailybeast.com + 65 more

Articles

Donald Trump Wants Doing Your Taxes to Be a Pain: The War on Direct File

1 week ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Eileen Appelbaum |Brandon Novick

Elon Musk and his “super-high IQ” DOGE team have apparently put the IRS’s Direct File program in their gunsights. Direct File is a free and simplified program that would allow the vast majority of taxpayers to quickly do their taxes without paying fees to a tax preparation service. The program saves taxpayers time and money, as well as much anxiety.
Our Huge Trade Deficit with China Does NOT Give Us the Upper Hand in Tax (Tariff) War

2 weeks ago | counterpunch.org | Dean Baker

Many reporters and commentators have claimed the United States has the upper hand in a trade war with China because we have a large trade deficit with China. We import almost $440 billion a year in goods from China, while they import only a bit over $140 billion from us. That means we can impose tariffs on far more Chinese goods than they can on US-made goods. While that claim is true, it loses sight of what tariffs are. Tariffs are a tax on goods we import.
Limiting the President’s Tariff Authority Is a Good Idea

2 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker

Seven Republican Senators have joined together in a proposal that would limit the president’s authority to impose tariffs. If the Democrats in the Senate joined with the Republicans, they would have the votes needed to approve the bill. While they would face a certain presidential veto and other hurdles, it is a goal worth pursuing. The bill, the Trade Review Act of 2025, would sunset any tariffs after 60 days if they are not approved by Congress.
Our Huge Trade Deficit with China Does NOT Give Us the Upper Hand in Tax (Tariff) War

2 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker

Many reporters and commentators have claimed the United States has the upper hand in a trade war with China because we have a large trade deficit with China. We import almost $440 billion a year in goods from China, while they import only a bit over $140 billion from us. That means we can impose tariffs on far more Chinese goods than they can on US-made goods. While that claim is true, it loses sight of what tariffs are. Tariffs are a tax on goods we import.
Private Equity and University Endowments: What’s the Return?

2 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Eileen Appelbaum |Alex Richwine |Dean Baker

It’s no secret that the private equity industry wants to get into the personal retirement business. The investment giant BlackRock is pledging to “open up private markets to millions of everyday investors.”BlackRock president Larry Fink claims the company wants to give ordinary people access to risky assets and high returns. Risky assets? Yes. High returns? Well, let’s ask the sophisticated investors at the nation’s largest university endowment funds how that worked out.
Thomas Friedman on China: One Big Thing Right, an Even Bigger Thing Badly Wrong

3 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker

Thomas Friedman devoted his New York Times column to China today, making the point that it is ahead of the US technologically in many areas and that its lead is likely to grow rapidly. As he notes, this fact is hugely underappreciated in US policy circles, where there is a prevailing view that China is well behind us and still badly needs our technology. As Friedman makes clear, that day has long passed. China is way ahead in producing EVs, batteries, solar and wind energy and many other areas.
The Fruits of Trump Tariffs: Closer Ties Between Canada and China

3 weeks ago | counterpunch.org | Dean Baker

With Donald Trump seemingly determined to push the US economy on a path towards autarky, our major trading partners will need to make alternative arrangements. This is especially the case with Canada, since its economy is so closely tied to the US economy.At this point, Mark Carney, the country’s new Prime Minister, knows there is little possibility of dealing with Trump rationally. Trump has bizarre and totally imagined grievances against Canada.
The Fruits of Trump Tariffs: Closer Ties Between Canada and China

3 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker

With Donald Trump seemingly determined to push the U.S. economy on a path towards autarky, our major trading partners will need to make alternative arrangements. This is especially the case with Canada, since its economy is so closely tied to the U.S. economy. At this point, Mark Carney, the country’s new Prime Minister, knows there is little possibility of dealing with Trump rationally. Trump has bizarre and totally imagined grievances against Canada.
Patents and the Abundance Agenda

3 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker

I haven’t read Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s new book, Abundance, but everyone I know seems to be talking about it. Therefore, I thought I would throw in my two cents, not on the book for obvious reasons, but on what a serious Abundance Agenda (AA) should look like. Specifically, I want to talk about patents and how reform of the rules on intellectual property really needs to be at the center of a serious AA.
R.I.P. Robert McChesney: Fighter for Democratic Media

3 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Peter Hart |Eileen Appelbaum

I was saddened to hear that Robert McChesney died this week after a long bout with cancer. McChesney was not nearly as well known as he should have been. He was one of the few progressives who seriously thought about the media and its importance for our lives and politics. To my mind, it is absolutely bizarre that the structure of the media doesn’t feature front and center in every progressive’s plans for advancing a progressive agenda, and in fact preserving democracy.