The Federal Reserve has held interest rates at near zero for so long that many have forgotten that near-zero rates are not normal. And when we finally do return to normal, there’s going to be a very large bill to pay.To help hold interest rates so low for so long, the Fed has increased bank reserve balances by 20,000 percent over the past decade, flooding financial institutions with enough reserves that borrowing money, literally, costs almost nothing. The Fed’s target interest rate, the federal

Sept. 30, 2016

The leaders of Thailand and Myanmar made the same promise at the United Nations General Assembly last week -- to promote and protect human rights. It was interesting to hear the same pledge from one country that’s gone from military to civilian rule and another that’s moved in the opposite direction, but the reaction has to be the same regardless: Hope that they aren’t merely paying lip service to a noble international goal.  Aung San Suu Kyi, who swept to power in Myanmar’s election earlier thi

Sept. 29, 2016

Watching Monday night’s presidential debate from a country that has been bankrupted by populist economic ideas was instructive: Argentina’s experience shows that good countries can make very bad political decisions that have lasting costs.Visiting here with Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew was also a reminder of how intently the rest of the world is following this year’s U.S. election campaign. American power remains a basic ordering principle of global life, however much Uncle Sam is maligned. So w

Sept. 29, 2016

Donald Trump had plenty of moments Monday night that would have disqualified any other candidate in a presidential debate: bragging about getting through a discrimination investigation “with no admission of guilt”; saying he had not “given lots of thought” to NATO; noting that he often took advantage of laws; taking pride in having paid no taxes some years; and referring to the man in the White House as “your president.”　But you could have compiled a similar list in nearly any fortnight of the T

Sept. 28, 2016

Many people around the world are probably wondering why Hillary Clinton -- who is obviously more prepared and better suited for the American presidency than her opponent, Donald Trump -- isn’t waltzing to victory. Many Americans share the world’s bewilderment.National opinion polls may well continue to fluctuate until the election on Nov. 8. But Trump has been closing in on Clinton in recent weeks, even threatening to catch up with her in the Electoral College vote, where the Democrats’ control

Sept. 28, 2016

It’s entirely unsurprising -- expected, really -- for the anti-global European left to oppose a trade deal with America. But with Canada?The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, painstakingly negotiated over seven years, would cut trade barriers between Europe and the world’s 10th-largest economy. Unlike the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the European Union and the US (which is all but dead), CETA has been signed and ready to go for some time. Thankfully, Europe’s

Sept. 28, 2016

The entire 90-minute debate Monday night was a demonstration that Donald Trump doesn‘t have the temperament to be president.  Hillary Clinton was prepared -- she always is -- and she baited Trump early and often. And Trump got caught each time. He also hooked himself, including in at least two exchanges with moderator Lester Holt (who did an excellent job, allowing both candidates to talk). Here are some examples.In Clinton’s very first response to Trump, about trade, she managed to work in that

Sept. 28, 2016

A growing chorus of politicians and national security experts have questioned whether it would be safe to have Donald Trump’s finger on the nuclear button. But are they asking the right question?　In an open letter, 50 leading Republican national security experts warned that Trump possesses “dangerous qualities in an individual who aspires to be president and commander in chief, with command of the US nuclear arsenal.”　Or, as Hillary Clinton put it in her speech accepting the Democratic nominatio

Sept. 27, 2016

There is a certain tragic irony in the fact that a crackdown on US colleges with low graduation rates was announced during the very week that the Times Higher Education Supplement published its annual list of the world’s best universities. The coincidence provokes the thought that there is too much of this going on.By “this” I mean the constant effort in higher education to sort the best from the not-best, and the best among the best from the best, and the best among the best among the best from

Sept. 27, 2016

The introduction of web 2.0 has provided a platform for the instant interface of millions of people. But it has also created a new kind of culture -- the culture of hate. Most cybercitizens are prejudiced against each other. We have become morally judgmental of our fellow human beings.Avatars have replaced the real identities of individuals who are now soaked in a hegemonic online world so defined by an oppressive standard of beauty that maliciously subjugates millions of unknown mortals. The ta

Sept. 27, 2016

Sometimes the best response to overheated political rhetoric is one of those dull if worthy white papers issued with alarming regularity by Washington think tanks and research organizations. So it is with two recent reports on immigration, both useful in correcting Donald Trump’s statements on the subject.A Pew Research Center report, released this week, confirms previous findings: The number of undocumented immigrants in the US peaked in 2007 before dropping sharply -- with more undocumented Me

Sept. 27, 2016