Besides great climates and lovely beaches, California and Greece share a fondness for dysfunctional politics and feckless budgeting. — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Real politics is messy and morally ambiguous and doesn't make for a compelling thriller. — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
In American politics, 'Europe' is usually a code word for 'big government.' — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Of course, plenty of people don't think that guaranteeing affordable health insurance is a core responsibility of government. — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Of course, politicians always say they're just describing their opponents' positions, even if they are in fact offering absurd caricatures, if not… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Political risk is hard to manage because so much comes down to the personal choices of policymakers, whether prime ministers or heads… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
All things being equal, letting people make decisions for themselves will produce smarter outcomes, collectively, than relying on government planners. — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Solyndra's failure isn't a reason for the government to give up on alternative energy, any more than the failure of Pets.com during… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
A general principle of good taxation is that similar jobs, and similar kinds of compensation, should be taxed the same way: otherwise,… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Unlike most government programs, Social Security and, in part, Medicare are funded by payroll taxes dedicated specifically to them. Some of the… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Lack of confidence, sometimes alternating with unrealistic dreams of heroic success, often leads to procrastination, and many studies suggest that procrastinators are self-handicappers: rather… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Downsizing itself is an inevitable part of any creatively destructive economy. — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
In the business world, bad news is usually good news - for somebody else. — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
You might think of consumption as a fairly passive activity, but buying new products and services is actually pretty risky, at least if you… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Corporations hope that the right concept will turn things around overnight. This is what you might call the crash-diet approach: starve yourself for a… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Instead of mindlessly tossing billions at or taking billions from the Net as such, investors should be spending their time making sure that it's… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
If you thought the advent of the Internet, the spread of cheap and efficient information technology, and the growing fragmentation of the consumer market… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
The financial crisis of 2008 was not caused by investment banks betting against the housing market in 2007. It was caused by the fact… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
A consumer-finance agency is a good thing, but it would do well to teach consumers a simple lesson: if you don't understand the deal… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
What corporations fear is the phenomenon now known, rather inelegantly, as 'commoditization.' What the term means is simply the conversion of the market for… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
Making loans and fighting poverty are normally two of the least glamorous pursuits around, but put the two together and you have an economic… — James Surowiecki Copy Share Image
