SATURDAY LINK LIST: 5.8.2010

Healthcare deficits, muni bubbles, PIGS, the problem with Europe’s currency, and thinking about interest rates as a mechanism for reflecting market information…


ObamaCare’s Deficits
David Gratzer, Forbes.com
President Obama insists that his health reform legislation is “the most significant effort to reduce deficits since the Balanced Budget Act of 1993.”
Beware the Muni-Bond Bubble
Nicole Gelinas, City Journal
The financial crisis has exploded plenty of long-held beliefs, including the idea that mortgage debt is a risk-free investment.
The PIGS’ external debt problem
Ricardo Cabral, VoxEU.org
Financial markets are focused on the public finances of Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain (the “PIGS”).
Does a common currency area need a centralized fiscal authority?
Greg Mankiw, Greg Mankiw’s Blog
Paul Krugman has a thoughtful and thought-provoking column on Greece today.
Interest rates as a market price
Bill Woolsey, Monetary Freedom
Last March, Charles Schwab had an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal criticizing low interest rates.