Robert J. Samuelson

Robert J. Samuelson (Born Robert Jacob Samuelson on December 23, 1945) is a contributing editor of Newsweek and "Washington Post" where he has written about business and economic issues since 1977. His columns appear in both publications. His articles also appear in "The Los Angeles Times", "The Boston Globe", and other influential newspapers. Because he writes on economic issues, he is sometimes confused with Nobel laureate in Economics Paul Samuelson, to whom he is not related.

He began his career in journalism as a reporter on the business desk of The Washington Post 1969. He left the paper to become a freelancer in 1973. His work has appeared in "The Sunday Times", "The New Republic" and "The Columbia Journalism Review". He joined the National Journal in 1976, where he wrote the "Economic Focus" column. He was a contributing editor there from 1981 to 1984, until he left to write for Newsweek. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4916745/site/newsweek/] MSNBC Web site, Web page titled "Meet Newsweek: Robert Samuelson: Contributing Editor: Newsweek," ("Updated: 12:14 a.m. ET May 14, 2004"), accessed September 23, 2006]

Samuelson was born in New York City and raised in nearby White Plains, New York . [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/opinions/samuelson.htm] "Washington Post Web site, Web page titled "Robert J. Samuelson", accessed September 24, 2006] He received his bachelor's degree in 1967 from Harvard University, where he majored in government. [http://www.newsbios.com/newslum/samuelson.htm] "The Business News Luminaries" Web site of the "TJFR Group", Web page titled "Robert J. Samuelson" accessed September 23, 2006] He lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife. They have one daughter and two sons. His commentary focuses on illustrating and explaining economic problems, with conclusions based on extensive facts and figures. One of his recurring topics is Social Security and the unwillingness of the politicians to deal with problems he and others believe it will have in the future. He is currently working on a third book.

Samuelson also does not vote in any elections (be they national, state or local) as he believes that voting interferes with his impartiality as a journalist.Fact|date=June 2008

Journalism awards

Samuelson has received:
*1993 John Hancock Award for Best Business and Financial Columnist
*National Headliner Award for Feature Column on a Single Subject in both 1992 and 1993; another in 1987 for Best Special Interest Column;
*Gerald Loeb Awards for Commentary in 1993, 1986 and 1983; Loeb finalist in 1988 for his columns on the October 1987 Wall Street crash
*1981 National Magazine Award

Books by Samuelson

*"The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Entitlement", (Random House: 1995) 368 pages, ISBN 0-8129-2592-0

*"Untruth: Why the Conventional Wisdom Is (Almost Always) Wrong", (Random House: 2001) 304 pages ISBN 978-0-8129-9164-2 (trade paperback edition)

Notes

External links

* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032402276.html Samuelson's columns in the Washington Post]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/columns/samuelsonrobert/ Older columns by Samuelson in the Washington Post]