The official unemployment rate in the US is 8.5%. But that figure tells only part of the story. Back during the recession that occurred early in Ronald Reagan’s first term, the Labor Dept. played what I call “Calvin Ball.” They didn’t like the way the game was going, so they changed the rules. Two categories [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Economy’
8.5% or 15.6%?
Posted in Current Events, Politics, tagged depression, Economy, official unemployment rate, real unemployment rate, recession, unemployment rate on April 5, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Too tightly wound to unravel
Posted in Current Events, Uncategorized, tagged bailout, banking, capitalism, economic collapse, Economy, performance bonuses, regulations, retention bonuses, sub-prime mortgages on March 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
We’re learning a bit more about the “unprecedented powers” that President Obama and Sec. Treas. Geithner are seeking to deal with instability that exists in the financial system. But to understand what’s needed going forward, it’s important to see how we got here.
In the 1920s, commercial banks were selling stocks to their customers in addition [...]
A solution to the AIG bonus outrage
Posted in Current Events, tagged AIG, AIG bonuses, bailout, banking, economic collapse, Economy, escrow, pay for performance, performance bonuses, populist rage, retention bonuses, taxpayers on March 16, 2009 | 2 Comments »
For the purposes of argument, let’s accept current AIG CEO Liddy’s argument that the company is contractually bound to pay out the bonuses AND that their employees are the brightest bulbs in the pack — the only ones who can unwind the esoteric financial instruments that sent them into the financial toilet. Yes, it’s a [...]
Possibly unrelated items – updated
Posted in Current Events, tagged banking, economic collapse, Economy, leadership, Republican Party, tax policy on February 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
As I scanned the news tonight, several items caught my eye.
First was this list of the 15 states having the highest percentage of $200,000 plus earners. Interestingly, only one of the states listed, Texas, voted for John McCain last November. The others voted for Obama, even knowing that their taxes would go up should he [...]
For want of a single vote
Posted in Current Events, Uncategorized, tagged Economy, negotiation, obstruction, Republican Party, tax policy on February 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
California, the eighth largest economy in the world, is in crisis. Not only because of the general economic downturn, although that plays a role. No, California’s crisis is in part self-inflicted. The state has been without a budget since October 1. Why? Because of the rigidity of the positions in the state legislature.
Meanwhile, the state’s [...]
Stimulus vote post-mortem
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bipartisanship, compromise, Congress, economic collapse, Economy, leadership, negotiation, obstruction, Republican Party, stimulus on February 16, 2009 | 7 Comments »
Each week my local paper encourages readers to have their say on a particular issue. While it’s certainly not a scientific survey, it does provide some amusing and maddening reading. Many of the same people voice their opinions on a weekly basis, and given the frequency with which their comments appear, I figure there aren’t [...]
How many more job losses will we see?
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged bailout, Congress, economic collapse, Economy, stimulus, tax policy, values on February 6, 2009 | 1 Comment »
The numbers are in. The US economy lost just under 600,000 jobs in January. Combined with revised job numbers for November and December, our economy has shed nearly 1.8 million jobs in the past three months alone, following on the heels of negative job growth (now isn’t that an interesting term of art!) going back [...]
