Yesterday’s unemployment report contained some good news, for a change. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data stating that 243,000 new jobs were created, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent. Both results are better than what economists and analysts — who never seem to be right — were expecting. There are some curious [...]
Archive for the ‘The Economy’ Category
A Glimmer On The Horizon
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Jobs, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, The Economy, Unemployment on February 4, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Tuning Out
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, TV, tagged America, Politics, President Obama, recession, State Of The Union speech, The Economy, TV, Unemployment on January 26, 2012 | 1 Comment »
I didn’t watch the President’s State of the Union speech earlier this week. It turns out I’m not alone. According to the New York Times, 37.8 million viewers watched the President’s speech. That’s down from 42.8 million in 2011, 48 million in 2010, and 52.3 million for the President’s 2009 speech to Congress. In short, [...]
The President As Pitchman
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, World, tagged America, Disney World, Politics, President Obama, The Economy, Tourism, We Can't Wait, World on January 21, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Last week President Obama went down to Disney World to tout tourism in America and got his picture taken with the Disney castle in the background. The trip was part of the President’s “We Can’t Wait” campaign, in which he does things by himself that are supposed to promote job growth and show that we [...]
Capitalism 301 (And The Food Network)
Posted in America, Food, The Economy, tagged America, Bain Capital, Capitalism, Food, Mitt Romney, Restaurant Impossible, restaurants, Robert Irvine, The Economy, The Food Network on January 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
If, like Kish and me, you like to watch The Food Network from time to time, you’ve been exposed to capitalism at its very essence. Whether it is Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, where great food made from scratch earns raves and steadfast loyalty from customers, or the latest competitive cooking or baking show, or Restaurant [...]
Capitalism 201
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged America, Bain Capital, Capitalism, Democrats, Mitt Romney, Republicans, taxes, The Economy, Venture Capital Firms on January 12, 2012 | 1 Comment »
If Mitt Romney ends up as the Republican nominee, we’ll be hearing a lot more about his stint at Bain Capital. I think that would be a good thing for a lot of reasons — one being that we would all be better served if our citizenry and our politicians had a clearer understanding of [...]
Capitalism 101
Posted in Politics, The Economy, Work, tagged Capitalism, Firing People, Jobs, Mitt Romney, Politics, Republicans, The Economy, Work on January 11, 2012 | 3 Comments »
Let’s see: Mitt Romney discusses health insurance and says he likes to being able to fire people who provide services for him . . . and his Republican opponents say that makes him a heartless bastard? I know that politics involves a lot of silliness, but this latest tempest in a teapot is ridiculous. In [...]
The President’s Curious, Overcooked Metaphors
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged 2012 Presidential Election, 60 minutes, America, Politics, President Obama, Public Speaking, Ship Captains, Ships, The Economy, Unemployment on December 31, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Although he has a reputation as a fine public speaker, President Obama often struggles to make his point and move on. At times, he seems to get trapped within expanding metaphors, fighting without success to make his way out. I first noticed this after he was elected, when he sought to explain why he wouldn’t [...]
Zombie, Or Not Zombie?
Posted in Humor, The Economy, tagged Halloween, Hardware, Humor, Occupy Wall Street, The Economy, Undead, Westlake Ace Hardware Zombie Preparedness Center, Zombies on October 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Halloween is just around the corner, and a person’s thoughts naturally turn to . . . zombies. We’ve all seen movies about them. We know there is a good chance that, any day now, some misguided government program, alien virus, or bacteria from the bottom of the sea could turn our peaceful fellow citizens into [...]
The President’s Bill Goes Down — Now What?
Posted in Politics, The Economy, tagged economy, National Debt, Politics, Unemployment on October 12, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Last night the United States Senate — in one of those weird maneuvers that make sense only to Senators — took a vote that killed President Obama’s “jobs” bill. A majority of Senators voted in favor of moving the bill forward, but there weren’t enough votes to overcome a threatened filibuster. Every Republican opposed it, [...]
Let Them Protest — It’s The American Way
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged America, economy, First Amendment, Protesting, Tea Party, Wall Street protests on October 3, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Protesters have been camping out and protesting in the Wall Street area of New York City for the last few weeks. Some participants are protesting “corporate greed,” others object to the role of corporations in politics, and still others appear to be venting general anger and frustration about our economic problems. Similar protests have occurred [...]
Looking For A Job, Any Job, In Cleveland
Posted in Ohio, The Economy, tagged casino jobs, casinos, Cleveland, economy, Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, Ohio, Unemployment, Unemployment statistics on September 30, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Times are tough in Cleveland. How tough? Today a story gave us some sense of the distress felt by many people. The times in Cleveland are so challenging that, when the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland announced that it was accepting applications for table game and poker dealer jobs that pay between $17 and $22 per hour, [...]
The William G. Mather
Posted in America, Ohio, The Economy, tagged American commerce, Cleveland, Edmund Fitzgerald, Great Lakes, Great Lakes freighters, Great Lakes Science Center, Ohio, William G. Mather on September 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Take a walk along the Lake Erie shore in downtown Cleveland, between the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Cleveland Browns Stadium, and you will find the William G. Mather docked at the quay, serenely awaiting visitors. The William G. Mather, which is part of the Great Lakes Science Center, is a floating museum [...]
The President’s Speech
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Congress, economy, Extended unemployment compensation, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, stimulus, Unemployment on September 8, 2011 | 2 Comments »
I watched the President’s speech tonight, and I found it to be quite interesting for a number of reasons. The first part of the speech seemed like “same old, same old,” and I think it will generally be perceived as such. It appears to be more of the “stimulus” concept that has been tried and [...]
Uh Oh (Again)
Posted in The Economy, World, tagged Euro, Europe, Eurozone, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, World, World Economy on September 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The news from Europe has not been good for some time now — but today may be a turning point into even more negative territory. As the United States enjoyed the Labor Day holiday, equity markets across Europe plunged by an average of 4 percent. Germany’s DAX took the hardest hit, falling by more than [...]
The Power Of Zero
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, economy, Jobs, Politics, President Obama, recession, Unemployment, Unemployment statistics on September 2, 2011 | 2 Comments »
The August jobs report was released today, and it showed that the American economy created no net jobs in August. That’s right: a big, fat zero. Nada. Zilch. A goose egg. Naught. Zippo. What could be a more apt and powerful description for the moribund state of our economy? Neither up nor down. Dead in [...]
