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 [...]
Archive for the ‘The Economy’ Category
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 »
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 [...]
A Costly Solar Flame-Out
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, World, tagged America, China, green technology, Politics, Solar Power, Solyndra, World Economy on August 31, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Federal stimulus efforts to encourage “green energy” businesses took a shot to the chops today when Solyndra, a California solar energy company, declared that it will file for bankruptcy protection. Solyndra had received $535 million in federal loan guarantees and was one of 40 concerns that was supported by a Department of Energy program designed [...]
What in the Heck is Going On ?
Posted in The Economy, tagged Ben Bernanke, columbus ohio, Federal Reserve, interest rates, mortgage, property values, saving on August 26, 2011 | 8 Comments »
Look (both hands chopping in a downward motion) – I’ve recently retired and figure I have done everything right okay – never carried any debt except for an occasional credit card bill and my mortgage payment (considered good debt). Always lived well within my means – paid cash for all of my cars – sold [...]
Confidence Game
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged America, Consumer confidence, consumers, economy, President Carter, President Obama, stock market on August 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
On Friday the index that purports to measure consumer confidence in the United States fell to its lowest point since May 1980. May 1980, of course, came during the grim, final months of the Jimmy Carter presidency — and I’m sure the fact that consumer confidence has fallen to Carter presidency levels probably doesn’t make [...]
Trying To Think Positive Thoughts About The Stock Market
Posted in Humor, The Economy, tagged economy, Humor, Ohio State Buckeyes, positive thinking, retirement, stock market on August 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
It’s hard not to be depressed about the anvil drops on the stock market. Many of us have lost about 10 percent of our intended retirement nest eggs in the space of only a few days. However, my grandmother said every cloud has a silver lining, and I always have tried to follow my grandmother’s [...]
Retirement Fund Haiku
Posted in America, The Economy, weather, tagged America, economy, haiku, retirement, stock market, summer, weather on August 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The stock market — and the 401(k) plans of millions of Americans — really took a beating today. Anytime the market plummets more than 500 points and loses almost five percent of its value in a single day, it is just not a good day. Why did the market drop like a drunken sailor after [...]
Looking On The Bright Side
Posted in America, Humor, Movies, The Economy, tagged Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, America, economy, Humor, Life of Brian, Monty Python, Movies, Optimism, recession, Unemployment, Unemployment statistics on July 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Today’s announcement of the latest unemployment figures was bad news all around — only 18,000 jobs created, the unemployment rate up to 9.2%, more than 270,000 out-of-work Americans who have just stopped looking for a job, and growing fears that our lingering recission is going to get worse before it gets better. One economist quoted [...]
Spinning Stimulus Statistics
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Council of Economic Advisers, Economists, economy, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, stimulus, stimulus spending, The Weekly Standard on July 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
President Obama’s “stimulus” package has been dogged by controversy since its enactment. There have been questions about the accuracy of reports of jobs “saved or created” by the stimulus spending, claims that the money really was used mostly to maintain public employee jobs and to allow state governments to defer their own deficit-reduction efforts, and [...]
Bleak, Bleak, Bleak
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged America, economy, High Unemployment, recession, Unemployment, Unemployment statistics on July 1, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I haven’t written about the economy for a while, and there is a reason for that: I am trying to maintain a positive attitude this summer, and the economic news has been unrelentingly bad. Avoidance therefore is the only path to optimism. Of course, it is impossible to fully ignore the news, which is discouraging. [...]
