President Obama has proposed another form of stimulus legislation to address our economic woes. This time, his proposal seeks to spend $50 billion to rebuild more roads, railways, and runways. It’s hard to see how this $50 billion stimulus proposal could have a significant immediate impact on the economy or unemployment. After all, last year’s [...]
Posts Tagged ‘economy’
Overstimulated
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged economy, Politics, America, President Obama, stimulus spending, Democrats, 2010 Election on September 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Tough Times On Labor Day
Posted in America, The Economy, Work, tagged economy, America, Unemployment, taxes, recession, Work, Federal Debt, stimulus spending, income taxes, Labor Day, Recovery Summer on September 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Times are tough on this Labor Day. You can’t pick up a newspaper or visit a news website without seeing discouraging reports on employment, manufacturing, housing, and other economic indicators. Labor Day marks the traditional end of summer and beginning of autumn — which means that the “Recovery Summer” has come and gone, with nary [...]
Another Reason Not To Trust Stimulus Statistics (Cont.)
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, economy, Politics, stimulus, stimulus bill, stimulus spending, Vice President Biden on August 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The AP does a critical analysis of Vice President Biden’s comments about the weatherization program funded with “stimulus” funds and concludes that the Veep failed to mention some pretty material points. No surprise there. The Obama Administration really should stop talking about the “stimulus” debacle before its loses all credibility.
When A House Is More Than Just A Home
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged America, economy, House Sales, Housing Market; Foreclosures, retirement on August 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday’s data on the sales of existing homes in July — such sales were down 27 percent from June, to the lowest level in 15 years — are another troubling sign that the economy is not recovering. Realtors say that sellers are being stubborn about prices, and buyers are reluctant to buy now because they [...]
Hard Times And Hardship Withdrawals
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged 401(k) Plans, America, economy, Hardship Withdrawals, recession, retirement, retirement funds on August 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
CNN has a story about hardship withdrawals from 401(k) plans reaching the highest level in 10 years during the second quarter of 2010. Fidelity Investments, which manages $844 billion in retirement funds, disclosed that, as of the second quarter, 2.2% of 401(k) participants had made hardship withdrawals over the past 12 months. I’m not sure [...]
Another Reason Not To Trust “Stimulus” Statistics
Posted in America, Columbus, Ohio, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Columbus, Congress, economy, Ohio, Politics, President Obama, stimulus, stimulus bill, stimulus spending on August 20, 2010 | 1 Comment »
You’d think that the Obama Administration and Congress would have realized by now that it is pointless and counterproductive to try to convince Americans that the “stimulus” bill was a huge success, but they keep trying anyway. Earlier this week, for example, President Obama visited Columbus and cited the work of one local architecture firm [...]
Enough With The Mosque, Already!
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, America, economy, Ground Zero Mosque, Iran, Iraq, Mosque near Ground Zero, New York City, Politics, recession, Unemployment on August 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I haven’t commented on the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” on this blog because UJ has already discussed it and I’m not sure there is anything left to say. I think the Muslims who want to establish the mosque have every right to do so, although if they truly are interested in building bridges they would [...]
A Loan Is, Well, Still A Loan
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Consumer Debt, economy, Federal Loans, Politics, President Obama, recession on August 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Recently I’ve been struck by how often President Obama talks about loans being a solution to problems. Small businesses aren’t growing? The federal government will help them get loans. People can’t afford college? The federal government will help them get loans. If the federal government wants small businesses to hire more people, why not just [...]
The Steady Drip, Drip, Drip Of Bad News
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, economy, Food Stamps, Politics, President Obama, recession, Unemployment on August 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
It seems like there is just no escaping the drumbeat of bad economic news. Two examples from today’s headlines: in May, the number of Americans who use food stamps rose to 40.8 million, an all-time high, and first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose again last week. I find the first figure particularly amazing: more than [...]
A Brief Response
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, budget deficits, Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Democrats, economy, Federal Debt, Federal Deficit, Politics, President Obama, Republicans on July 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
We’ve had some good back-and-forth discussions on the blog lately about political issues, from UJ and some commenters, including my friend Doug. I like a good, civil discussion as much as the next person; in fact, I wish we had more discussion in this country, not less. That is why I think the internet and blogs [...]
In Defense Of The Stimulus
Posted in Politics, The Economy, tagged Budget Deficit, Congress, economy, President Obama, recession, stimulus, stimulus spending, TARP, Unemployment on July 25, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Any regular reader of this blog knows that I have been critical of the “stimulus” legislation and the government response to the current recession, which has featured lots of spending. In the interests of being even-handed about it, attached is an op-ed piece in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer from the chief economist of Moody’s Analytics that [...]
Should The Bush Tax Cuts Be Extended?
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Ben Bernanke, Bush Tax Cuts, Democrats, economy, income taxes, Politics, President Bush, President Obama, Republicans, taxes, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on July 23, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Beginning on January 1, 2011, the tax cuts enacted under President Bush will expire and significant tax increases — affecting Americans of different income brackets and many American businesses, and involving income taxes, estate taxes, capital gains taxes, and other forms of federal taxes — will automatically take effect as a result. The Springfield News-Sun [...]
Who’s Playing Politics? (Cont.)
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Congress, Democrats, economy, Extended unemployment compensation, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, Unemployment compensation on July 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
CBS News has an interesting take on the issue of who is playing politics on the extension of unemployment benefits for out of work Americans. It turns out that President Obama, in signing a prior extension bill, specifically noted that it was fully paid for and therefore fiscally responsible — which is all that Republicans [...]
Who’s Playing Politics?
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Congress, Democrats, economy, Extended unemployment compensation, Politics, President Obama, Republicans, Unemployment on July 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
It seems like, on every point of disagreement between Democrats and Republicans, each side accuses the other of “playing politics.” (Of course, to this Midwesterner it seems like every decision by every elected and appointed official in Washington, D.C. involves “playing politics.” Isn’t that why they are called “politicians”?) So it is with the latest [...]
Cautious Consumers
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged America, Consumer confidence, consumers, economy, Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill, recession, Unemployment on July 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday still more data was released that indicates that American consumers are not bullish. This news follows on the heels of other statistics that reflect a significant lack of confidence in the economy and in prospects for a better future. Consumer confidence is a leading indicator because cautious consumers do not spend, and when [...]
