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, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘recession’
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 »
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
Our Gilded Congress
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Congress, Democrats, economy, Harry Reid, john boehner, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, Politics, recession, Republicans, United States House of Representatives, United States Senate on June 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Congressional disclosure forms were released yesterday and they show that our elected public servants are doing very well, indeed. The wealth in Congress knows no party-line boundaries; Republicans and Democrats alike are doing well. According to the reports, the Minority Leader and Majority Leader in the Senate are both multimillionaires who saw their wealth rise [...]
The Stubborn Problem Of Consumer Confidence
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged America, Consumer confidence, consumers, Economists, economy, Gasoline Prices, House prices, recession, Unemployment, Unemployment statistics on May 31, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell in May to a recent low, causing some to fear that we may be on the cusp of the dreaded “double-dip” or “W” recession. Economists expressed surprise at the news. The only thing surprising about this news item is that some economists are still expressing surprise that American [...]
Gas, In The Heartland
Posted in America, Ohio, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, cars, Driving, economy, Gas Prices, Gasoline, Gasoline Prices, Ohio, Politics, recession on April 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Today I was on the road. I had to gas up, and the station where I stopped was selling regular unleaded for $3.85 and premium unleaded for $4.15 a gallon. Filling up cost me almost $60. Ouch! And I drive a pretty fuel-efficient sedan, not a truck, or van, or SUV. In short, we are [...]
The Fifty-Buck Fill-Up
Posted in America, The Economy, Travel, tagged America, economy, Gasoline, Gasoline Prices, Inflation, recession, Travel on January 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Don’t look now, but gas prices in Ohio are spiking. The cost for a gallon of unleaded regular has increased by more than 60 cents a gallon over the last three months. This morning, with the gas gauge firmly on E, I stopped at the neighborhood Duke station for a fill-up. To my chagrin, it [...]
Pulling In Our Horns
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged America, Consumer confidence, Consumer Spending, economy, Middle-Class Americans, recession on October 10, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article on middle-class spending in the past few years. Department of Labor statistics show that middle-class Americans cut their spending by 3.5 percent from 2008 to 2009, the steepest one-year decline in spending since such records began being kept in 1984. Spending by the richest Americans also declined [...]
“Guard The Change”
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Beagle Boys, Politics, President Obama, recession, Scrooge McDuck on September 20, 2010 | 1 Comment »
One of President Obama’s new themes is “Guard the Change”: that is, protect the policy initiatives that have occurred during his first two years in office and shield them from encroachments by Republicans. I’m sure this theme, like everything else in politics, has been focus group-tested — but doesn’t “guard the change” seems like an [...]
Tough Times On Labor Day
Posted in America, The Economy, Work, tagged America, economy, Federal Debt, income taxes, Labor Day, recession, Recovery Summer, stimulus spending, taxes, Unemployment, Work 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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
