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 [...]
Posts Tagged ‘recession’
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 »
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
No To More State Government Bailouts! (Exhibit B)
Posted in America, Politics, tagged America, Budget Deficit, budgets, Illinois, Illinois Budget Problems, Politics, recession, Rod Blagojevich on July 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
For those of us who are opposed any more federal government bailouts of state and local governments, California is Exhibit A. As today’s story in the New York Times demonstrates, however, if California is Exhibit A, Illinois is Exhibit B. The article chronicles how Illinois is unable to pay its bills even for essential services, [...]
Budget Fireworks
Posted in America, Columbus, The Economy, tagged America, Columbus, economy, Fireworks, Fourth of July, Gahanna, Independence Day, recession, Red White and Boom on July 3, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
‘Tis the season for fireworks. Columbus had its big Red White & Boom celebration last night. The weather was perfect and big crowds turned out to ooh and aah at the sounds, colors, and combinations. For many smaller communities, however, Fourth of July fireworks celebrations are being reduced or eliminated due to budget pressures. In [...]
U, V, Or W (Cont.)
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged America, economy, recession, stock market, Unemployment, Unemployment statistics on July 1, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The most recent economic news is pretty darn grim. The number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits has increased, the housing market in America is depressed, and the stock market has just experienced its worst quarter in some time, with the Dow down more than 10 percent. When you combine that with the [...]
A Spike At The Pump
Posted in America, Ohio, The Economy, Travel, tagged America, cars, economy, Gasoline, Gasoline Prices, Ohio, recession, Travel on April 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In case you haven’t noticed, the price of gasoline has been spiking. I’ve been doing a lot of driving lately for work, and the price hike has been noticeable. Consistent with manufacturer’s instructions, I always feed my faithful Acura only premium gasoline, and the price of the high-test in Ohio has jumped to more than [...]
Global Warming And Congressional Spending
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, Congress, Congressional Junkets, Copenhagen Climate Summit, economy, Politics, recession, Speaker Nancy Pelosi on January 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
CBS News has posted an interesting report on how much American taxpayers spent to send certain members of Congress, their family members, and assorted staffers to the recent “Copenhagen Climate Summit” that produced lots of hot air but no meaningful agreement. According to the congressional spending reports cited in the CBS piece, at last 106 [...]
The Economy At Christmas — The View From Central Ohio
Posted in America, Columbus, Ohio, The Economy, tagged America, Christmas, Christmas shopping, Columbus, economy, Holidays, Ohio, recession on December 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday Kish and I went Christmas shopping for a few things. It was a mistake. The roads to Easton, our nearby shopping megaplex, were jammed, and when we got there we could not find a parking place. As we drove through the Easton complex, we saw lots of shoppers, although not many seemed to be [...]
Black Friday
Posted in America, The Economy, tagged America, Black Friday, Christmas shopping, Consumer confidence, economy, recession on November 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I’m not quite sure when the day after Thanksgiving started to be called Black Friday — apparently because, for many stores, their sales on that day are what first pushes their year into the black — but I know that the day after Thanksgiving has been the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season for [...]
Creative Accounting
Posted in America, Politics, The Economy, tagged America, economy, Politics, recession, stimulus, stimulus bill, stimulus package, stimulus spending, Unemployment on November 5, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Here’s another article finding significant errors in the counting of “jobs created or saved” by the stimulus bill. In this case, one agency reported saving almost twice as many jobs as actually existed. Even more galling, another government spokesman tried to defend the practice of counting the raises given to government employees as somehow equivalent [...]
It Takes Crust
Posted in Politics, The Economy, tagged budgets, California, California budget deficit, economy, Politics, recession, Tax Withholding, taxes on November 5, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Whenever someone would do or say something that was outlandish and grossly overreaching, my grandmother would say: “That takes crust.” I think she would have used that phrase to characterize the latest scheme developed by California lawmakers to try to close a huge budget shortfall. They have announced that they will increase, by 10 percent, [...]
From Craftsmen To Casino Workers
Posted in America, Ohio, The Economy, Work, tagged Akron, America, casino gambling, casinos, economy, Issue 3, Manufacturing, Ohio, Ohio Issue 3, recession, The American Dream, Unemployment, Work on November 4, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Obviously, I am disappointed in the fact that Ohio voters approved Issue 3, which will result in the construction of full-scale casinos in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Toledo. What is really sad about the passage of Issue 3, however, is what it says more generally about The Buckeye State in particular and The American Dream [...]
