Economy

Not All Jobs Are Created Equal

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Is employment looking up? In Newsweek, Daniel Gross says that "Jobs Are on the Way!," noting that even though employment is still off 11,000 jobs, the all-important service sector has added 58,000 jobs. He cites the 0.2% drop in the unemployment rate and a few other markers of improvement, concluding America's job market is turning [...]

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Ask the Readers: Now, is the Economy Back on Track?

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In late August, we asked you if you thought the economy was back on track. Overwhelmingly, you thought that it was leveling off, but not yet back on track. And 30% said that it was still getting worse, including Phil, who posted this comment: Absolutely getting worse. Spending for the sake of spending does not [...]

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Should the Estate Tax Be Permanently Eliminated?

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The Estate tax, a tax on the value of assets at death before ownership is transferred to heirs, has been subject to many pressures and changes over the years. Up until 1981, estate tax rates up to 70 percent were applied to the entire value of an estate with only a $50,000 exemption. Since the [...]

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How National Health Care Will Improve Your Salary

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The latest turn in the health care debate drops the public option but would extend Medicare eligibility downward to begin at 55 years old. Since the words "public option" bring automatic opposition, health care reform supporters in Congress apparently decided to address the politics with some new words even though Medicare is already a public [...]

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We Can't Buy Our Way Out of a Recession

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Black Friday is over. This year, there were many news stories of hope and optimism that consumers would rush out and buy, buy, buy. The broadcast news stations sent their local correspondents to talk with mall owners and department store managers to get their forecast. The ones I saw used their interviews to plug discounts, [...]

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3 Positive Effects From the Recession

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The recession has been bad on almost everyone. The unemployment rate, though down last week, is in double-digit figures. The government is spending a ton of your money to stimulate the economy, with mixed effects. The financial industry and housing market have both been in shambles. But when it comes to how everyday people manage [...]

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What's the Real Unemployment Rate?

The country got a bit of good news late last week when the unemployment rate dropped to 10%, with the economy losing only 11,000 jobs and revised numbers for September and October lower than originally estimated. While the news was able to push stocks up a bit for the week as more investors see this [...]

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