Economy

Inside Greece’s Economic Problems, and Why It Matters to Us

Over the last 3 or 4 months, several news analysts have described the debt and deficit problems of Greece. Many of these same analysts decided to compare Greek debts and deficits to the United States. They cited data on Greece that shows a high and rising ratio of debt-to-Gross Domestic Product that increases the risk […]

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How China’s Fiscal Policy Affects American Unemployment

The Obama administration continues to struggle with Chinese currency politics and policy. Some in Congress are accusing China of currency manipulation, saying the Chinese undervalue their currency, which hurts jobs and companies in the United States. The Chinese currency is known as the Yuan, although it is officially the Renminbi. To Americans, the price of […]

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Consumer Debt is Down, But What’s the Real Cause?

The latest figures from the Federal Reserve show that U.S. consumer debt fell by $11.5 billion (5.6%) in February, with revolving credit down $9.4 billion — the third largest drop during the past 32 years, according to MarketWatch. This sounds like good news, right? People are paying down their debts and not relying on their […]

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How to Get Rid of the Health Insurance Industry

Will health care reform really keep costs down? In order to find out, we need to know exactly where costs keep on increasing. Shortly before the passage of the new health care bill, a spokesman for Anthem Blue Cross of California said this: “All health plans are in the same situation in trying to deal […]

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How Much are Replacement Jobs Helping the Economy?

America?s high unemployment rate will come down as total spending picks up and the economy recovers. Some of the unemployment is the result of the recession, but some is the result of long-term trends. Since 2000, manufacturing jobs have fallen by 5.4 million, and when the economy comes back, manufacturing will not recover much ? […]

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Where’s the Real Financial Reform?

The new credit card rules will make it difficult for banks and credit card processors to be tricksters, which is my word for their erratic and arbitrary fees and penalties. But despite the hostile opinions reported in the popular media, banks continue to have their way in financial matters. Take the student loan program, where […]

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How to Cut the Federal Deficit

I clipped a news article way back on August 11, 2005 when the Associated Press reported President Bush’s comments on a new transportation-spending bill. According to the article, “President Bush calls the massive $286.4 billion transportation spending bill he signed into law Wednesday a job creator.” The article goes on to describe the bill that […]

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Not All Jobs Are Created Equal

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?

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?

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

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

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

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. When it comes to how everyday people manage their […]

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