News
National Journal | Uncertainty Overshadows Week of Solid Economic Data
The economic data this week was pretty solid. Initial jobless claims dropped, durable-goods orders improved, and second-quarter gross domestic product was revised upward. Despite some bad news — personal incomes declined in August for the first time in nearly two years — the United States appears to be warding off a double-dip recession, for now.
Market Watch | Incomes fall for first time in almost two years
Americans dipped into their savings to spend in August as their incomes fell for the first time in almost two years, the Commerce Department estimated Friday.
NYT | Cash-Short, U.S. Weighs Asset Sales
Like Americans trying to raise quick cash by unloading their unwanted goods, the federal government is considering a novel way to reduce the deficit: holding the equivalent of a garage sale.
CNN: Money | 90% of Americans say economy stinks
The number, reported Friday in a new CNN/ORC International Poll, is the highest of Barack Obama's presidency and a significant increase from the 81% who said conditions were poor in June.
National Journal | Mortgage Delinquencies Climb During Second Quarter
Early-stage delinquencies, which count mortgages that are between 30 and 59 days delinquent, increased 0.4 percent in the second quarter, the report said.
Econ Comments
WSJ | Washington's Quietest Disaster
Student loan defaults are growing, and the worst is still to come.
Washington Post | Why Europe’s crisis matters to U.S.
An American economic recovery now faces only two obstacles. Unfortunately, they are considerable: the broken politics of the United States and the broken politics of Europe.
WSJ | Buy American' Redux
How to raise costs on U.S. construction.
Washington Times | VERSACE: Ending the September quarter deep in the red
As we come to the end of the third quarter of 2011, people will use various words to describe the overall market, But one word that I think we can all agree aptly describes what we have seen over the past 90 days is volatile.
WSJ | The Lessons of the Shale Gas Revolution
North American oil production can double by 2035.
Washington Times | MURRAY & BIER: Stimulus slows our economy
What Washington wastes costs more jobs.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | No Drilling, No Jobs, No Money
Our country faces a severe fiscal crisis as well as significant economic challenges related to private industry job creation. Revenue cannot be generated from lease sales that do not occur, and jobs cannot be created on leases that private industry cannot acquire.
AEI: American | Why Business Uncertainty Really Is Killing Growth
Maybe EPI should run its own survey and ask entrepreneurs whether they would like to operate in an economy where government spending was running at 28 percent of GDP, revenues 24 percent, and big budget deficits extended as far as the eye could see.
Heritage Foundation | Maine Conservatives Leading the Way on Welfare Reform
Proving they are serious about mitigating their citizens’ dependence on government welfare programs, conservative members of Maine’s state legislature continue to push the state towards meaningful welfare reform.
Reports
NBER | Financial Literacy, Retirement Planning, and Household Wealth
There is ample empirical evidence documenting widespread financial illiteracy and limited pension knowledge. At the same time, the distribution of wealth is widely dispersed and many workers arrive on the verge of retirement with few or no personal assets.
RCM: Wells Fargo | Housing Chartbook: September 2011
Given the severity of the recent financial market volatility in Europe and in the United States, home sales have held up better than what many would have been expected.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Health Care
News
National Journal | House Republican Bill Would Pause Funding of Health Care Reform
The Labor-Health and Human Services 2012 spending bill finally emerged on Thursday, making all of the cuts and policy changes expected from a GOP majority.
Fox Business | Hospitals Face Big Medicare Fight Under Health Reform: Study
The new study provides information that shows just how complicated it will be for the government to assess fines against hospitals under health reform’s push to make them more effective and efficient.
National Journal | Single-Payer Health Care In Montana
Montana's Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer wants his state to adopt a single-payer health insurance system, saying that care in the neighboring Canadian province of Saskatchewan is better and cheaper than the system that will be created in the U.S. by last year's health care reform law.
Econ Comments
Fox Business | What Boomers Need to Know About Medicare Open Enrollment Season
The period, which runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, is a good time to assess current coverage and shop around for other plans that might better meet your needs and financial situation.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Obamacare’s Soaring Price Tag
The bad news is that Americans can expect costs to go even higher. For starters, the full force of the law won’t even kick in until 2014–in other words, there’s an onslaught ahead.
National Journal | House Republican Bill Would Pause Funding of Health Care Reform
The Labor-Health and Human Services 2012 spending bill finally emerged on Thursday, making all of the cuts and policy changes expected from a GOP majority.
Fox Business | Hospitals Face Big Medicare Fight Under Health Reform: Study
The new study provides information that shows just how complicated it will be for the government to assess fines against hospitals under health reform’s push to make them more effective and efficient.
National Journal | Single-Payer Health Care In Montana
Montana's Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer wants his state to adopt a single-payer health insurance system, saying that care in the neighboring Canadian province of Saskatchewan is better and cheaper than the system that will be created in the U.S. by last year's health care reform law.
Econ Comments
Fox Business | What Boomers Need to Know About Medicare Open Enrollment Season
The period, which runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, is a good time to assess current coverage and shop around for other plans that might better meet your needs and financial situation.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Obamacare’s Soaring Price Tag
The bad news is that Americans can expect costs to go even higher. For starters, the full force of the law won’t even kick in until 2014–in other words, there’s an onslaught ahead.
Monetary
News
WSJ | Fed's Twist May Prompt Bigger Turn
As the Federal Reserve Bank of New York prepares to release on Friday new details about the central bank's rate-lowering program, some bond-market strategists have done their own back-of-the-envelope assessment already.
Blogs
Daily Capitalist | Bernanke Hints At QE3
The Fed chief has shown a strong determination to do what is needed to fix a persistently weak economy.
WSJ | Fed's Twist May Prompt Bigger Turn
As the Federal Reserve Bank of New York prepares to release on Friday new details about the central bank's rate-lowering program, some bond-market strategists have done their own back-of-the-envelope assessment already.
Blogs
Daily Capitalist | Bernanke Hints At QE3
The Fed chief has shown a strong determination to do what is needed to fix a persistently weak economy.
Taxes
Econ Comments
WSJ | Flat Is the New Fair
Is President Obama paving the way for GOP tax reform?
Forbes | The Rise Of The Flat Tax Gives Us Morning In Albania
...when you combine the typically high growth in nominal GDP with these stable revenue/GDP ratios, nine out of ten countries experienced an increase in tax revenue in the first year of flat-tax implementation.
Minyanville | Is Buffett's Tax for the Super-Rich a Fair Proposal or Class Warfare? 6 Answers
Left, right or center, everyone has an opinion about Warren's big idea.
WSJ | Flat Is the New Fair
Is President Obama paving the way for GOP tax reform?
Forbes | The Rise Of The Flat Tax Gives Us Morning In Albania
...when you combine the typically high growth in nominal GDP with these stable revenue/GDP ratios, nine out of ten countries experienced an increase in tax revenue in the first year of flat-tax implementation.
Minyanville | Is Buffett's Tax for the Super-Rich a Fair Proposal or Class Warfare? 6 Answers
Left, right or center, everyone has an opinion about Warren's big idea.
Employment
Econ Comments
Washington Times | EDITORIAL: Obama jobs plan: More bureaucrats
As bad as EPA regulations are already, more bad news is coming.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economics | CEO Survey Shows Less Confidence in U.S. Hiring, Outlook
Top business executives are less confident about the U.S. economic outlook and their ability to hire new workers than in previous quarters this year, according to a survey released Thursday by Business Roundtable.
Mercatus Center: Neighborhood Effects | A Bill to Increase Discrimination Against All Workers?
According to Robert Pear of the New York Times, the President’s latest stimulus bill includes a provision allowing unsuccessful job applicants to sue if they believe they were denied a position because they are unemployed.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | It’s Man vs. Machine and Man Is Losing
Since the recession ended, businesses had increased their real spending on equipment and software by a strong 26%, while they have added almost nothing to their payrolls.
Washington Times | EDITORIAL: Obama jobs plan: More bureaucrats
As bad as EPA regulations are already, more bad news is coming.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economics | CEO Survey Shows Less Confidence in U.S. Hiring, Outlook
Top business executives are less confident about the U.S. economic outlook and their ability to hire new workers than in previous quarters this year, according to a survey released Thursday by Business Roundtable.
Mercatus Center: Neighborhood Effects | A Bill to Increase Discrimination Against All Workers?
According to Robert Pear of the New York Times, the President’s latest stimulus bill includes a provision allowing unsuccessful job applicants to sue if they believe they were denied a position because they are unemployed.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | It’s Man vs. Machine and Man Is Losing
Since the recession ended, businesses had increased their real spending on equipment and software by a strong 26%, while they have added almost nothing to their payrolls.
Budget
News
CNN Money | What if the debt committee fails?
That's the threat facing lawmakers if the special debt committee fails to propose at least $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts, or if Congress rejects its proposals.
National Journal | 'Go Big' Sounds Nice, But It's a Long Shot
Super committee will have to struggle just to meet its $1.2 trillion mandate.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | MILLER: Cutting Uncle Sam down to size
Budgetary reform is needed to end the culture of spending increases.
CNN Money | What if the debt committee fails?
That's the threat facing lawmakers if the special debt committee fails to propose at least $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts, or if Congress rejects its proposals.
National Journal | 'Go Big' Sounds Nice, But It's a Long Shot
Super committee will have to struggle just to meet its $1.2 trillion mandate.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | MILLER: Cutting Uncle Sam down to size
Budgetary reform is needed to end the culture of spending increases.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
General Economics
News
Market Watch | Second-quarter GDP revised up to show 1.3% growth
The U.S. economy expanded at a slightly faster pace than previously thought in the second quarter of 2011, led by a pickup in consumer and construction spending.
National Journal | Can Policymakers 'Fix' the Banking System and Foster Economic Growth?
Policymakers at once want banks to help promote economic recovery by financing business and consumer loans, while also fixing their underlying problems, like overleveraging and poor underwriting that helped fuel the financial bust the country cannot seem to crawl out of.
WSJ | Mortgage Aid Effort Falls Short of Its Goal
A federal initiative that gives bridge loans to homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments will likely pay out less than half the $1 billion that Congress allotted for the program, the most recent example of such an effort falling short of goals.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | GHEI: Eurozone debt debacle
Government spending spree could bring down European Union.
CNN: Money | Trade deals held up by Washington gridlock
The White House wants the Trade Adjustment Assistance program passed before sending over the trade deals.
Blogs
Econlog | What Got Us Out of the Great Depression?
But boosting aggregate demand did not end the Great Depression. After the initial stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent economic plunge, a recovery began in the summer of 1932, well before the New Deal.
Daily Capitalist | Shadow Inventory: Will Continue To Depress Housing Market
CoreLogic reported that its measure of shadow housing inventory, the number of 90+ day delinquencies, foreclosures and REOs, was down, but only very slightly:
Econlog | More on the Myth of the Macroeconomy
A macroeconomist would argue that structural unemployment always exists. It represents a sort of background noise.
NRO: The Corner | Inspiring Stories of Entrepreuneurship
I wish that of more of these success stories were made public so people would understand that, yes, there are very rich people in America, but most of them made their fortunes through hard-work and their fortunes have benefited all of us.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Departing Hoenig Paints Grim Picture of Long-Term Growth.
The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City on Wednesday said he expects the long-term rate of growth for U.S. gross domestic product to trail the average for the past 25 years.
Heritage Foundation | Look Before You Regulate: Measuring the Costs of Financial Rules
You would think that any regulation that could affect a major part of the economy and cost industry and/or consumers millions of dollars to comply with would be based on rigorous and consistent economic analysis.
Reports
RCM: Wells Fargo | Durable Goods Orders Continue To Defy Gravity
Durable goods orders for August came in better than expected, slipping only 0.1 percent from the month before. Civilian aircraft orders were once again a big contributor to durable orders.
Market Watch | Second-quarter GDP revised up to show 1.3% growth
The U.S. economy expanded at a slightly faster pace than previously thought in the second quarter of 2011, led by a pickup in consumer and construction spending.
National Journal | Can Policymakers 'Fix' the Banking System and Foster Economic Growth?
Policymakers at once want banks to help promote economic recovery by financing business and consumer loans, while also fixing their underlying problems, like overleveraging and poor underwriting that helped fuel the financial bust the country cannot seem to crawl out of.
WSJ | Mortgage Aid Effort Falls Short of Its Goal
A federal initiative that gives bridge loans to homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments will likely pay out less than half the $1 billion that Congress allotted for the program, the most recent example of such an effort falling short of goals.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | GHEI: Eurozone debt debacle
Government spending spree could bring down European Union.
CNN: Money | Trade deals held up by Washington gridlock
The White House wants the Trade Adjustment Assistance program passed before sending over the trade deals.
Blogs
Econlog | What Got Us Out of the Great Depression?
But boosting aggregate demand did not end the Great Depression. After the initial stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent economic plunge, a recovery began in the summer of 1932, well before the New Deal.
Daily Capitalist | Shadow Inventory: Will Continue To Depress Housing Market
CoreLogic reported that its measure of shadow housing inventory, the number of 90+ day delinquencies, foreclosures and REOs, was down, but only very slightly:
Econlog | More on the Myth of the Macroeconomy
A macroeconomist would argue that structural unemployment always exists. It represents a sort of background noise.
NRO: The Corner | Inspiring Stories of Entrepreuneurship
I wish that of more of these success stories were made public so people would understand that, yes, there are very rich people in America, but most of them made their fortunes through hard-work and their fortunes have benefited all of us.
WSJ: Real Time Economics | Departing Hoenig Paints Grim Picture of Long-Term Growth.
The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City on Wednesday said he expects the long-term rate of growth for U.S. gross domestic product to trail the average for the past 25 years.
Heritage Foundation | Look Before You Regulate: Measuring the Costs of Financial Rules
You would think that any regulation that could affect a major part of the economy and cost industry and/or consumers millions of dollars to comply with would be based on rigorous and consistent economic analysis.
Reports
RCM: Wells Fargo | Durable Goods Orders Continue To Defy Gravity
Durable goods orders for August came in better than expected, slipping only 0.1 percent from the month before. Civilian aircraft orders were once again a big contributor to durable orders.
Health Care
News
National Journal | New HHS Program Pays Primary-Care Doctors Higher Rates
The plan, which will be tested in five markets next year, would pay those doctors an extra $20 a month per Medicare patient to help them invest in such items as electronic health records, extra nurses, or social workers to keep their patients healthier.
WSJ | Health Overhaul Heads to Justices
The Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to decide the fate of its health-care overhaul, setting the stage for arguments at the high court and a probable ruling in the thick of the 2012 presidential campaign.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | HOAGLAND: No economic recovery with Obamacare
Small businesses can’t grow while federal mandate threatens.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) Outlines a New Paradigm for Health Care Reform
Ryan pointed out that rising health care costs not only make insurance unaffordable for many Americans; they are also a main driver of growing federal deficits.
Heritage Foundation | Health Insurance Continues Unaffordable Trend After Obamacare
The Kaiser survey shows that the average annual premium for a family in 2011 is 31 percent higher than it was in 2006, and 113 percent higher than in 2001. This year marks the first year that the cost of family coverage will exceed $15,000.
National Journal | New HHS Program Pays Primary-Care Doctors Higher Rates
The plan, which will be tested in five markets next year, would pay those doctors an extra $20 a month per Medicare patient to help them invest in such items as electronic health records, extra nurses, or social workers to keep their patients healthier.
WSJ | Health Overhaul Heads to Justices
The Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to decide the fate of its health-care overhaul, setting the stage for arguments at the high court and a probable ruling in the thick of the 2012 presidential campaign.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | HOAGLAND: No economic recovery with Obamacare
Small businesses can’t grow while federal mandate threatens.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) Outlines a New Paradigm for Health Care Reform
Ryan pointed out that rising health care costs not only make insurance unaffordable for many Americans; they are also a main driver of growing federal deficits.
Heritage Foundation | Health Insurance Continues Unaffordable Trend After Obamacare
The Kaiser survey shows that the average annual premium for a family in 2011 is 31 percent higher than it was in 2006, and 113 percent higher than in 2001. This year marks the first year that the cost of family coverage will exceed $15,000.
Monetary
News
National Journal | Fed Officials Explain 'Operation Twist' Decision
Federal Reserve officials are making the rounds this week to discuss the Fed’s latest effort to boost the economy. The divided central bank announced two new measures last Wednesday: “Operation Twist” and a new decision on reinvesting the proceeds of its portfolio.
Econ Comments
Investors.com | A Frank 'Cure' For The Fed
If two people always agree," says Ben Bernanke, "one of them is redundant." So, imagine what the Federal Reserve chairman thinks of Rep. Barney Frank's legislation designed to dampen dissent within the Fed.
WSJ | Last Chance to Save the Euro
A Greek default won't destroy Europe's currency. Bailouts will.
WSJ | Politicians Are Threatening the Fed's Independence
Stripping the regional bank presidents of their votes would make the system a weak creature of Washington.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economcis | Fed’s Plosser: Recent Stimulus Undermines Credibility
The Federal Reserve‘s recent bids to provide more economic stimulus are futile and ultimately make future policymaking more difficult.
National Journal | Fed Officials Explain 'Operation Twist' Decision
Federal Reserve officials are making the rounds this week to discuss the Fed’s latest effort to boost the economy. The divided central bank announced two new measures last Wednesday: “Operation Twist” and a new decision on reinvesting the proceeds of its portfolio.
Econ Comments
Investors.com | A Frank 'Cure' For The Fed
If two people always agree," says Ben Bernanke, "one of them is redundant." So, imagine what the Federal Reserve chairman thinks of Rep. Barney Frank's legislation designed to dampen dissent within the Fed.
WSJ | Last Chance to Save the Euro
A Greek default won't destroy Europe's currency. Bailouts will.
WSJ | Politicians Are Threatening the Fed's Independence
Stripping the regional bank presidents of their votes would make the system a weak creature of Washington.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economcis | Fed’s Plosser: Recent Stimulus Undermines Credibility
The Federal Reserve‘s recent bids to provide more economic stimulus are futile and ultimately make future policymaking more difficult.
Employment
News
Bloomberg | Jobless Claims in U.S. Drop More Than Forecast
Applications for jobless benefits dropped by 37,000 in the week ended Sept. 24 to 391,000, the fewest since April, Labor Department figures showed today.
Bloomberg | Ford to Add 7,000 U.S. Jobs in Next Two Years
Ford is discussing adding as many as 10,000 jobs in the U.S. in negotiations with the United Auto Workers union on a new four-year contract, according to three people familiar with the talks.
Econ Comments
Daily Caller | Karl Marx on Obama’s jobs plan
Marx condemned the new French emperor’s efforts to placate the unemployed by expanding government jobs.
CNN Money | How to create jobs
Of the 24 economists surveyed by CNNMoney, 16 believe Congress should take some kind of stimulative action to create jobs. But there's little consensus on just what that should be.
Blogs
Cato@Liberty | Unemployment Insurance System Fosters Unemployment
Keynesian economists keep telling us that unemployment benefits have a stimulative “multiplier effect” on the economy. Unfortunately, that sticky little problem of the government having to suck resources out of the economy to pay for this alleged stimulus keeps getting in the way...
Bloomberg | Jobless Claims in U.S. Drop More Than Forecast
Applications for jobless benefits dropped by 37,000 in the week ended Sept. 24 to 391,000, the fewest since April, Labor Department figures showed today.
Bloomberg | Ford to Add 7,000 U.S. Jobs in Next Two Years
Ford is discussing adding as many as 10,000 jobs in the U.S. in negotiations with the United Auto Workers union on a new four-year contract, according to three people familiar with the talks.
Econ Comments
Daily Caller | Karl Marx on Obama’s jobs plan
Marx condemned the new French emperor’s efforts to placate the unemployed by expanding government jobs.
CNN Money | How to create jobs
Of the 24 economists surveyed by CNNMoney, 16 believe Congress should take some kind of stimulative action to create jobs. But there's little consensus on just what that should be.
Blogs
Cato@Liberty | Unemployment Insurance System Fosters Unemployment
Keynesian economists keep telling us that unemployment benefits have a stimulative “multiplier effect” on the economy. Unfortunately, that sticky little problem of the government having to suck resources out of the economy to pay for this alleged stimulus keeps getting in the way...
Budget
News
National Journal | House Expected to Accept Short CR, Drama Free
...Appropriations Committee member John Culberson, R-Texas, will take to the House floor shortly after its pro forma session begins at 11 a.m. He will then seek unanimous consent to pass the Senate’s “bridge” CR.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | MILLER: Hey, big spender
When it comes to budget cuts, Congress is just a tease.
Washington Times | GHEI: Eurozone debt debacle
Government spending spree could bring down European Union.
National Journal | House Expected to Accept Short CR, Drama Free
...Appropriations Committee member John Culberson, R-Texas, will take to the House floor shortly after its pro forma session begins at 11 a.m. He will then seek unanimous consent to pass the Senate’s “bridge” CR.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | MILLER: Hey, big spender
When it comes to budget cuts, Congress is just a tease.
Washington Times | GHEI: Eurozone debt debacle
Government spending spree could bring down European Union.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
General Economics
News
WSJ | For Some Companies, No Interest In Interest
A little-noticed provision of last year's financial-overhaul law gave companies something they had long wanted: a way to earn interest on large balances held in bank checking accounts.
Market Watch | U.S. durable-goods orders dip in August
Orders for U.S. durable goods fell slightly in August as demand shrank for motor vehicles and certain large defense goods, the government reported Wednesday.
CNN: Money | Financially-strapped cities cut jobs, services
One of the main factors contributing to the decline in revenue is a drop in property tax collections, which are projected to fall by 3.7% in 2011, the second straight year of declines. Last year's drop of 2.0% was the first year-over-year decline in city property tax revenues in 15 years.
National Journal | The Economic Impact of a Near-Shutdown
Some experts say budget brinkmanship will stir less fear as it grows more routine and yields long-term improvements.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | STEARNS: Sunstein’s dull red-tape shears
Czar’s regulatory pullback allows too much new regulation.
Bloomberg | Five Prescriptions to Heal Economy’s Ills: Laurence Kotlikoff
Desperate times call for creative measures. We’re in desperate times, but we’ve had little creative thinking from the Obama administration on how to fix the economy.
Washington Times | GRISWOLD: Yes to free trade, no to TAA ‘stimulus’
With federal debt piling up by the trillions and the “recovery” stuck in neutral, policymakers in Washington should focus on two overriding objectives: to shrink the public sector and grow the private sector. Trade legislation working its way through Congress offers an opportunity to advance both goals.
Forbes | Social Security is Much Worse Than a Ponzi Scheme
The facts about Social Security are these. Yes, it’s a Ponzi scheme, thus criminally fraudulent (as I’ll explain), but even worse, because it coerces us to be a part of it. Since the scheme began in 1935 the full force of the U.S. government has compelled a growing portion of citizens to suffer by it, such that we all do so by now.
Washington Times | DEMINT: Venture socialism
Obama agenda is about shoveling cash to cronies.
WSJ | The Real Solyndra Scandal
Solar technology has a market niche. It doesn't need subsidies.
AEI | HED: A Tale of Two Economies
It's useful to think of the American economy not as a single entity, but as multiple economies operating at differing levels of dynamism and efficiency.
Blogs
Political Calculations | The Aggregate Distribution of U.S. Household Income in 2010
Here, we clearly see that most of the aggregate income earned by U.S. households in 2010 is to be found between the median household income figure of $49,455 and the mean household income figure of $67,530, which would put you in the neighborhood where Americans households collectively earn well over 50 billion dollars per year.
Atlantic: Megan McArdle | How Much Did GDP Numbers Matter?
The Bureau of Economic Analysis clearly vastly underestimated the depth of the contraction that we experienced during the financial crisis.
Daily Capitalist | Case-Shiller Home Price Index Continues Downward
The truth is more in line with what Bloomberg said and that is that home prices are still falling, the current gains are technical results from the foreclosure problems that lenders have, and that foreclosures will resume and increase shortly and the market will continue to be depressed.
Reports
AEI | The Eurozone Crisis and the US Economy: What Has Gone Wrong?
Recent US stimulus efforts have failed to boost the economy, and this pattern is likely to continue with future proposed stimulus plans.
NBER | Country Size, International Trade, and Aggregate Fluctuations in Granular Economies
We study a multi-country, multi-sector model with heterogeneous firms that are subject to idiosyncratic firm-specific shocks. When the distribution of firm sizes follows a power law with an exponent close to -1, the idiosyncratic shocks to large firms have an impact on aggregate output volatility.
RCM: Wells Fargo | Consumer Confidence Is Still Missing in Action
Consumer confidence was essentially unchanged in September as worries about job availability increased and expectations for income gains deteriorated. Buying plans also took a nasty tumble.
WSJ | For Some Companies, No Interest In Interest
A little-noticed provision of last year's financial-overhaul law gave companies something they had long wanted: a way to earn interest on large balances held in bank checking accounts.
Market Watch | U.S. durable-goods orders dip in August
Orders for U.S. durable goods fell slightly in August as demand shrank for motor vehicles and certain large defense goods, the government reported Wednesday.
CNN: Money | Financially-strapped cities cut jobs, services
One of the main factors contributing to the decline in revenue is a drop in property tax collections, which are projected to fall by 3.7% in 2011, the second straight year of declines. Last year's drop of 2.0% was the first year-over-year decline in city property tax revenues in 15 years.
National Journal | The Economic Impact of a Near-Shutdown
Some experts say budget brinkmanship will stir less fear as it grows more routine and yields long-term improvements.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | STEARNS: Sunstein’s dull red-tape shears
Czar’s regulatory pullback allows too much new regulation.
Bloomberg | Five Prescriptions to Heal Economy’s Ills: Laurence Kotlikoff
Desperate times call for creative measures. We’re in desperate times, but we’ve had little creative thinking from the Obama administration on how to fix the economy.
Washington Times | GRISWOLD: Yes to free trade, no to TAA ‘stimulus’
With federal debt piling up by the trillions and the “recovery” stuck in neutral, policymakers in Washington should focus on two overriding objectives: to shrink the public sector and grow the private sector. Trade legislation working its way through Congress offers an opportunity to advance both goals.
Forbes | Social Security is Much Worse Than a Ponzi Scheme
The facts about Social Security are these. Yes, it’s a Ponzi scheme, thus criminally fraudulent (as I’ll explain), but even worse, because it coerces us to be a part of it. Since the scheme began in 1935 the full force of the U.S. government has compelled a growing portion of citizens to suffer by it, such that we all do so by now.
Washington Times | DEMINT: Venture socialism
Obama agenda is about shoveling cash to cronies.
WSJ | The Real Solyndra Scandal
Solar technology has a market niche. It doesn't need subsidies.
AEI | HED: A Tale of Two Economies
It's useful to think of the American economy not as a single entity, but as multiple economies operating at differing levels of dynamism and efficiency.
Blogs
Political Calculations | The Aggregate Distribution of U.S. Household Income in 2010
Here, we clearly see that most of the aggregate income earned by U.S. households in 2010 is to be found between the median household income figure of $49,455 and the mean household income figure of $67,530, which would put you in the neighborhood where Americans households collectively earn well over 50 billion dollars per year.
Atlantic: Megan McArdle | How Much Did GDP Numbers Matter?
The Bureau of Economic Analysis clearly vastly underestimated the depth of the contraction that we experienced during the financial crisis.
Daily Capitalist | Case-Shiller Home Price Index Continues Downward
The truth is more in line with what Bloomberg said and that is that home prices are still falling, the current gains are technical results from the foreclosure problems that lenders have, and that foreclosures will resume and increase shortly and the market will continue to be depressed.
Reports
AEI | The Eurozone Crisis and the US Economy: What Has Gone Wrong?
Recent US stimulus efforts have failed to boost the economy, and this pattern is likely to continue with future proposed stimulus plans.
NBER | Country Size, International Trade, and Aggregate Fluctuations in Granular Economies
We study a multi-country, multi-sector model with heterogeneous firms that are subject to idiosyncratic firm-specific shocks. When the distribution of firm sizes follows a power law with an exponent close to -1, the idiosyncratic shocks to large firms have an impact on aggregate output volatility.
RCM: Wells Fargo | Consumer Confidence Is Still Missing in Action
Consumer confidence was essentially unchanged in September as worries about job availability increased and expectations for income gains deteriorated. Buying plans also took a nasty tumble.
Health Care
News
CNN: Money | Employers bear brunt of health insurance hikes
While the annual cost for employee family health insurance jumped 9% this year, employers shouldered the bulk of that increase, according to a new industry survey Tuesday.
Market Watch | Some doctors think patients get too much care
Many primary-care physicians think they could be sued for not doing something, but few think they could be sued for doing something excessive or unnecessary. So says the lead author of a study that shows 28% of physicians polled said they personally were practicing more aggressively than they would like.
National Journal | Hospitals Flunk Readmission Test
Hospitals are about to get punished for so-called readmissions – when patients end up right back in the hospital after being discharged. Yet they’ve done very little to improve, researchers reported on Wednesday.
Econ Comments
WSJ | Beyond 'Repeal and Replace'
The core challenge, as Mr. Ryan laid out, is that "the health-care sector lacks most of the basic building blocks of a functioning market."
CNN: Money | Employers bear brunt of health insurance hikes
While the annual cost for employee family health insurance jumped 9% this year, employers shouldered the bulk of that increase, according to a new industry survey Tuesday.
Market Watch | Some doctors think patients get too much care
Many primary-care physicians think they could be sued for not doing something, but few think they could be sued for doing something excessive or unnecessary. So says the lead author of a study that shows 28% of physicians polled said they personally were practicing more aggressively than they would like.
National Journal | Hospitals Flunk Readmission Test
Hospitals are about to get punished for so-called readmissions – when patients end up right back in the hospital after being discharged. Yet they’ve done very little to improve, researchers reported on Wednesday.
Econ Comments
WSJ | Beyond 'Repeal and Replace'
The core challenge, as Mr. Ryan laid out, is that "the health-care sector lacks most of the basic building blocks of a functioning market."
Monetary
Econ Comments
RCM | In Doing the Twist, Bernanke Leaves Out Production
In short, economic growth results from a productive idea being matched with capital; the scenario just described most stimulative in terms of real production when taxes are light, regulations largely non-existent, trade free, and money values stable.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Restoring Economic Growth with a Stable Dollar
The United States and the world should not be condemned to struggle with depreciating and appreciating currencies, with inflationary and deflationary monetary policies that are out of control.
RCM | In Doing the Twist, Bernanke Leaves Out Production
In short, economic growth results from a productive idea being matched with capital; the scenario just described most stimulative in terms of real production when taxes are light, regulations largely non-existent, trade free, and money values stable.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Restoring Economic Growth with a Stable Dollar
The United States and the world should not be condemned to struggle with depreciating and appreciating currencies, with inflationary and deflationary monetary policies that are out of control.
Taxes
News
WSJ | Benefits Tax Hits Businesses Twice
State and federal taxes are rising for employers across the U.S. as states struggle to repay federal loans for unemployment benefits, including more than $1 billion in interest due Friday.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | MILLER: Obama’s tall tax tales
Numbers do not compute in presidential push for yet higher taxes.
Washington Times | CAIN: Economic crisis requires real tax reform
Half-measures and far-off fixes won’t mend our broken jobs engine.
Blogs
American: Enterprise Blog | The Benefits and Limitations of Income Tax Reform
Done right, broadening the tax base by ridding the code of its many distortionary “tax expenditures” can promote economic efficiency. Done wrong, it can lead to a less neutral tax system and higher taxes on saving and investment.
NRO: The Corner | More on Taxing Millionaires
As you may recall, the top 1 percent of income earners pay 38 percent of income taxes and earn 20 percent of income, which makes our tax system highly progressive.
WSJ | Benefits Tax Hits Businesses Twice
State and federal taxes are rising for employers across the U.S. as states struggle to repay federal loans for unemployment benefits, including more than $1 billion in interest due Friday.
Econ Comments
Washington Times | MILLER: Obama’s tall tax tales
Numbers do not compute in presidential push for yet higher taxes.
Washington Times | CAIN: Economic crisis requires real tax reform
Half-measures and far-off fixes won’t mend our broken jobs engine.
Blogs
American: Enterprise Blog | The Benefits and Limitations of Income Tax Reform
Done right, broadening the tax base by ridding the code of its many distortionary “tax expenditures” can promote economic efficiency. Done wrong, it can lead to a less neutral tax system and higher taxes on saving and investment.
NRO: The Corner | More on Taxing Millionaires
As you may recall, the top 1 percent of income earners pay 38 percent of income taxes and earn 20 percent of income, which makes our tax system highly progressive.
Employment
News
NY Times | Obama Proposes Protecting Unemployed Against Hiring Bias
...Lawrence Z. Lorber, a labor law specialist who represents employers, said the president’s proposal “opens another avenue of employment litigation and nuisance lawsuits.”
Market Watch | Where the jobs really are
Unemployment remains high and the job market is tough for many. But people still need other people to repair their cars, do their accounting, repair computers, write apps and even sell them things. And there currently are more opportunities in those occupations than others, according to online job postings.
NY Times | Low Consumer Confidence Suggests Hiring Is Still Weak
Confidence among the nation’s consumers stagnated near a two-year low in September, and the share of households that said it was difficult to find a job climbed to the highest level in almost three decades, a research group said on Tuesday.
Econ Comments
WSJ | Every Job Requires an Entrepreneur
Someone took risks to start every business—whether Ford, Google or your local dry cleaner.
Blogs
Daily Capitalist | The State of Employment In America
McKinsey Global Research just came out with a study dealing with jobs in America, “An Economy That Works: Job Creation and America’s Future.” McKinsey loves to put put these big studies. It gives them the imprimatur of Big Thinkers and attracts clients.
NY Times | Obama Proposes Protecting Unemployed Against Hiring Bias
...Lawrence Z. Lorber, a labor law specialist who represents employers, said the president’s proposal “opens another avenue of employment litigation and nuisance lawsuits.”
Market Watch | Where the jobs really are
Unemployment remains high and the job market is tough for many. But people still need other people to repair their cars, do their accounting, repair computers, write apps and even sell them things. And there currently are more opportunities in those occupations than others, according to online job postings.
NY Times | Low Consumer Confidence Suggests Hiring Is Still Weak
Confidence among the nation’s consumers stagnated near a two-year low in September, and the share of households that said it was difficult to find a job climbed to the highest level in almost three decades, a research group said on Tuesday.
Econ Comments
WSJ | Every Job Requires an Entrepreneur
Someone took risks to start every business—whether Ford, Google or your local dry cleaner.
Blogs
Daily Capitalist | The State of Employment In America
McKinsey Global Research just came out with a study dealing with jobs in America, “An Economy That Works: Job Creation and America’s Future.” McKinsey loves to put put these big studies. It gives them the imprimatur of Big Thinkers and attracts clients.
Budget
Econ Comments
Daily Caller | States need to prepare for massive cuts in federal funding
State legislators and governors fear that the super-committee will target the half trillion dollars that the federal government sends to states each year through a program known as Federal Aid to States (FAS).
Forbes | The U.S. Federal Deficit Reaches A Tipping Point
When nations accumulate a certain level of debt, growth suffers. For the United States, that moment is now.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economics | What Are We Spending Our Money On?
Average spending dropped 2% to $48,109 last year. Even as income and spending fell, consumer prices increased 1.6% in 2010.
Daily Caller | States need to prepare for massive cuts in federal funding
State legislators and governors fear that the super-committee will target the half trillion dollars that the federal government sends to states each year through a program known as Federal Aid to States (FAS).
Forbes | The U.S. Federal Deficit Reaches A Tipping Point
When nations accumulate a certain level of debt, growth suffers. For the United States, that moment is now.
Blogs
WSJ: Real Time Economics | What Are We Spending Our Money On?
Average spending dropped 2% to $48,109 last year. Even as income and spending fell, consumer prices increased 1.6% in 2010.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
General Economics
News
WSJ | Freddie Faulted on Mortgage Reviews
A federal watchdog said Freddie Mac may have given up opportunities to recover billions of dollars in claims over defaulted mortgages and suggested that a January settlement with Bank of America Corp. to resolve $1.3 billion in bad-loan claims was inadequate.
Washington Times | Fewer banks offering free checking
Charges on accounts rise to recoup revenues lost to lower card-swipe fees.
Market Watch | Sales of new U.S. homes dip in August
The sale of new single-family homes fell in August for the fourth month in a row, indicating that the depressed U.S. housing market shows no signs of recovery.
National Journal | Dems, Too, Have Raided Clean-Energy Programs
In the summer of 2009, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D.-Nev., pushed through the chamber a measure that dipped into the Energy Department program, taking $2 billion to pay for extending the administration’s successful “cash for clunkers” program.
Econ Comments
WSJ | The Truth About Who Fights for Us
In 2007, only 11% of enlisted military recruits came from the poorest U.S. neighborhoods.
Market Watch | No quick fix seen for long-running debt crisis
Economists said deep divisions and fears of domestic political backlash will continue to complicate efforts to prevent a widely-expected Greek default from turning into a global financial catastrophe.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Tales of the Red Tape #20: The Outer Limits of Regulation
The Obama Administration has issued a record number of costly rules and regulations compared to its predecessors. But one set of new guidelines, in particular, takes government authority to new heights.
Econlog | The Myth of the Macroeconomy
There are multiple escalators in the economy. At any one point in time, some people are on up escalators, and some people are on down escalators.
Daily Capitalist | Chicago and Dallas: More Negative Data
One by one, the Fed districts are reporting declining factory and industrial activity. Today the Chicago Fed reported a decline in activity, but last Friday, the ISM PMI (manufacturing) report came out negative, showing a 2.3 point decline to 56.5. It is still over the 50 level which means positive growth, but the trend looks negative:
ThinkMarkets | Another step down the road to serfdom
As the scope of federal regulation grows, Congress finds itself increasingly embroiled in problems of economic planning.
Heritage Foundation | Restoring Personal Responsibility in Welfare
Fifteen years ago, Congress voted to “end welfare as we know it.” As a result, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program was created (in place of the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children), which, for the first time, inserted work requirements and a five-year time limit for those receiving federal cash assistance.
Reports
Mercatus Center | How Friendly to Entrepreneurs are "Business Friendly" Policies?
Entrepreneurial activity is a fundamental component of economic growth and development in the United States. States that experience increased entrepreneurial activity also see higher levels of overall economic growth.
WSJ | Freddie Faulted on Mortgage Reviews
A federal watchdog said Freddie Mac may have given up opportunities to recover billions of dollars in claims over defaulted mortgages and suggested that a January settlement with Bank of America Corp. to resolve $1.3 billion in bad-loan claims was inadequate.
Washington Times | Fewer banks offering free checking
Charges on accounts rise to recoup revenues lost to lower card-swipe fees.
Market Watch | Sales of new U.S. homes dip in August
The sale of new single-family homes fell in August for the fourth month in a row, indicating that the depressed U.S. housing market shows no signs of recovery.
National Journal | Dems, Too, Have Raided Clean-Energy Programs
In the summer of 2009, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D.-Nev., pushed through the chamber a measure that dipped into the Energy Department program, taking $2 billion to pay for extending the administration’s successful “cash for clunkers” program.
Econ Comments
WSJ | The Truth About Who Fights for Us
In 2007, only 11% of enlisted military recruits came from the poorest U.S. neighborhoods.
Market Watch | No quick fix seen for long-running debt crisis
Economists said deep divisions and fears of domestic political backlash will continue to complicate efforts to prevent a widely-expected Greek default from turning into a global financial catastrophe.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | Tales of the Red Tape #20: The Outer Limits of Regulation
The Obama Administration has issued a record number of costly rules and regulations compared to its predecessors. But one set of new guidelines, in particular, takes government authority to new heights.
Econlog | The Myth of the Macroeconomy
There are multiple escalators in the economy. At any one point in time, some people are on up escalators, and some people are on down escalators.
Daily Capitalist | Chicago and Dallas: More Negative Data
One by one, the Fed districts are reporting declining factory and industrial activity. Today the Chicago Fed reported a decline in activity, but last Friday, the ISM PMI (manufacturing) report came out negative, showing a 2.3 point decline to 56.5. It is still over the 50 level which means positive growth, but the trend looks negative:
ThinkMarkets | Another step down the road to serfdom
As the scope of federal regulation grows, Congress finds itself increasingly embroiled in problems of economic planning.
Heritage Foundation | Restoring Personal Responsibility in Welfare
Fifteen years ago, Congress voted to “end welfare as we know it.” As a result, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program was created (in place of the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children), which, for the first time, inserted work requirements and a five-year time limit for those receiving federal cash assistance.
Reports
Mercatus Center | How Friendly to Entrepreneurs are "Business Friendly" Policies?
Entrepreneurial activity is a fundamental component of economic growth and development in the United States. States that experience increased entrepreneurial activity also see higher levels of overall economic growth.
Health Care
News
CNN: Money | 5 most expensive states for child care
The rising cost of child care has become a heavy burden for cash-strapped parents, particularly in these states, where it averages at least 15% of a family's annual income.
National Journal | Children's Hospitals a Growth Industry, Kaiser Reports
Children’s hospitals have become a big growth industry in health care, Kaiser Health News reported on Monday. Many of these facilities are not only getting larger and fancier, but they are effectively lobbying Congress for special treatment and negotiating with insurance companies for premium pay rates.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | New Study Shows Obamacare’s Impact on Ohio Coverage and Premiums
Americans knew the negative impact Obamacare would have on the nation before the law even passed. Millions of Americans will be added to Medicaid, which already provides low-quality coverage and patchy access to care.
CNN: Money | 5 most expensive states for child care
The rising cost of child care has become a heavy burden for cash-strapped parents, particularly in these states, where it averages at least 15% of a family's annual income.
National Journal | Children's Hospitals a Growth Industry, Kaiser Reports
Children’s hospitals have become a big growth industry in health care, Kaiser Health News reported on Monday. Many of these facilities are not only getting larger and fancier, but they are effectively lobbying Congress for special treatment and negotiating with insurance companies for premium pay rates.
Blogs
Heritage Foundation | New Study Shows Obamacare’s Impact on Ohio Coverage and Premiums
Americans knew the negative impact Obamacare would have on the nation before the law even passed. Millions of Americans will be added to Medicaid, which already provides low-quality coverage and patchy access to care.
Monetary
News
Market Watch | Dollar wavers against the euro
The dollar gave up small gains against the euro Monday, following back-and-forth action in the U.S. stock market as traders worked through reports that European officials are weighing a broad plan to ensure a default by Greece wouldn’t spread contagion to the euro zone’s banking system or to other sovereigns.
CNN: Money | How transparent should the Federal Reserve be?
"Potent" and "appropriate" were the words two Federal Reserve officials separately but simultaneously used to describe the central bank's tools to boost the economy Monday. But they differed on which of those tools are effective and which could be detrimental.
Econ Comments
Forbes | The Federal Reserve Produces A Black Swan
The Fed has made a horrible mistake. Its new policy has hit the economy with a deflationary shock that puts the U.S. recovery at risk and undermines Europe’s efforts to stem its own debt crisis.
Bloomberg | Fed Officials Express Doubt About Faster Inflation as Tool to Boost Growth
Fed Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin said the central bank’s use of tools has been “completely appropriate” and that she would be “quite leery” of allowing higher inflation or price expectations in an attempt to lower real interest rates. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said faster inflation won’t reduce the housing glut. He also said “monetary policy is ultra-loose right now, and appropriately so.”
Market Watch | Dollar wavers against the euro
The dollar gave up small gains against the euro Monday, following back-and-forth action in the U.S. stock market as traders worked through reports that European officials are weighing a broad plan to ensure a default by Greece wouldn’t spread contagion to the euro zone’s banking system or to other sovereigns.
CNN: Money | How transparent should the Federal Reserve be?
"Potent" and "appropriate" were the words two Federal Reserve officials separately but simultaneously used to describe the central bank's tools to boost the economy Monday. But they differed on which of those tools are effective and which could be detrimental.
Econ Comments
Forbes | The Federal Reserve Produces A Black Swan
The Fed has made a horrible mistake. Its new policy has hit the economy with a deflationary shock that puts the U.S. recovery at risk and undermines Europe’s efforts to stem its own debt crisis.
Bloomberg | Fed Officials Express Doubt About Faster Inflation as Tool to Boost Growth
Fed Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin said the central bank’s use of tools has been “completely appropriate” and that she would be “quite leery” of allowing higher inflation or price expectations in an attempt to lower real interest rates. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said faster inflation won’t reduce the housing glut. He also said “monetary policy is ultra-loose right now, and appropriately so.”
Taxes
Econ Comments
Washington Times | CAIN: Economic crisis requires real tax reform
Half-measures and far-off fixes won’t mend our broken jobs engine.
WSJ | A Short History of the Income Tax
One original sin was the separation of the corporate and personal tax, giving lawyers, accountants and the wealthy a chance to game the system.
Washington Times | RAHN: Obama’s tax falsehoods
President must know his quest to raise taxes will kill jobs.
WSJ | Mr. Buffett's Tax Secrets
The least he can do is show Americans why he pays so little.
Bloomberg | Is Warren Buffett the New Andrew Mellon? Not Quite: Amity Shlaes
Mellon ran the Treasury like a railroad: Taxes were tolls, and the government should set tax rates according to "what the traffic will bear."
Politico | A bipartisan step toward tax reform
Right now, there is over $1 trillion in American businesses’ global earnings trapped overseas by punitive tax rates governing the repatriation of those funds.
Reports
AEI | The Benefits and Limitations of Income Tax Reform
A number of recent proposals have called for broadening the individual income tax base while lowering statutory income tax rates. Such proposals would eliminate or curtail various preferential income tax provisions and use some or all of the resulting revenue to lower statutory tax rates. In this Outlook, we analyze the economic effects of this approach to tax reform.
Washington Times | CAIN: Economic crisis requires real tax reform
Half-measures and far-off fixes won’t mend our broken jobs engine.
WSJ | A Short History of the Income Tax
One original sin was the separation of the corporate and personal tax, giving lawyers, accountants and the wealthy a chance to game the system.
Washington Times | RAHN: Obama’s tax falsehoods
President must know his quest to raise taxes will kill jobs.
WSJ | Mr. Buffett's Tax Secrets
The least he can do is show Americans why he pays so little.
Bloomberg | Is Warren Buffett the New Andrew Mellon? Not Quite: Amity Shlaes
Mellon ran the Treasury like a railroad: Taxes were tolls, and the government should set tax rates according to "what the traffic will bear."
Politico | A bipartisan step toward tax reform
Right now, there is over $1 trillion in American businesses’ global earnings trapped overseas by punitive tax rates governing the repatriation of those funds.
Reports
AEI | The Benefits and Limitations of Income Tax Reform
A number of recent proposals have called for broadening the individual income tax base while lowering statutory income tax rates. Such proposals would eliminate or curtail various preferential income tax provisions and use some or all of the resulting revenue to lower statutory tax rates. In this Outlook, we analyze the economic effects of this approach to tax reform.
Employment
News
NY Times | Deep Recession Sharply Altered U.S. Jobless Map
When the unemployment rate rose in most states last month, it underscored the extent to which the deep recession, the anemic recovery and the lingering crisis of joblessness are beginning to reshape the nation’s economic map.
Econ Comments
NY Post | ‘Labor’-ing to separate jobs facts, fiction
When the Labor Department checked its employment figures in 2010, it realized that The Truth was that 378,000 jobs it believed existed really didn’t.
Politico | 'Shovel-ready' jobs could take time
President Barack Obama hasn’t yet used the term “shovel ready” in his latest jobs pitch, but he faces a familiar problem: Infrastructure experts doubt that billions in emergency spending will be the quick jobs fix the president is promising.
Fox Business | Long-Term Unemployed Workers Face Even Tougher Battle
...according to The American 99ers Union, the growing number of those who have been out of work for longer than 99 weeks are the ones at most risk. Regardless of how you count them, the problem is very real and growing.
Blogs
Political Calculations | Dear White House Staffer...
Because that outlook has gotten much worse, and also because of what that means for jobs, the really bad news we have for you is that basically, you're hosed.
Reports
RCM: Wells Fargo Economics Group | Employment: Beyond the Sound Bites—Reading the Signals IV
Sex, race and ethnicity are always touchy subjects. However, good policy making demands we look at the reality of the differences in the employment experience if we wish to make progress on jobs.
NY Times | Deep Recession Sharply Altered U.S. Jobless Map
When the unemployment rate rose in most states last month, it underscored the extent to which the deep recession, the anemic recovery and the lingering crisis of joblessness are beginning to reshape the nation’s economic map.
Econ Comments
NY Post | ‘Labor’-ing to separate jobs facts, fiction
When the Labor Department checked its employment figures in 2010, it realized that The Truth was that 378,000 jobs it believed existed really didn’t.
Politico | 'Shovel-ready' jobs could take time
President Barack Obama hasn’t yet used the term “shovel ready” in his latest jobs pitch, but he faces a familiar problem: Infrastructure experts doubt that billions in emergency spending will be the quick jobs fix the president is promising.
Fox Business | Long-Term Unemployed Workers Face Even Tougher Battle
...according to The American 99ers Union, the growing number of those who have been out of work for longer than 99 weeks are the ones at most risk. Regardless of how you count them, the problem is very real and growing.
Blogs
Political Calculations | Dear White House Staffer...
Because that outlook has gotten much worse, and also because of what that means for jobs, the really bad news we have for you is that basically, you're hosed.
Reports
RCM: Wells Fargo Economics Group | Employment: Beyond the Sound Bites—Reading the Signals IV
Sex, race and ethnicity are always touchy subjects. However, good policy making demands we look at the reality of the differences in the employment experience if we wish to make progress on jobs.
Budget
News
WSJ | Stopgap Fix Ends Budget Impasse
Senate Approves Short-Term Funding Measure After Sticking Point Is Resolved.
NY Times | More Gloom Lies Ahead for Cities, Report Says
Nearly a third of the nation’s cities are laying off workers this year. More than half have canceled or delayed infrastructure projects. And two out of five have raised their fees.
Econ Comments
AEI | The Chained CPI: A Path to Bipartisan Deficit Reduction
Because the chained CPI is expected to rise about 0.25 percent per year more slowly than the price indexes that are currently used, that switch would increase revenue and lower government benefit payments, thereby reducing the deficit and alleviating the long-term fiscal imbalance.
Reports
Mercatus Center | From Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution
The common rationale for reform is that defined benefit plans are proving costly to taxpayers, and the costs cannot be carried forward during stagnant economic times. In addition to their high total costs—as evidenced by total contribution rates that exceed 20 percent per dollar in most public programs—defined benefit programs are less predictable when it comes to future funding costs and outlays.
WSJ | Stopgap Fix Ends Budget Impasse
Senate Approves Short-Term Funding Measure After Sticking Point Is Resolved.
NY Times | More Gloom Lies Ahead for Cities, Report Says
Nearly a third of the nation’s cities are laying off workers this year. More than half have canceled or delayed infrastructure projects. And two out of five have raised their fees.
Econ Comments
AEI | The Chained CPI: A Path to Bipartisan Deficit Reduction
Because the chained CPI is expected to rise about 0.25 percent per year more slowly than the price indexes that are currently used, that switch would increase revenue and lower government benefit payments, thereby reducing the deficit and alleviating the long-term fiscal imbalance.
Reports
Mercatus Center | From Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution
The common rationale for reform is that defined benefit plans are proving costly to taxpayers, and the costs cannot be carried forward during stagnant economic times. In addition to their high total costs—as evidenced by total contribution rates that exceed 20 percent per dollar in most public programs—defined benefit programs are less predictable when it comes to future funding costs and outlays.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Health Care
News
CNN: Money | Open enrollment: Maximize your benefits
Though the offerings may look pretty much the same as last year's, companies are tinkering with the design of their health plans to shift even more of the financial burden to employees.
Econ Comments
AEI | Medicine's Next Great Challenge: Returning Science to Patient
Creating the personalized healthcare system of the future will require the combined efforts of universities and industry, regulators and entrepreneurs. But more than anything else, it will require an unprecedented level of participation from patients themselves, whose willingness to contribute to this effort and share of themselves will ultimately drive the success of this initiative.
WSJ | The Census, ObamaCare and the Uninsured
Health insurance remains closely tied to employment. Don't expect a turnaround until the jobs picture improves.
CNN: Money | Open enrollment: Maximize your benefits
Though the offerings may look pretty much the same as last year's, companies are tinkering with the design of their health plans to shift even more of the financial burden to employees.
Econ Comments
AEI | Medicine's Next Great Challenge: Returning Science to Patient
Creating the personalized healthcare system of the future will require the combined efforts of universities and industry, regulators and entrepreneurs. But more than anything else, it will require an unprecedented level of participation from patients themselves, whose willingness to contribute to this effort and share of themselves will ultimately drive the success of this initiative.
WSJ | The Census, ObamaCare and the Uninsured
Health insurance remains closely tied to employment. Don't expect a turnaround until the jobs picture improves.
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