News
Bloomberg | Consumer Spending in U.S. Unexpectedly Declines
Consumer spending unexpectedly fell in April after the biggest surge in almost five years as incomes slowed, a sign the largest part of the U.S. economy will take time to accelerate.
Bloomberg | Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Fell More Than Forecast in May
Consumer confidence fell more than forecast in May, a sign consumer spending may be slow to pick up in the second quarter.
CNBC | A bright spot for economy: Fewer people rely on food stamps
After a surge in 2008, government spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, has peaked and begun falling, according to an analysis of the latest data by the research institute Center on Budget Policy and Priorities. So have the number of participants collecting SNAP benefits.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Forbes | Income Redistribution Is About Votes, Not About Helping The Poor
Everyone knows the famous Chinese proverb: Give a man a fish and you have fed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime. So why does the federal government spend so much money on giving away fish and so little on teaching people how to fish? Because Democrats want people to depend on government so that they will vote to re-elect them.
FOX Business | Flawed Policies Leading to Setback in Growth?
The U.S. economy contracted at an annual rate of 1% during the first quarter, according to revised data released Thursday by the Commerce Department. It marked the first time in three years that productivity and growth have shrunk.
Mercatus | The Economic Situation, June 2014
Have you ever had a car break down just as you felt you were beginning to get somewhere? And had to get out and hitchhike, hoofing it while hoping for a ride? If so, you know what it’s like to have your speed reduced to a crawl and to be hoping for a better ride.
NBER | Very Long-Run Discount Rates
We provide direct estimates of how agents trade off immediate costs and uncertain future benefits that occur in the very long run, 100 or more years away.
Blogs
Fortune | More Americans borrowing against their homes
History repeats itself. Past is prologue. Everything is a cycle. Pick any cliché you want, but the fact is lending vehicles that practically disappeared following the 2008 credit crisis are back.
WSJ | Fed’s Lacker: Economy’s Contraction ‘Not Unexpected’ but Sees Possible Rebound Soon
That was “not unexpected, given the data flow we’ve seen,” Mr. Lacker said in an interview on CNBC, pointing to a drop in inventories, a rise in imports and a fall-off in defense spending. “There are a lot of transitory factors that will reverse and unwind in the second quarter.”
Heritage Foundation | GDP Report Confirms We Now Have a $2 Trillion Obama Growth Deficit
This morning’s depressing revised calculation of the growth of the economy in the first quarter of 2014 (-1.0 percent) makes it official: The Obama expansion is now $2 trillion short of where we would be if growth in this recovery had matched the Reagan recovery that started in 1982.
