Senatar McCain
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Governmentspeak: Jobless Recovery
By · CommentsSo, what is a “jobless recovery”? Does it stand to reason that you can have an entire economy the size of the United States’ undergo an economic recovery without creating jobs? That, according to some, we simply have a flat job market while other data are showing the economy has recovered?
What sort of convoluted nonsense is this? It’s governmentspeak and don’t believe a word of it!
If the economy were actually, truly, recovering to the point of sustained growth in real GDP (meaning you must take government expenditures out) you would see a net increase in jobs created in the private sector in a significant and sustained way. The fact is, you don’t see this.
Point being here is that this idea of a “jobless recovery” is simply an oxymoron.
Only in Washington…
By · Commentscan you spend for six years, and use tax revenues over ten years, and call this a balanced government program…
So, let me see how this would work in my household. I get to buy a brand new Chevy Tahoe and finance it over six years. To prove my creditworthiness I can use ten years of income to make the six year payments work out… on paper.
Paul Ryan has the dope on this, nice work Paul..!
A Snow Job
By · CommentsWhite house economic advisor Larry Summers stated in an interview with CNBC that the recent blizzards probably distorted the unemployment numbers due to be released on Friday morning. According to Summers, the mountain of accumulated snow halted construction projects and also temporarily closed many stores plus restaurants.
The White House reasoning quickly melts in the face of economic logic. Businesses make hiring or firing decisions based on the benefit that an employee brings to the table versus their cost. No doubt the weather kept people from eating out or shopping for a few days. But the dress that was not bought on Saturday because of the weather more than likely will be purchased after the roads have been plowed. The lobster whose life was saved by little snowflakes on Friday night will be boiled a week later for a delayed celebration.
The fact is that construction has hemorrhaged jobs for over a year. In a report authored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and released at the beginning of February, the construction industry shed another 75,000 jobs, which was about the average monthly loss for the preceding 12 months. Currently, one out of four unemployed people came from construction. Read More→
John Taylor Gatto speaks about schools and brainwashing
By · CommentsJack Webb “Schools” Obama
By · CommentsKnight to c2
By · CommentsIn chess a fork occurs when a piece moves into a position where it can simultaneously attack two or more opposing pieces. The knight, which can move in an L shaped pattern and four different directions, is the piece most commonly used to execute this type of attack. A fork usually results in the opposing player losing a major piece. High caliber players often take care to avoid moves that could leave an opening for two quality pieces like a Queen and a Bishop to be attacked at the same time.
In his aggression to flood the economy with fiat money and lower key interest rates to zero, Ben Bernanke may have moved his monetary pieces and the economy into a vulnerable position. The Federal Reserve faces two problems. While lower rates did little to boost an economy already flooded in debt, they did help chase money toward the stock market where indices have bounced approximately 60% from the lows made almost a year ago.
A dramatically inflated money supply creates the very real danger of rapid price increases across the economic landscape. At its very worse, inflation can destroy the currency as illustrated historically by the experience of the Weimar Republic. The Producer Price Index, which showed an annualized rise of 16%, sounded an alarm to put the brakes on the monetary printing presses.
The likely result of pulling back on the monetary reins will be much higher interest rates and siphoning money out of the stock market. On the other hand, if the Federal Reserve continues on its present course, then the odds of a currency crisis increase with each passing day.
It looks like Bernake is sure to lose a piece. He has to be careful not to put the country into checkmate.
Another Flawed Keynesian Approach
By · CommentsWith the help of five Republicans in the US Senate, it appears the hurdle has been cleared for some form of a jobs bill to pass approval in Congress. Perhaps I am mistaken, but Congress already passed and the president signed a $750 billion spending bill to get people back to work. What is different about raiding an empty treasury of billions more this time to create jobs?
Architects of the legislation point to the tax credits available to businesses that increase their headcount. One idea is to give employers a tax-credit up to $5000 for each additional person hired. At first glance this may seem like a logical incentive. But as my economic students learn, two sides exist to transaction.
The tax credit will only reduce the marginal cost of a new employee for the first year. After the initial year the cost of the new hire will balloon by at least the amount of the tax credit. As any student passing a Principles of Economic realizes, cost is just one factor in the employment equation. The other side of the coin takes into account the revenue benefit that an employee brings to the table. Firms will retain or hire individuals as long as their additional benefit exceeds their additional cost. Without a significant pick up in demand, many firms will pass on expanding their payrolls.
Small business owners point to another flaw of the proposal in that tax-credits are realized at the end of the year. The cost of a new hire drains cash flow in the meantime. As one owner stated, cash flow is at the heart of staying in business. My creditors may not wait for the federal government to reimburse me.
It looks like another lesson in failed Keynesian economics.