by Linda Beale Summers says taxes must increase For once, I find myself agreeing with Larry Summers. At a conference in Washington sponsored by the Brookings Institute, he emphasized that tax cuts and spending cuts cannot appropriately resolve the US budgetary issues. “It is a near certainty that we are going to need a significant […]
A lost parakeet in Japan was returned safely to its owner last week after it told police its home address. Why do captive birds mimic human speech, and how do they decide what to say? They’re trying to fit in with the flock, and they’ll say whatever it takes. — “Why Parrots Parrot: When birds mimic […]
From the Boston Globe comes this interview with Paul Krugman on what he does in between writing and speaking. Just for fun. From the bully pulpit of his New York Times column, Paul Krugman has been explaining why numbers matters since 1999. The unabashed liberal took the Bush administration to task, but he hasn’t exactly […]
by Linda Beale Tax Foundation–up to its usual nonsense The Tax Foundation claims to be a nonpartisan institute interested merely in researching and informing people about taxes. That’s far from the truth, however. Its work is aimed at one purpose–convincing Americans that they pay too much in taxes and that government is too big. One […]
by Linda Beale Leonard says GOP Is intent on sabotage Andrew Leonard of Salon writes often about tax and economic issues. In Friday’s column, he addressed the increasingly obstructionist tactics employed by far-right representative Paul Ryan and a coterie of other GOP representatives who are willing to sacrifice core systems in order to keep the […]
by Mike Kimel Corporate Profits and Corporate Taxes Based on a comment by reader Troy, the following graph from FRED, posted without comment: Figure 1
This was another disappointing employment report It is looking more and more like the stronger numbers last winter stemmed more from the mild weather rather than a strengthening of underlying trends. The headline or payroll report showed a gain of 115,000 jobs– 130,000 in private jobs and a 15,000 drop in government employment. The […]
by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care Thoughts: Employer PPACA Options, More Analysis One of the more suspenseful issues of PPACA (aka Obamacare) is the question of employer conduct in 2014 and after. Question is, will employers drop health insurance and punt workers into the state exchange system? Some new perspectives have been added […]
by Kenneth Thomas New York’s City Council passed a living wage ordinance On Monday, New York’s City Council passed a living wage ordinance, reports Good Jobs New York’s Bettina Damiani. The 45-5 vote means the Council can easily override a threatened veto by Mayor Michael Bloomberg (New York Post, May 1, via Nexis subscription service). […]