Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

What is the story of wages and growth?

Lifted from comments: Run 75411 reacts to Daniel Alpert at Economonitor. : It appears much of the job growth has been in low wage opportunity which forces people to do with less and detracts from demand led economic growth. The economic bump in taking a lower wage paying job is just not that great; average Unemployment […]

Offshoring profits with captive reinsurance

by Linda Beale Offshoring profits with captive reinsurance One of the ways that corporations manage to cut their federal income tax bills way, way below the statutory rate is by setting up reinsurance affiliates offshore.  While some of these reinsurance affiliates may actually function as full-service reinsurance companies to many different customers, those truly taking […]

Examining the Entrails of the U.S. Employment Situation –

Daniel Alpert at Nouriel Roubini’s Economonitors offers a through, data supported (but in real English as well), description of what is happening in our economy, and why some things that might look puzzling  are not so hard to see with some careful reading: I have a story to tell you about the U.S. employment picture. A […]

Round and around the revolving door does spin…

Lifted from comments from open thread July 23 by reader Jack Round and around the revolving door does spin. Those who take the ride are guaranteed to win, in the game of securities enforcement law. In yet another move between public and private practice John Khuzami moves from the SEC to “….a job that pays […]

Federal Judge Finds Ohio Can’t Refuse to Recognize Couple’s Out-of-State Same-Sex Marriage

by Linda Beale Federal Judge Finds Ohio Can’t Refuse to Recognize Couple’s Out-of-State Same-Sex Marriage Dear Readers: This has been a much needed break for me, but now I am ready to resume daily postings on tax, economics, and the potential for a just and fair society.  As you all are undoubtedly aware, Messrs Camp […]

Say it like it is?

Via the Washington Post comes some interesting language. Employers are raising education requirements even for entry-level positions. Thirty-two percent of hiring managers and human resource professionals said they are hiring more employees with college degrees for positions that were historically held by high school graduates, according to a survey by CareerBuilder. “While some of this […]

Best to own a business rather than work for one

by Rebecca Wilder Best to own a business rather than work for one In my effort to move away from covering Europe exclusively on this blog, I’ve returned to a little niche of economic data that had intrigued me in the past: US national income accounts/accounting. This time I’ll look at national income, specifically corporate profits […]