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

Will You Be Eligible for A Government Subsidy When You Buy Health Insurance in 2014? Check out Your “Modified Adjusted Gross Income” (MAGI) –You May Be Pleasantly Surprised

Maggie Mahar comments on the Modified Adjusted Gross Income and how this may positively impact your eligibility for healthcare insurance on the state exchanges. Before writing this post, I had no idea how to calculate my “Modified Adjusted Gross Income” (MAGI). But I did know that this is the number the IRS will use when […]

Fed, please taper, I beg you…

The transmission mechanisms that distribute liquidity to consumer demand labor are broken. More QE just feeds the supply-side of the economy making it more and more top-heavy. There is evidence of a bubble forming from Tim Duy. The Fed is making the economy more and more unstable as time goes by. The imbalance between capital […]

“The Rest of The Story”

Somewhere along the way, the naysayers and the Repubs will find a way to turn this into a negative “Trader Joe’s Cut Health Benefits Last Week”  Last week Ezra Klein wrote about Trader Joe’s decision to cut health insurance benefits for employees who work fewer than 30 hours a week. After that, one reader forwarded […]

Ohio Governor John Kasich to Follow Panera Bread CEO’s Lead in Taking the SNAP Challenge

In case you missed it, Panera Bread CEO Ron Shaich (founder) is taking the SNAP Challenge. “in an effort to find out how the other half lives by limiting grocery purchases to the average benefit amount shelled out by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It’s not much. A typical food stamp recipient receives just $4.50 […]

Inflation low and steady as she goes…

In the previous post, capacity utilization is low and steady, and inflation is too. Low inflation is a sign that labor has a liquidity disadvantage to capital. Explanation below. Here is inflation (all items less food and energy on a quarterly basis). Link to graph #1. Quarterly inflation. Is this a problem? Well… One way […]

Massive outreach and all atwitter

Matt Stoller @matthewstoller I like that ‘Larry Summers once vaguely tried to talk to Elizabeth Warren but didn’t’ has become ‘massive outreach’…  http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/in-race-for-fed-chair-larry-summers-reaches-out-to-elizabeth-warren/2013/09/13/40a776ea-1cb0-11e3-82ef-a059e54c49d0_story.html In race for Fed chair, Larry Summers reaches out to Elizabeth Warren Economist sought meeting with Sen. Elizabeth Warren; opposition from Democrats intensifies.

Capacity utilization low and steady as she goes…

Here is the latest reading on capacity utilization. Data for August 2013 released yesterday. Link to graph. It has been flat-lining for over a year and a half. Look familiar? Similar thing was happening before the crisis. Note: To really appreciate capacity utilization, here is a table giving the sectors of industrial output involved and […]