Today, the House of Representatives will take up GOP Rep. Fred Upton’s proposal to ”fix” Obamacare by undermining it, and the vote is being widely cast on a referendum on whether Dems will continue distancing themselves from the law. Meanwhile Senate Dems are also still considering fixes of their own that could undermine it, though […]

The 3rd quarter labor share number came out yesterday. I was expecting 96 to 96.4. The number is 96. Here is the update for effective demand and potential GDP. Potential GDP (center of the business cycle) is still cruising right on the lower trend line. Stable and consistent. It has actually decreased some. Effective demand […]

Capacity utilization is telling a very unusual story. Information technology –computers & peripherals, communication equipment and semiconductors — is operating at recession levels. Part of the story is import tablets and smart phones displacing personal computers. But there has to be more to the story. Meanwhile, the rest of industry appears to be operating at […]

Wikileaks reveals one chapter of 29 chapters, 5 on trade. Via wikipedia Fast_track (trade) means… Crooks and Liars points to key issues: The longest section of the Chapter – ’Enforcement’ – is devoted to detailing new policing measures, with far-reaching implications for individual rights, civil liberties, publishers, internet service providers and internet privacy, as well […]

From Thomas Dewar, Public Citizen News release: Quote: “… Also fueling congressional opposition to Fast Track is the abysmal outcome of the Obama administration’s only major trade pact to date, the U.S.-Korea FTA, which is the template for the TPP.  In contrast to Obama’s promises that the Korea deal would boost exports, in the agreement’s […]

Dan here….Somehow this makes sense: “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” – John Steinbeck

by Linda Beale IRS will issue summonses for offshore bank account info The IRS got court orders permitting it to see information about taxpayers with undisclosed offshore bank accounts from US banks.  In re the Tax Liabilities of John Does (SDNY No. 1:13-mc-00377 Nov. 12, 2013). According to BNA Daily Tax RealTime (Nov. 12, 2013 […]

I was up late last night tinkering in the “equation workshop” to calculate the center of the business cycle (potential GDP). The equation is opening up my eyes to some new insights. The center of the business cycle is an important concept. It is the core foundation of the real GDP business cycle. Ultimately the […]

Columbia U. Conference Shows Incentives Pervasive but Controls Work  Day one of the Columbia International Investment Conference in New York has concluded, and the takeaways are very clear. The topic is investment incentives, prompted by Louise Story’s “United States of Subsides” series last December. Story moderated panel 1, which covered the pervasiveness of subsidies. How […]