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Open thread Feb. 6, 2014

Dan Crawford | February 6, 2015 11:17 am

Tags: open thread Comments (5) | Digg Facebook Twitter |
5 Comments
  • Denis Drew says:
    February 6, 2015 at 2:09 pm

    Newly elected Illinois governor Bruce Rauner wants to raise the minimum wage from $8.25 to $8.75 – if adjusted for expected inflation — over seven years.

    The fed inflation target is 2% – compounded over 7 years that comes to 15%. Which would chop 13% off the $10 (100% inflation cuts buying power 50%). Round off to $8.75.

    This amounts to about a 6% increase in real buying power after 7 years – about half the expected rate of average income growth in the US –for people who work two jobs for the pay of one now.

    1956’s per capita income was about 40% of 2015’s – back when the US Senate Majority Leader took advantage of a few opponents missing from his chamber to quick on the sneak, slip through an $8.75 federal minimum wage (in today’s dollars). In 1956.

    12 years later, that same leader, now president of US, steamrollered a $10.75 minimum wage through Congress – in step with 23% increase in per capita income over the same span. We knew LBJ, and Rauner’s no LBJ.
    * * * * * * * * *
    E.I.T.C., $55 billion out of a $16,000 billion economy – 1/3 of 1% of GDP – is too small to have a measurable effect on poverty; lost in the noise.

    $15 is the 45 percentile US wage — $26,000 is the median income (must have lost some hours in there somewhere). Table 2-3 on p. 44 of the Ms Foundation Book Raise the Floor calculates the minimum needs of a family of three that has to pay its own health insurance at $1,000 a week. (Quack fed poverty line based on three X price of an emergency diet, dried beans, no expensive canned!).
    * * * * * * * * * *
    The Governor wants a low minimum wage to keep Illinois competitive – with whom? Basket weaving factories in Estonia? Illinois ranks sixth best out of fifty-one states and D.C. on high income and low local prices.
    http://wallstcheatsheet.com/personal-finance/10-states-where-salaries-are-too-low.html/?a=viewall

  • ilsm says:
    February 6, 2015 at 7:22 pm

    Denis,

    The effect of the Reagan’s revolt(ing economics) was to bring US middle class in line with the third world.

    Clinton, NAFTA etc carrying on Reagan’s revolt(ing economics).

    Good for Chinese, and Indian workers.

  • Marko says:
    February 6, 2015 at 10:44 pm

    Domestic nonfinancial debt/gdp : ratio over time and y-o-y growth of the ratio :

    https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?graph_id=219857&category_id=

    This ratio has been pretty stable over the last four years of steady , if unspectacular , gdp growth. Deleveraging is clearly not in the cards , but what about re-leveraging ? I sense that we may see the debt/gdp ratio begin to grow again , if recent comments by our econ-blogging “debt-boosters” are any indication :

    Krugman :

    http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/06/debt-is-money-we-owe-to-ourselves/

    http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/06/debt-a-thought-experiment/

    Baker :

    http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/beat_the_press/~3/00ukTveyBzY/higher-interest-rates-will-quickly-alleviate-that-debt-budren

    Fatas :

    http://fatasmihov.blogspot.com/2015/02/those-mountains-of-debt-and-assets.html

    These appear to be reactions to the recent McKinsey report : “Debt and (not much) deleveraging” (pdf) :

    file:///home/chronos/u-37c64126ae0d77aea3992052fd6410ef8c95153a/Downloads/MGI%20Debt%20and%20not%20much%20deleveragingFullreportFebruary2015.pdf

  • EMichael says:
    February 7, 2015 at 6:46 pm

    Just a poll question.

    Does anyone else shake when they hit the comments button on Open threads like I do?

    • run75441 says:
      February 7, 2015 at 7:13 pm

      A surprise in every thread!

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