Hat tip to reader TinMan. Steve Liesman, senior economic advisor to CNBC TV, predicts optimism for the rebate effect, just like in 2001. TinMan says: So, that stimulus check is going to give us not only a good “jolt” to the economy but trigger a bounce as well? Hmmmmmm….
K harris suggests we try these rules out in our discussions about global warming: (lifted from comments cactus style) Just a few rules of thumb for discussion like this one – discussion in which we mere mortals are left dealing with data that has been collected from places we can’t go, interpreted through methods we […]
James Galbraith discusses trade and wages in The American Prospect. It is best to read the whole article before commenting to make sure I am not leaving something out. I have to run this morning. Indeed, rather than being spooked by the supposed effect of trade on wages, let’s consider how that relationship works when […]
Reader sammy notes: I was just thinking maybe the solution to some health care costs is less insurance, not more. I have health insurance via an HMO, but I often choose to go outside of the HMO. When I pay cash at time of service I am offered a 30% (!) discount. What gives? An […]
Last Friday Arnold Kling at Econlog and Russell Roberts at Cafehayek commented on Larry Bartels book Unequal Democracy and I made some commentsabout what they were saying. Bartels used family income data in his book and both Arnold and Russell ignored this point and went into long discussion about why household income data is so […]
Ilsm writes: You cannot rely on the US media. The media in general sustains the cultural mendacity engulfing the military industrial complex. April 23, 2008, Seattle Post-IntelligencerDicks, Tiahrt ‘Porkers Of The Month’ Over TankerBy Eric Rosenberg, P-I Washington Bureau “WASHINGTON — A government watchdog group gave its wry “Porkers of the Month” award Tuesday to […]
The other day Spencer posted a chart that Cactus had sent and then Cactus posted the link to the data. After looking at the data, and considering the question being asked: Are we seeing a recession? I thought, maybe looking at just median weeks of unemployment or number of unemployed is not going to capture […]
Cactus ran across this data and sent this chart along. It implies two things to me. One, the average duration of unemployment was much higher in this cycle then it was in the 1990s cycle. This is in line with all the other data showing the recent cycle to be weak by historic norms. Two, […]
Within the Leading Index report there are series on the concurrent and lagging index. One component within these releases is a monthly estimate of unit labor cost in manufacturing. It is not the most reliable economic indicator and is subject to major revisions, but right now it is sending some very interesting information. It implies […]
Reader T-bone states the theory well: (lifted from comments cactus style) The bottom 50% are seeing no increase in real income while the dollar falls and their costs rise. Fiscal policy of low fed rates and heavy borrowing are being used to stimulate growth, and the negatives are being deemed an acceptable sacrifice. I believe […]