Archive for December 2011
A Happy and Joy-Filled 2012!
I want to take this opportunity to thank you all very much for your interest in my blog. I also wish you and yours all the best for 2012. May it be a year of health, joy, laughter and prosperity — especially in risk adjusted terms.
Read MoreAre all Jobs Created Equal?
With the presidential primaries about to begin, what makes me nuts is watching Republican presidential contenders like Perry and Romney endlessly argue over who created more jobs as governor, including, gasp, government jobs. Yet out of the other side of their mouths they contend that only the private sector creates economic growth and that Obama…
Read MoreNo Help Wanted
The labor market is suffering from sclerosis. While employers are no longer firing workers – the percentage of workers laid off or fired in 10/11 was lower than in ’07, before the recession – they also aren’t hiring. Similarly, few of the employed are quitting their jobs. Usually about 2% of all workers quit their…
Read MoreProfits to Bank On
I am sure you will be delighted to learn that US banks earned profits of $35 billion in Q3 ’11, their best showing since before the recession. The up-tick is primarily due to banks putting aside less to cover bad loans, not due to interest from new ones; bank loan balances increased by just $21.8…
Read MoreCorny Ag Prices
Farmland prices have doubled since ’06. The cost per acre in IA is now almost $7,000/acre up 32% since ’10. Inflation adjusted prices are higher now than in the late ‘70s which precipitated the farm bust of the 80s. Prices are high because corn and soybeans have doubled in price since ‘06 due to demand…
Read MorePoor and Getting Poorer
Census reports that 97.3 million Americans are now classified as low-income; earning between 100% and 199% of the poverty level. Together with the 49.1 million who are at or below the poverty level, these groups total 146.4 million Americans; 48% of the population. Inflation adjusted average earning for the bottom fifth of the population have…
Read MoreLet’s Make a Deal!
On 1/1/13 $1.2 trillion in spending cuts commence, the $3.8 trillion Bush tax cuts end and if the 2% Social Security payroll tax holiday is extended, it too will end. Including reduced interest costs these events reduce the deficit by $6.2 trillion over a decade. Moreover, they all occur unless a bipartisan deal to stop…
Read MoreGuns and Butter
With the troops all out of Iraq, we can now ask what the war cost. While not easy to estimate, if you include spending to date, VA costs, veterans disability payments, interest on the war debt, foreign assistance, future medical and disability costs and added homeland security costs one easily arrives at a figure of…
Read MoreRoyal Pain
The Friday File: Times are so tough the Queen of England is feeling it. She is set to receive £30 million/year for the next several years, down from the £77.3 million she received some time ago. Worse, Prince Charles who makes about £18 million/year must now support the court of Prince William and Princess Kate…
Read MoreRoyal Pain
The Friday File: Times are so tough the Queen of England is feeling it. She is set to receive £30 million/year for the next several years, down from the £77.3 million she received some time ago. Worse, Prince Charles who makes about £18 million/year must now support the court of Prince William and Princess Kate…
Read More