Month: August 2012
The Friday file: After rising for decades, and peaking in ’06, the number of households with a pet fell between ’06 and ’11. The decline was due to the lousy economy and more Americans living alone. In ’91 there were…
Read MoreWhile manufacturing and exports have helped lead the nation out of the financial crisis, the importance of manufactured exports on state economies varies tremendously. TX leads the way with almost $9,000 per capita in manufactured exports, with LA next at…
Read MoreFDIC insurance covers up to $250,000 per bank account. During the ‘08 financial crisis, Congress passed the Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG), providing unlimited insurance for non-interest bearing accounts. While TAG might have made sense then, it doesn’t now. TAG not…
Read MoreThe US (population 300 million) won 104 Olympic medals besting China (population 1.3 billion) with 88 medals, but which country was #1 after adjusting for population? On a per capita basis, Grenada was first, winning a medal for every 111,000…
Read MoreA recent report shows that advertisers spent $31.7 billion on Internet ads in ’11, slightly more than the $30 billion spent on cable TV ads. Broadcast TV remained on top, receiving $38.5 billion from advertisers, but for how much longer?…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Proving love is recession resistant, the average ’12 wedding will cost $26,989 up from $26,501 in ’11 and down slightly from the peak of $28,082 in ’08. Engagement rings were the single most expensive item at $11,599.…
Read MoreA bill supported by Obama and introduced by Senator Rubio exempting Olympians from paying taxes on their prize winnings, is emblematic of all that ails Washington! These folks don’t deserve special treatment! Our taxes must rise to make up the…
Read MoreA glance at the employment-to-population ratio (EPR) is all it takes to see how poorly our economy and job market are performing. The EPR peaked at 64.7% in 4/00, and now sits at just 58.4% – a fall of 6.3…
Read MoreA new CBO report shows that over the past thirty years, 72.5% of all income growth for the middle quintile of the population (households earning $50,000), came from increased government payments (social security, food stamps…) and reduced federal taxes. In…
Read MoreHome equity lines of credit (HELOCs) initially require borrowers to only pay interest, but that period will soon end for most borrowers. A government study shows that 58% of all HELOC balances will be required to start making principal and…
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