Archive for November 2012
Family Feud
The Friday File: Husbands that are close to their in-laws reduce the risk of divorce by 20%. However, wives that are close to their in-laws increase divorce risk by 20%. Why? Men who like their in-laws show how important their wife is by getting along with her family. By contrast, wives that are especially close…
Read MoreThe 60’s are Back
Median inflation-adjusted income (MIAI) for men in 2011 was $32,986, $14 shy of $33,000. While that’s $3,023 below the pre-recession high of $36,009 set in 2007, the all-time high of $37,017 was set in 2000. Worse, MIAI for men first exceeded $33,000 in 1968, yes 1-9-6-8! For women, the 2011 median was $21,102, $1,593 off…
Read MoreBoomer Medicare
Booming Medicare When Medicare was introduced in 1965, woman 65 had, on average, 18 more years of life, men, 13.5. Today, those numbers are 21 and 19 respectively. In 1980, Medicare consumed 5% of federal spending; now it’s 13.5%. Raising the Medicare age to 67 cuts Medicare spending by $148 billion, it trims government spending…
Read MorePartisan Divide
Following the recent elections, 25 states (15 Republican/10 Democratic) will have veto-proof majorities up from 13 states four years ago. Moreover, all but three states (IA, KY and NH) have one party control of their legislatures, the highest number since 1928. Interestingly, in AR and MO Republicans gained supermajorities despite both states having Democratic governors.…
Read MoreRegressive Deductions
While 30 million taxpayers benefit by taking the deduction for state and local taxes paid, half of all the benefits go to just three million taxpayers with AGIs over $200,000. Worse, the loophole encourages state and local governments to be profligate and provide more and fancier services than they otherwise would. Eliminating this deduction would…
Read MoreThanksgiving Day Dieting
Rather than assume your guests are rational (like economists) and will stick to their dietary resolutions, use behavioral economics to structure your Thanksgiving meal. First, keep the food in the kitchen; that forces guests to get out of their chairs to get more. Second, start with soup — it’s filling and low-calorie. Next, limit the…
Read MoreBurning Down the House
The worst year for forest fires was 2006 when 9.87 million acres burned, with 2007 a close second at 9.33 million acres. This year, 9.10 million acres, an area roughly half the size of SC, have burned making it the third worst year. Economic losses in ‘12 have totaled just over $1 billion, slightly below…
Read MoreEuro-Zoned Out!
Due to German-inspired excessively speedy austerity in Greece, Spain and Portugal, (GSP) the Euro-zone economy is quickly entering a needless recession. Worse, the GSP economies are shrinking by more than the spending cuts and tax increases they’re imposing, thus worsening their debt-to-GDP ratios. Moreover, Moody’s just downgraded French sovereign debt to one level below AAA,…
Read MoreDing Dong for Twinkies
The Friday File: Invented in 1930 and manufactured at the rate of 1,000 per minute, the Twinkie is going bye-bye. A victim of health consciousness and bad management, Archie Bunker will need to slip something else into his lunchbox. Between 5/11 and 5/12 Hostess sales fell: Twinkies by 1%, Ding Dongs by 9%, and Ho…
Read MoreAsian Ascent
By 2060, India and China are each projected to have economies larger than that of the US, and collectively 46% of world GDP, compared to 24% today. By contrast, the developed economies of Europe, North America and Japan will account for 42% of world GDP compared to 65% now. Despite this, GDP/person in China will…
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