Econ70
Nominating Senator Hagel for Secretary of Defense raises serious doubts among allies and enemies that President Obama will use all means necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Therefore, the chances of a negotiated settlement fall (despite biting sanctions),…
Read MoreWhile per capita debt has ballooned from $1,640 in 1/66 to $53,000 today, it’s the growth rate that matters. Between 1/66 and 10/77 (11.75 years) the debt doubled. It doubled again by 7/84 (6.75 years), again by 10/90 (6.25 years),…
Read MoreDespite GDP contracting at an annual rate of 0.1% in Q4 2012, the worst quarter since the end of the recession in 6/09, another recession isn’t in the cards. That’s because the data also showed relatively strong spending by consumers…
Read MoreGiven Republican unwillingness to raise taxes and Democratic insistence on it, the delayed automatic $110 billion sequester will kick-in on March 1st. This will reduce GDP growth by 0.75% and guarantees a weak first half of ’13 as the economy…
Read MoreAs the economy strengthens, the Fed must begin to end its exceptionally expansionary monetary policy of the last half decade. It will begin by halting its purchases of $85 billion/month in Treasuries and mortgage-backed-securities. Second, it will stop reinvesting interest…
Read MoreIf a continuing resolution is not passed by the Congress by 3/27/13, the Obama administration will be forced to shut down activities funded by appropriations and all non-essential government operations. But this isn’t that ominous. Only 40% of federal spending…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Flavanols in cocoa slow and even reverse age-related cognitive decline. Better yet, a nations’ annual per-capita chocolate consumption is correlated with the number of Nobel laureates. The country with the most Nobels per-capita and the greatest per-capita…
Read MoreWhile raising taxes and cutting spending can solve our debt problem, a better approach is to foster faster growth! If an increase of 1% in the economy’s growth rate were maintained over the next decade, the debt-to-GDP-ratio in 2023 would…
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