The state with the highest ratio of federal revenues received to federal taxes paid is KY at 2.35. They paid $30.1 billion but received $70.8 billion, a difference of $9,145/person. NM followed at 2.34, or $8,692/person. CT had the worst ratio, 0.74 as federal taxes paid were $55.5 billion, but they … [Read more...]

 The Friday File: While the cost of a plain 16oz cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Starbucks and 7-Eleven ranges from roughly $1.20 to $2.65, caffeine content/cup also varies, specifically, from a low of almost 150mg/cup to almost 350mg/cup. Now, comparing milligrams of coffee per dollar, … [Read more...]

  While China’s exports fell a whopping 21% in 2/19, averaging out January and February the decline is just 4.6%; nearly identical to the decline of 4.4% in 12/17. Averaging is important because much of the February decline was due to China’s weeklong Lunar New Year holidays. That said, exports to … [Read more...]

December retail sales were dismal, declining 1.2% M-o-M, their worst performance in years. They have since rebounded and January sales were up 0.2%. While there are many possible explanations, including the government shutdown, the near 20% decline in the stock market is at least partly to blame. In … [Read more...]

During the 20th century, the US consumed 4.4 gigatons of cement. By contrast, during 2011-2013 China used 6.4 gigatons of cement; 45% more than the US used in 100 years; amazing! Why? China has 221 cities with over a million persons; the US just 35, China’s population is vastly larger than the US … [Read more...]

With just 20,000 new jobs, the February job report headline was disappointing. But, aftermath from the government shutdown continued to impact the data, as did severe weather during the survey week. Separately, since the current expansion began, each time there has been a lousy month, it’s been … [Read more...]

  The Friday File: Today is International Women’s Day, which was first held in the US on 2/28/1909 in honor of the 15,000 female garment workers who marched for better working conditions in NYC in 1908. The first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911 in four European nations after the … [Read more...]

In 2016, the latest year for which data are available, there were 140.9 million taxpayers. The top 1%, (AGI > $480,804), earned 19.7% of all income, paid 37.3% of all income taxes, and had an average tax rate of 26.9%. By contrast, the bottom 50% of taxpayers, (AGI < $40,078), earned 11.6% of … [Read more...]

Last week, a key manufacturing sentiment index fell to its lowest level in over two years but remains solidly in expansion territory. Yesterday, an equally important services sentiment index rose to one of its highest levels of this almost 10-year economic recovery. And today, we learned the trade … [Read more...]