While there are always potential economic problems that could harm our economy in 2015, the biggest is Europe. This is because of the chance, albeit remote, that the continent badly unravels. A combination of a Greek default or (maybe) exit…
While personal income tax reform sounds great, lower rates necessitate eliminating or reducing tax breaks. The biggest is the $207 billion exclusion for employer-sponsored healthcare plans. The next four are the $103 billion exclusion for employer-sponsored retirement plans, the $74…
The Friday File: Americans bought 257 million albums last year of which a surprising 9.2 million were vinyl. Individual song sales totaled 1.1 billion, while streamed songs totaled 164 billion! Purchases of albums and individual songs fell about 10%, vinyl…
I want to take this opportunity to thank you all very much for your interest in my daily blog and economics. All of you enrich my life in many ways and I am profoundly grateful. I wish you and yours…
In 2014, the yield curve flattened considerably as long-term interest rates, like the ten–year Treasury bond, fell by about three-quarters-of-one-percentage point while short-term rates were completely unchanged. In 2015, I expect the yield curve to flatten further, but now it…
Helmetless motorcyclists admitted to a hospital following an accident typically run up medical bills of greater than a million dollars, and taxpayers pay well over half the tab. The solution: where helmets are not required, force un-helmeted bikers to carry…
Inflation, as measured by the Christmas Price Index, based on purchasing all 12 items in “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” rose 1% in 2014 and now stands at $27,673. The most expensive item: seven swans-a-swimming at $7,000. Six geese-a-laying rose…
The Saudis export seven million bbl/day of oil, and their budget is balanced at $106/bbl. At $60/bbl, Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit is $118 billion/year: 12.7% of GDP! Saudi Arabia has foreign reserves of $750 billion to help withstand this. But…
Click here to read Dr. Eisenberg’s predictions about the health of the Tucson housing market for 2015.
The Friday File: 21% of Americans have at least one tattoo, up from 15% during the middle of the last decade. 26% of persons in the West have one, compared to 21% in the East and Midwest, and just 18%…