70 Words
The share of the unemployed out of work six months or longer has been stuck above 40% for two years. Therefore, some states are considering legislation making it illegal for firms to discriminate against the unemployed. This well-intended approach will…
Read MoreThe unemployment rate is falling fast, but for the wrong reasons. In 1/12 the labor force participation rate was 63.7%, the lowest level since ’82 and way below the 66% when the recession began. Had the LFPR rate not fallen,…
Read MoreRomney will win the Republican nomination. So far, 582 delegates (25% of the 2,286 total) have been awarded. Romney has won 331, or 57%, while Santorum has picked up 139, or 24%. With 1,704 delegates left to award, Santorum must…
Read MoreThe ’12 London Summer Olympics will bring little if any net benefits. Sure, 40K athletes and coaches will come, but regular tourists will stay away, bookings are already down, and 20% of locals plan to be out of town to…
Read MoreVaccine shortages; This industry has very high fixed costs to develop a vaccine (labs are costly), high fixed costs to produce a batch (it takes about a year), trivial marginal costs to make an extra dose within a batch (increasing…
Read MoreIn Europe, Mario Draghi, the head of the ECB, is flooding banks with a $1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) at 1% in an effort to recapitalize them and maintain liquidity. Many banks are using this money to buy sovereign debt…
Read MoreThe latest Greek bailout is shaping up as a race between a fast shrinking economy and better access to credit and lower interest payments that hopefully encourage private sector growth. The problem is absent rapid growth in exports and tourism,…
Read MoreEvery penny rise in gas costs the economy $1.8 billion/yr. With gas at $3.65, 40 cents more than a year ago, that’s a $72 billion tax. If prices rise another 40 cents, bringing the price within six cents of the…
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