70 Words
Barely Better
Not only did employers create just 120K jobs in March but, average weekly hours worked fell from 34.6 to 34.5, average weekly wages fell from $807.56 to $806.96, temp employment fell by 7.5K, retail trade shed 33.8K workers and the percentage of industries with employment increases is at lowest point in four months. The only…
Read MoreBetting on the House
The Friday File: In an inexplicable move, the CFTC denied a request by the North American Derivatives Exchange to offer futures contracts on which party will win control of the House, Senate and White House. The CFTC said these derivates involve gaming and are thus contrary to the public interest. What? Every financial instrument can…
Read MoreNot A Lotto Money
While income tax and sales tax revenues declined 10% in the past recession, regressive lotto sales fell just 2%, making them recession resistant. New research shows that as jackpots grow, lotteries become less regressive as more upper income households are lured by wild wealth. As for budgets, in NV gaming revenues are 12% of the…
Read MoreBanking the Bucks
Despite what you think, monetary policy has not been expansionary, and that’s the problem. While the Fed’s assets grew from $0.8 trillion to $2.8 trillion between 10/08 and 7/11, it was matched, almost dollar for dollar, by a $1.6 trillion increase in commercial bank deposits at the Fed. The money supply cannot expand when banks…
Read MorePolitical Payoffs
According to an article in Party Politics, President Obama gave $6,409, on average, to 100 Democratic superdelegates, while Hillary Clinton only gave $5,266 to 47 SDs. There are 840 SDs and they comprise 20% of the Democratic delegate total. In the end Obama got 66% of the SDs. Looks to me like Hillary did not…
Read MoreRaiding the Piggy Bank
Despite good job growth, consumer spending is growing faster than personal income, driving the savings rate down to 3.7%, the lowest rate in years. Why? Unemployment insurance income is falling. In Jan and Feb 551K jobs were created while 550K lost unemployment benefits. What’s going on is the wages these folks are earning aren’t much…
Read More$3,000 for a Shot?
The Friday File: A 55 year old bottle of Glenfiddich Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve, a single-malt scotch, sold (to a whisky investor) at auction for a record $94,000. Janet Sheed Roberts is the oldest person in Scotland at 110 and is the granddaughter of the founder of the Glenfiddich Distillery. In her honor, 11 bottles…
Read MoreInterested in Debt?
US student loan debt recently hit $1 trillion as students struggle to pay soaring tuition costs. Worse, student indebtedness is growing not only due to new loans but also due to graduates who are unable to make their payments and thus see their balances rise. By contrast, total credit card debt has fallen to $800…
Read MoreSkimpy Buffet
The Buffet Rule, a tax code change designed to prevent the wealthy from paying taxes at lower marginal tax rates than the middle class, is estimated to raise $50 billion over a decade. While that’s more than I make, it’s less than 1% of the $7 trillion in deficits the government is projected to rack…
Read MoreThe Supremes
Opponents of healthcare reform (PPACA) contend it’s unconstitutional, as it forces us to buy health insurance or pay a fine. But is it? Suppose the IRS raised our taxes by the penalty amount, then gave everyone with insurance a deduction equal to the penalty? This would be functionally equivalent to the PPACA tax provisions. It’s…
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