Category Archives: Politics

Why the Inflation Debate?

The Mortgage Corner This month’s Consumer Price index looked hotter at first glance, but it wasn’t. It was slightly cooler, so there was no real reason for yesterday’s 500 pt. plunge in the DOW. That’s where the debate is raging … Continue reading →

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Much Less Pessimism

Financial FAQs Is the Irrational Pessimism I’ve been writing about finally turning into a more rational optimism that reflects how consumers see the current economy? The two major measures of consumer confidence—the Conference Board’s Confidence Index and University of Michigan’s … Continue reading →

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Why the Irrational Pessimism–Part II

Financial FAQs I said a week ago that public polls seem to be saying one thing, economic facts another. Real Clear Politics’ compendium of 11 opinion polls on whether participants approve or disapprove of President Biden’s handling of the economy … Continue reading →

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Please Drop Interest Rates Sooner!

Financial FAQs If I were the Fed Governors, I wouldn’t wait for inflation to drop further to begin lowering interest rates. The inflation rate has been falling steadily for more than a year and we might be in the midst of a … Continue reading →

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More Jobs Than Ever!

Popular Economics Weekly This is what is called a ‘soft landing’. More jobs are being created in November’s unemployment report, though some 50,000 of the 199,000 new nonfarm payroll jobs are strikers returning to work in Hollywood productions and auto … Continue reading →

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Building Community at Home–Part II

Answering Kennedy’s Call (Cont’d Building Community at Home) Old Town, with its own past, could give Goleta Valley residents a sense of their own history and separate community identity. It even had a Community Center that hosted many community activities. … Continue reading →

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Building Community at Home

Answering Kennedy’s Call Fulfilling the third goal of my Peace Corps service, “to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans,” wasn’t as easy to do. My PCV service was implementing a rural community development … Continue reading →

Posted in Macro Economics, Politics, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Our Budget Deficit Isn’t the Problem

Financial FAQs Harvard Economics Professor and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said Tuesday during an event staged by the Center for American Progress, a Democratic Party-aligned think tank, that the U.S. budget deficit, which came in at $1.7 trillion in … Continue reading →

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Too Little Growth a Danger

Popular Economics Weekly Rather than worry about too much inflation still in the pipeline, we should worry about too little economic growth going forward, if we take Chairman Powell at his word in his latest speech at a recent economic … Continue reading →

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Retail Sales Will Save Us

Financial FAQs The debate is raging on when the Fed will begin to lower their short-term rates in time to prevent a recession. A number of pundits and economists, such as Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman, have said the inflation battle … Continue reading →

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