Category Archives: Politics

Who Are the Real Takers?

Popular Economics Weekly We have been there before. The Census Bureau reported that the poverty rate fell in 2013, the first drop since 2006. It fell to 14.5 percent, down from 15 percent in 2013, but 45.3 million people are … Continue reading

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Where is the Inflation?

Financial FAQs Stocks and bonds are rallying, as it looks like inflation is still falling, rather than rising. This is good news for investors, but prices aren’t rising enough to boost economic growth yet. Boosting inflation seems to be the … Continue reading

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More Jobs–What About Incomes?

Popular Economics Weekly The U.S. in July added 209,000 jobs last month outside the farm sector, the Labor Department said Friday. Although hiring tapered off after a 298,000 gain in June, the U.S. has generated at least 200,000 jobs in … Continue reading

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Restricted Credit Will Impede Housing Recovery

Financial FAQs As if we need more evidence that the Consumer Protection Finance Bureau and government regulators have listened to the wrong people when drafting their Qualified Mortgage requirements (that lowers the maximum debt-to-income ratio to 43 percent for non-agency … Continue reading

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Existing-Home Sales On Rise Again

The Mortgage Corner The NAR just reported total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, climbed 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in June from an upwardly-revised 4.91 … Continue reading

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Don’t Forget the Consumer!

Popular Economics Weekly “It’s the Consumers, Stupid,” is an oft-repeated mantra being echoed currently by Internet advocates who want to keep Internet access free. But there’s a more important reason to worry about consumer health. Consumers are still way too … Continue reading

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Don’t Forget the Millennials!

Popular Economics Weekly Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s current congressional testimony is saying the Fed could keep rates low for a long time to come. Why? Because unemployment is still too high, and economic growth too slow at present. The CBO … Continue reading

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We Need Some Inflation!

Financial FAQs How much inflation is too much inflation? Germany thinks any inflation is too much, based on their 1920s inflation experience when burning money for fuel was cheaper than burning wood. It has led to the EU’s draconian austerity … Continue reading

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Austerity Must End With Q1 GDP Plunge

Popular Economics Weekly The final Q1 2014 GDP growth estimate of minus (-2.9) percent, down from the second (-1) percent drop, was a shock for several reasons. Firstly, it means our domestic economy is still sputtering, five years after the … Continue reading

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When is Higher Inflation Good?

Financial FAQs The short answer is that higher inflation comes from higher growth rates, and so when an economy expands faster, then prices should also rise faster. Otherwise companies’ profits don’t rise and they won’t want to expand their businesses … Continue reading

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