Tag Archives: Great Recession

The Great Income Divergence—II

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Ben Bernanke is now defending his record as Fed Chairman. He shouldn’t have to, as without the Fed’s easy money policies—such as QE3—the economy would surely have plunged back into recession, as the European Union has done with … Continue reading →

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The Great Divergence

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly The so-called “minimalist” budget deal just reached by Congress is another illustration of the great divergence in wealth distribution of recent years that has eclipsed the middle class. The Great Divergence is not a term usually associated … Continue reading →

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Equality Is Good For Everyone!

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly It looks like some states are beginning to take the equality issue seriously again. Massachusetts just raised their minimum wage to $10 per hour, California is raising it to $8.25 over 2 years, with New Jersey and … Continue reading →

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Thanks For Nothing, Washington!

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Democrats have bought the Republican lie that Democrats were the big spenders, it seems, with the draconian federal budget cuts enacted over the past 2 years. But recent statistics show it’s been the Republicans since 1980 that created … Continue reading →

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Consumer Debt At Record Lows

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs The Federal Reserve just released the Q2 2013 Household Debt Service and Financial Obligations Ratios. The overall Debt Service Ratio decreased in Q2 2013, and is just above the record low set in Q4 2012 thanks to very … Continue reading →

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It’s Not About Obamacare!

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs We know the federal government’s shutdown isn’t really about Obamacare. We know this because Tea Party Republicans have been trying to shut down government since the 2010 election, as MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and others have pointed out. The … Continue reading →

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Are Home Prices Rising Too Fast?

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner No, they are just catching up to 4 years of weak household formation and even weaker income growth. Home prices have been held down from a combination of government austerity policies and private sector hoarding since the … Continue reading →

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QE3 Works, So Please Don’t Mess With It!

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Dear Federal Reserve Governors; Please don’t mess with QE3 just yet! Not in September, or even December. There are still too many reasons not to begin to taper the $85 billion per month in purchases that have kept … Continue reading →

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Managing Fed’s Expectations—Why Austerity Now?

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly It seems that Ben Bernanke’s Federal Reserve has lost its nerve. Last week’s FOMC meeting confirmed that its Open Market Committee has decided to end the monthly QE3 security purchases sooner rather than later. We already see … Continue reading →

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Pending Home Sales, Prices Continue to Rise

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Those who doubt the real estate recovery aren’t paying attention to the latest sales’ data. We reported last week the Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 0.3 percent to 106.0 in … Continue reading →

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