Day: March 2, 2011

/ Jim Luke

From the Wall St Journal via Yves Smith at nakedcapitalism.  Self explanatory. Even Tea Party Members Do Not Support Cutting Social Security It seems that the efforts of the austerians to cow the public into cutting Social Security and Medicare are not getting traction. And Tea Party adherents are breaking with the Republican party line … Continue reading

The Misunderstood National Debt

/ Jim Luke / 7 Comments

A colleague asked for my thoughts on this article/column by Michael Manning in the State News, the Michigan State student newspaper, so I thought I'd post it for all. Basically Mr. Manning reaches the right conclusions with a correct, but weak case. In looking at the issue of the size of the U.S. national debt … Continue reading The Misunderstood National Debt

How Come Conservatives Only Hate Some “Unions”?

/ Jim Luke

Michael Perelman writes an excellent post on the roots of the current conservative efforts to roll-back collective bargaining rights for public workers. (See the Michael's full post after the 'more" button). Namely, the target right now is public sector workers but the effort is the same effort that traces back to the 1960's as concerted … Continue reading How Come Conservatives Only Hate Some “Unions”?

AD-AS Model Explained

/ Jim Luke / 9 Comments

A timely post for my macro classes since we're starting on the Aggregate Demand-Aggregate Supply (AD-AS) model this week. From EconomicsHelp.org: Economic growth is an increase in real GDP. It means an increase in the value of goods and services produced in an economy. The rate of economic growth measures the annual percentage increase in … Continue reading AD-AS Model Explained

Union-busting In The Past

/ Jim Luke

Since unions and collective bargaining rights are in the news lately, here's an event of interest for students of economic history.  Ninety-seven years ago, union-busting meant murdering. Twenty-five people were shot and killed in Colorado on orders of the Governor of Colorado and John D. Rockefeller. The Ludlow (Colorado) coal strike massacre (from About.com): In … Continue reading Union-busting In The Past