The #Trexit Conversation I'll be leading a panel discussion at OER17 called Open Education in a time of Trump and Brexit. Joining me in the panel live at the conference will be Maha Bali (@bali_maha), Lorna Campbell (@LornaMCampbell), and Martin Weller (@mweller). While we four could easily carry on a lively discussion for 80 minutes … Continue reading Open Ed, Trump, Brexit
Current Situation
Employment Is Likely to Improve – Morale Improves When the Beatings Stop
Recovery from the employment losses suffered in the Great Recession (worker's depression?) of 2007-2009 has been excruciatingly slow. As I write this post in November 2013, total employment in the U.S. is still more than 1% fewer jobs than when we started this mess 5 years and 10 months ago. That's 976,000 jobs still missing … Continue reading Employment Is Likely to Improve – Morale Improves When the Beatings Stop
Yes, Inflation/Deflation is Hard to Measure
One of the hardest concepts for Principles students, politicians and pundits, oh heck, just about everyone to fully grasp is inflation. A big part of the reason is because inflation is an abstract concept that is not directly measurable. We can conceive of it, but we can't measure it. I'm no physicist (and open to … Continue reading Yes, Inflation/Deflation is Hard to Measure
David McWilliams Explains Why Austerity Is Doomed In Europe
A very interesting video by an Irish economist explaining how the current reduce government spending ("austerity") approach to the Eurozone debt and currency crisis is doomed to fail. It is doomed because cutting government spending in a recession only makes the recession worse, which in turn, reduces tax collections which then makes the government deficits … Continue reading David McWilliams Explains Why Austerity Is Doomed In Europe
Government and the Slow Jobs “Recovery”
Government finally starts to get out of the way of recovery. In an earlier post today on the good news of the January 2012 employment report, I observed that one of the major factors resulting in an improved (but not good enough) jobs report was that government employment numbers stopped dragging down the total. I … Continue reading Government and the Slow Jobs “Recovery”
A Journey of 100 Months Starts With the First Month
Finally we are getting some good news. At least most people will consider it good news. Republican Presidential candidates hoping to run against Obama on "weak economy platform" might not happy with the news. Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the January 2012 employment data. The unemployment rate has declined again. It … Continue reading A Journey of 100 Months Starts With the First Month
Does Anybody Understand Debt?
Does anybody understand debt? Some - but not many. Today's post is less of my normal extended prose and more of an outline. I've been invited to speak at some writing classes here at the college and this is intended to serve as my speaking notes. Background: What have you heard? Krugman in New York … Continue reading Does Anybody Understand Debt?
Why I Went Dark and Why It Matters
As those readers who visited this blog earlier today on Jan 18 know, I took this site "dark" in solidarity with the anti-SOPA/anti-PIPA protests. Yes, I'm back now. But I'm angry. And you should be angry too. I'm angry because the SOPA/PIPA bills in Congress are nothing more attempts by a privileged few large corporations … Continue reading Why I Went Dark and Why It Matters
The Problem in One Graph
Yesterday I said I was reluctant to get over-optimistic about the recent slight upturn in employment data. This year may truly be different from the last few, but there's a nagging feeling that we've seen this movie before. I'm not alone in the feeling. As 2012 dawns, Tim Duy summarizes the problem in one graph (emphasis … Continue reading The Problem in One Graph
Setting the Bar Very Low: The Unemployment Report for December 2011
Well I'm back. Yes, it's been a longer than expected break from blogging driven by work considerations, but contrary to the rumors, I have not been "doomed". So it's on to a new semester and a new resolution to post frequently. I hope 3-5 times per week. To start things off, yesterday was the first … Continue reading Setting the Bar Very Low: The Unemployment Report for December 2011
EconProph 