Last week I discussed how I think the President's jobs proposal, the American Jobs Act, will be less than stimulating. I updated it here. I based my analysis on what economists call "back of the envelope" calculations - quick simple estimates of the key variables using rounded numbers. Now the folks at Goldman Sachs research … Continue reading Stimulus Requires More Than Taking Your Foot Off the Brakes
government spending
The Obama Jobs Proposal Is Less Than Stimulating
After over a year of Presidential and Congressional debate and sparring about how to reduce spending, cut deficits, and limit debts, the politicians in Washington have finally taken notice that we have a "jobs crisis". Specifically, we simply aren't creating new employment fast enough to reduce our high levels of unemployment. Timidity wrapped in strong … Continue reading The Obama Jobs Proposal Is Less Than Stimulating
State and Local Job Cuts are Accelerating, Making the Economy Worse and Cutting Education
Nicholas Johnson at the Center on Budget and Policy Studies explains how state and local governments are cutting jobs and how a majority of those jobs lost are education jobs. September 2, 2011 at 1:24 pm Today’s jobs report shows that in August, cuts by states and local governments — especially school districts — wiped … Continue reading State and Local Job Cuts are Accelerating, Making the Economy Worse and Cutting Education
The Federal Government HAS Been Cutting Spending – And That’s A Major Problem
One of the my major frustrations as a blogger and as a follower of economic news is the way in which misinformation and falsehoods get repeatedly passed around as they were facts. For example, one common meme that we hear a lot is that the government, especially under Obama, has engaged in a massive spending … Continue reading The Federal Government HAS Been Cutting Spending – And That’s A Major Problem
Would a Balanced Budget Amendment Help or Hurt?
One component of the deal to raise the debt-ceiling is a requirement that Congress vote later this year on a "Balanced Budget Amendment" to the Constitution. Is such an amendment a good idea? At first glance, the idea seems attractive to a lot of people for whom the debt and deficits are seen as the key … Continue reading Would a Balanced Budget Amendment Help or Hurt?
A Look at Government Spending Trends. Not What the Deficit-Fearers Claim. It’s Really A Jobs Deficit.
Rebecca Wilder at AngryBearBlog.com explains why the current deficit hysteria that has gripped Washington is misplaced (and offers some great graphs of historical spending patterns). A little terminology for some readers. "cyclically endogenous" means the cause of the spending/revenue is not from some budget decision of this year's Congress or President, but rather that the … Continue reading A Look at Government Spending Trends. Not What the Deficit-Fearers Claim. It’s Really A Jobs Deficit.
Government Budget Cutting SLOWS the Economy – That’s Why It’s Called Contractionary Fiscal Policy
America's attention has been focused lately on the unnecessary debate in Congress over the debt-ceiling law. Part of the motivation (at least the vocalized motivation) for cutting the deficit and trying to limit the national debt, according to both Republicans and the President, is that supposedly government deficits are holding back the economy. They assert … Continue reading Government Budget Cutting SLOWS the Economy – That’s Why It’s Called Contractionary Fiscal Policy
This Is No Movie Folks. It’s Real and It’s Scary.
I don't enjoy scary movies. Never have. I also don't enjoy scary "amusement" park rides.* I know I'm kind of a fluke in our U.S. culture this way. I just find that there's enough excitement, thrills, and fright in the real world if you just open your eyes. An example of real world things to … Continue reading This Is No Movie Folks. It’s Real and It’s Scary.
GDP 1st Qtr 2011 – Revised
I missed posting this a few days ago. Bureau of Economic Analysis says first revision of the GDP estimate for 1st quarter 2011 was essentially unchanged from the initial "flash" estimate provided at the end of April. The U.S. economy grew at approx. 1.8% annual rate. While the overall growth rate was unchanged, there was … Continue reading GDP 1st Qtr 2011 – Revised
Downbound Again: GDP in 1st Quarter
Yesterday the "flash" estimate for GDP growth in 1st quarter 2011 was released. Not good. GDP only grew at a 1.8% annual rate, down from the 3.1% we experienced in the 4th quarter of 2010. This is very disappointing, but not really surprising. Before I comment, I'll let CalculatedRisk report and show one of his … Continue reading Downbound Again: GDP in 1st Quarter
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