By JOHN B. TAYLOR This month marks the two-year anniversary of the official start of the recovery from the 2007-09 recession. But it’s a recovery in name only: Real gross domestic product growth has averaged only 2.8% per year compared with 7.1% after the most recent deep recession in 1981-82. The growth slowdown this year—to about 1.5% in the second quarter—is... Read more
Archive for the ‘Economics’ Category
The End of the Growth Consensus
July 23 | Posted by mrossol | American Thought, Debt, Economics, Party PoliticsForget About Black Swans, the One Floating Ahead is Neon
July 23 | Posted by mrossol | Debt, Economics, US DebtNot sure why I haven’t seen anything close to this article yet. Right on the money! Forget About Black Swans, the One Floating Ahead is Neon – WSJ.com. You’ve heard of black swans—events that are unthinkably rare, immensely important, and as unpredictable in advance as they are inevitable in hindsight. Now, with no one ruling out a default or downgrade of U.S.... Read more
Get Ready for a 70% Marginal Tax Rate
July 19 | Posted by mrossol | Debt, Economics, ObamaBasis Econ 101, or mayby 201… ======== By MICHAEL J. BOSKIN President Obama has been using the debt-ceiling debate and bipartisan calls for deficit reduction to demand higher taxes. With unemployment stuck at 9.2% and a vigorous economic “recovery” appearing more and more elusive, his timing couldn’t be worse. Two problems arise when marginal tax rates are raised. First, as college students learn in... Read more
The Great Charade – Mark Steyn
July 17 | Posted by mrossol | Debt, Economics, ObamaBut hang on. I thought the Social Security checks came out of the famous “Social Security trust fund,” whose “trustees” assure us there’s currently $2.6 trillion in there. Which should be enough for the August 3rd check run, shouldn’t it? Golly, to listen to the president, you’d almost get the impression that, by the time you saw the padlock off... Read more
The Scourge of the Faith-Based Paper Dollar
July 16 | Posted by mrossol | American Thought, EconomicsThe Weekend Interview with James Grant: The Scourge of the Faith-Based Paper Dollar – WSJ.com. Kind of guy I like. Sticks to his position, not to where the political winds are blowing. =============== By HOLMAN W. JENKINS, JR. Jim Grant’s father pursued a varied career, including studying the timpani. He even played for a while with the Pittsburgh Symphony. But the day came when... Read more
