Although my personal wish (not to be hypercritical here) is that EVERYONE would quit mentioning that Glen Beck(erhead) character; he's such a complete nimrod!
I'd doubt anyone would have ever heard of him if we didn't a hundreds of cable channels that needed filling with something, and there's just so many chicken farming shows out there.
I think it's more of an "Emperor has no cloths" situation where if one says anything outside the religion they are ostracized. The hard economics itself, when one gets into the mathematics the deep equations, it's almost bizarre that Economists will not recognize, so often what those equations imply.
Let's take Stimulus. It implies you must keep all expenditures within that domestic economy, esp. the domestic labor force exclusively...
Yet, you won't hear that mentioned when it's right there, in the mathematical equations themselves.
Midtowng, your images go over the 525px width (width="525") which screws up the site. You need to crop that one with the double graph and put the second below instead of by it's side.
I just recently moved out of the apartment building I lived in for 18 months after becoming fed up with the owners inability to keep up with the building maintenance, namely getting the passenger elevator running which had been down at the time I left for a year and a half.
I lived on the 6th floor and the walking up and down flights of stairs had gone beyond ridiculous.
Before finishing my move out I was speaking with the on-site manager of the place and he informed me of getting notices each month from the utilities to cut off the entire building. This is a 70 unit building with at least $1,000 a month rents located downtown in a large US city. It isn't an upper/lower located out in the city limits.
I think things are about to start getting interesting (unfortunately).
and that is incredibly frustrating. There are economic policies that can have a positive impact on a larger portion of income strata but the dominant economic orthodoxy has gone out its way to discredit them and having the traditional media including business media in their corner is incredibly helpful.
The other thing is this dominant economic philosophy is what is being taught in economic classes across the country. It wasn't until recently (after 20 yrs. from graduating from college) that I became familiar with the alternative economic philosophies.
The trick to changing economic policy is that you must have a generally accepted economic science behind it. Otherwise no one will take it seriously.
That's the problem. The field of economics has coalesced around a philosophy that justifies the status quo. As if what we have today is the best economic system that mankind can create, even while the field of economics continues its march to failure.
BTW, I updated this essay with a few choice opinions.
not just unions instead of not unions. What I was thinking about was Stimulus dollar recently. They went to a lot of union type jobs, teachers, state public service, etc. but those are not the ones really hurting, they are the ones with any political power. So I am thinking across the board, but I agree with you that unions are the main reason the U.S. has things like minimum wage and so forth but that's also due to political movements that we got the 8 hour day and so on.
we need a change in corporate law to force these companies to be responsible to labor. When I say this, I do not mean unions,
I certainly do. I'm sure you realize that all the labor laws currently in place came about because of the labor union movement. If we are to see any other improvements it'll be because labor unions forced them to, not because a benevolent government decided to side with us against their campaign contributors.
It is very much about economic policy. Policy that has for several decades now redirected income upward to top income households and corporations.
I am glad you mentioned wages. Wages growth was replaced by more debt to just maintain the existing living standard. Wake up people - we are a CASTE SYSTEM. The opportunities to climb the 'economic ladder' are pretty much gone.
I know people don't like to hear it but we need fiscal policies that work - not just monetary policies. The fact is the private sector has NEVER been able to achieve Full Employment on its own - especially now. We need the federal government to step up and fill the void and do it quickly. Yes, I am talking a direct jobs program.
Forget about the deficit - once the economy is operating at full steam that will take care of the deficit and ugly debt to GDP ratios deficit hawks like to crow about. Keep this in mind, the job/labor market is NOT self-correcting so we can keep twiddling our thumbs and do very little to nothing at a much higher social and actual cost than actually spending the money now and putting every abled and willing person to work.
it becomes even more stark when one realizes the poverty level to even get food stamps.
I mean people are living by the seat of their pants, most in the middle class, even those who have managed to keep a job and it's clear it's just imploding.
Yet we cannot get something turned around to be Pro worker, we need a change in corporate law to force these companies to be responsible to labor. When I say this, I do not mean unions, I mean the entire U.S. labor force, including entrepreneurs and small business.
That's the problem with people like Glenn Beck, they may describe the problems and even hit the mark, but every single solution they promote will only make it so much worse.
It's amazing how such insanity which would give corporations even more power has been twisted to think somehow that would help your average Joe on the street.
I think a worse problem is things which would help have been preverted from the left. I have seen as sick as it is, people believing bailing out Wall Street is Keynesian economics, unreal.
I will be attending a dinner this week where our speaker (guest of honor) is Alan Grayson. I may get to ask questions, so give me a couple of talking points so I don't look (sound) like the complete financial Luddite I am becoming, thanks to all this "innovation."
I would start with MERS. except it sounds like a French expletive.
rank T.
Owners of smaller apartment units - 2 to 4 units are abandoning the apartments in urban areas and its not a good picture. It's just a matter of time until the trend moves up the ladder.
WTF, can we get some real stimulus and be done with this bullshit already - even the weakest, poorly designed stimulus has had a small positive impact on economy - imagine a stimulus that actually focused on full employment would do. That would have a real positive impact on the mortgage crisis.
What is more amazing to me in this story is the fact a judge would have stopped JP Morgan Chase. That must be a rarity.
If you notice James Wooley is also talking about these various business deals via LBOs, securitizations where they are all about fast cash or backdoor takeovers and in terms of the real economy, real business, real profits, value added, even shareholder value...
it's all pure punk.
I mean this is way beyond just derivatives, securization, to me these "financial dealings" are literally destroying the real businesses, the real economy.
You can change a blog title, esp. if you believe there is a spelling error, after publication.
Just click edit, change it and hit preview, then save.
I have URL creations set up it will not break the links...
(links are created out of post titles).
Gotta have it, esp. for the spelling and grammar disabled.
(I cannot tell you how many times I found a typo, spelling error, including prominent economics, political figures names....after I wrote up the piece and I'd like to get some sort of spell check on the titles which currently I don't have!).
I think you should change it because I'm used to seeing Cauldron but hey, what do I know.
First thing I've heard really mentioned on the fact these foreclosed multi-rental units (apartments) are people's homes, they are living there and what this is going to do.
Welcome to the 3rd world? Sure seems more and more when it comes to the people, from employment to benefits to food to housing/shelter, they are almost an afterthought!
How do RMDs put MOST of us in the MAXIMUM tax bracket (currently 35% for incomes over $372,900)? 401(k) withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, so unless you're already close to the maximum tax bracket I don't see how this is possible. It IS true that the long-term capital gains portion of RMDs are taxed at the higher earned-income rate (for MOST of us, more like 28% or 25%) than they would be in a taxable account (15% under current law).
Although my personal wish (not to be hypercritical here) is that EVERYONE would quit mentioning that Glen Beck(erhead) character; he's such a complete nimrod!
I'd doubt anyone would have ever heard of him if we didn't a hundreds of cable channels that needed filling with something, and there's just so many chicken farming shows out there.
Well written, well connected data.
Galbraith, we need jobs...
and he rails on idiots claiming to know economic theory who then try to claim the "new normal" or unemployment is the "fate" of the masses.
Galbraith is an economist. ;)
I think it's more of an "Emperor has no cloths" situation where if one says anything outside the religion they are ostracized. The hard economics itself, when one gets into the mathematics the deep equations, it's almost bizarre that Economists will not recognize, so often what those equations imply.
Let's take Stimulus. It implies you must keep all expenditures within that domestic economy, esp. the domestic labor force exclusively...
Yet, you won't hear that mentioned when it's right there, in the mathematical equations themselves.
Midtowng, your images go over the 525px width (width="525") which screws up the site. You need to crop that one with the double graph and put the second below instead of by it's side.
I just recently moved out of the apartment building I lived in for 18 months after becoming fed up with the owners inability to keep up with the building maintenance, namely getting the passenger elevator running which had been down at the time I left for a year and a half.
I lived on the 6th floor and the walking up and down flights of stairs had gone beyond ridiculous.
Before finishing my move out I was speaking with the on-site manager of the place and he informed me of getting notices each month from the utilities to cut off the entire building. This is a 70 unit building with at least $1,000 a month rents located downtown in a large US city. It isn't an upper/lower located out in the city limits.
I think things are about to start getting interesting (unfortunately).
and that is incredibly frustrating. There are economic policies that can have a positive impact on a larger portion of income strata but the dominant economic orthodoxy has gone out its way to discredit them and having the traditional media including business media in their corner is incredibly helpful.
The other thing is this dominant economic philosophy is what is being taught in economic classes across the country. It wasn't until recently (after 20 yrs. from graduating from college) that I became familiar with the alternative economic philosophies.
RebelCapitalist.com - Financial Information for the Rest of Us.
The trick to changing economic policy is that you must have a generally accepted economic science behind it. Otherwise no one will take it seriously.
That's the problem. The field of economics has coalesced around a philosophy that justifies the status quo. As if what we have today is the best economic system that mankind can create, even while the field of economics continues its march to failure.
BTW, I updated this essay with a few choice opinions.
not just unions instead of not unions. What I was thinking about was Stimulus dollar recently. They went to a lot of union type jobs, teachers, state public service, etc. but those are not the ones really hurting, they are the ones with any political power. So I am thinking across the board, but I agree with you that unions are the main reason the U.S. has things like minimum wage and so forth but that's also due to political movements that we got the 8 hour day and so on.
I certainly do. I'm sure you realize that all the labor laws currently in place came about because of the labor union movement. If we are to see any other improvements it'll be because labor unions forced them to, not because a benevolent government decided to side with us against their campaign contributors.
It is very much about economic policy. Policy that has for several decades now redirected income upward to top income households and corporations.
I am glad you mentioned wages. Wages growth was replaced by more debt to just maintain the existing living standard. Wake up people - we are a CASTE SYSTEM. The opportunities to climb the 'economic ladder' are pretty much gone.
I know people don't like to hear it but we need fiscal policies that work - not just monetary policies. The fact is the private sector has NEVER been able to achieve Full Employment on its own - especially now. We need the federal government to step up and fill the void and do it quickly. Yes, I am talking a direct jobs program.
Forget about the deficit - once the economy is operating at full steam that will take care of the deficit and ugly debt to GDP ratios deficit hawks like to crow about. Keep this in mind, the job/labor market is NOT self-correcting so we can keep twiddling our thumbs and do very little to nothing at a much higher social and actual cost than actually spending the money now and putting every abled and willing person to work.
RebelCapitalist.com - Financial Information for the Rest of Us.
it becomes even more stark when one realizes the poverty level to even get food stamps.
I mean people are living by the seat of their pants, most in the middle class, even those who have managed to keep a job and it's clear it's just imploding.
Yet we cannot get something turned around to be Pro worker, we need a change in corporate law to force these companies to be responsible to labor. When I say this, I do not mean unions, I mean the entire U.S. labor force, including entrepreneurs and small business.
That's the problem with people like Glenn Beck, they may describe the problems and even hit the mark, but every single solution they promote will only make it so much worse.
It's amazing how such insanity which would give corporations even more power has been twisted to think somehow that would help your average Joe on the street.
I think a worse problem is things which would help have been preverted from the left. I have seen as sick as it is, people believing bailing out Wall Street is Keynesian economics, unreal.
I will be attending a dinner this week where our speaker (guest of honor) is Alan Grayson. I may get to ask questions, so give me a couple of talking points so I don't look (sound) like the complete financial Luddite I am becoming, thanks to all this "innovation."
I would start with MERS. except it sounds like a French expletive.
rank T.
of the financialization and "financial innovation". IMO, there has been no social benefit from the most recent "financial innovations".
RebelCapitalist.com - Financial Information for the Rest of Us.
Owners of smaller apartment units - 2 to 4 units are abandoning the apartments in urban areas and its not a good picture. It's just a matter of time until the trend moves up the ladder.
WTF, can we get some real stimulus and be done with this bullshit already - even the weakest, poorly designed stimulus has had a small positive impact on economy - imagine a stimulus that actually focused on full employment would do. That would have a real positive impact on the mortgage crisis.
RebelCapitalist.com - Financial Information for the Rest of Us.
1) Maintain status quo and allow financial conglomerates to keep their global status as capital/wealth destroyers; or
2) Make them smaller so that they can't keep reeking their havoc across the global.
It's that simple. People have to decide what side they are on.
RebelCapitalist.com - Financial Information for the Rest of Us.
What is more amazing to me in this story is the fact a judge would have stopped JP Morgan Chase. That must be a rarity.
If you notice James Wooley is also talking about these various business deals via LBOs, securitizations where they are all about fast cash or backdoor takeovers and in terms of the real economy, real business, real profits, value added, even shareholder value...
it's all pure punk.
I mean this is way beyond just derivatives, securization, to me these "financial dealings" are literally destroying the real businesses, the real economy.
Hats off to this judge!
You can change a blog title, esp. if you believe there is a spelling error, after publication.
Just click edit, change it and hit preview, then save.
I have URL creations set up it will not break the links...
(links are created out of post titles).
Gotta have it, esp. for the spelling and grammar disabled.
(I cannot tell you how many times I found a typo, spelling error, including prominent economics, political figures names....after I wrote up the piece and I'd like to get some sort of spell check on the titles which currently I don't have!).
I think you should change it because I'm used to seeing Cauldron but hey, what do I know.
You've spoiled my entire day, Frank!
is a scream. Too funny!
First thing I've heard really mentioned on the fact these foreclosed multi-rental units (apartments) are people's homes, they are living there and what this is going to do.
Welcome to the 3rd world? Sure seems more and more when it comes to the people, from employment to benefits to food to housing/shelter, they are almost an afterthought!
How do RMDs put MOST of us in the MAXIMUM tax bracket (currently 35% for incomes over $372,900)? 401(k) withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, so unless you're already close to the maximum tax bracket I don't see how this is possible. It IS true that the long-term capital gains portion of RMDs are taxed at the higher earned-income rate (for MOST of us, more like 28% or 25%) than they would be in a taxable account (15% under current law).
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