Category Archives: Economy

Trickle-down Economics

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“Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness. . .

This opinion . . . expresses a crude and naive trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power . . .

Meanwhile, the excluded are still waiting.” — POPE FRANCIS

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Detroit Bankruptcy, Now We Wait

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Largest Bankruptcies

Largest Bankruptcies (Photo credit: Adam Crowe)

Long-term viability of Social Security has been a subject of concern for years. Now, the Detroit bankruptcy filing turns the spotlight on municipal and state pensions.

I personally believe Social Security is in better financial shape than most people think. Social Security can easily survive into the 22nd century and beyond, if only we have the will.

Detroit skyline

Detroit skyline (Photo credit: Bernt Rostad)

But retirees, and anyone who expects to retire in the future, ought to be nervous about the shock waves from the Detroit bankruptcy. How many other cities, big and small, will have their credit ratings reduced? How many more will follow Detroit into bankruptcy? Not many, we may hope.

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Summer Of Discontent And Division

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SOMETIMES IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE PADDLING AS HARD AS WE CAN, BUT GOING NOWHERE. AND SOMETIMES, WE'RE GOING OUR SEPARATE WAYS. -- John Hayden photo

SOMETIMES WE’RE PADDLING HARD, IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. — John Hayden photo

This is the summer of discontent and division in America. We’re fractured by class, race, gender, age, and politics.

Yes, I’ve written about divisions before, at least once or twice. Consider this a seasonal update.

stock mktAs U.S. stock markets set new records, people who don’t own stocks are being squeezed and crushed. Recession may be over, technically, but only now are Americans feeling the wrenching pain from the economic dislocation of the past decade.

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The Old, The Young And The Machines In The 21st Century

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From our perspective here in the early 21st century, the world is full of contradictory trends, projections and predictions. You can’t help but be confounded by the tidal wave of information. At least I can’t.

Here’s a counterintuitive situation: We have graying populations in major countries, and at the same time, widespread unemployment among young workers? How can that be? Continue reading →

Dwindling Jobs, College Debt, Clueless Politicians (With Extended Discussion in Comments)

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Economic and political difficulties — especially issues of justice — are on my mind, as always. Guess I’ve been reading too many scary books about economics and the jobs outlook.

What is the outlook? In developing countries, manufacturing that’s always on the move, stalking the cheapest labor. In Western countries, an abundance of jobs for machines, robots and computers; for human beings, not so much. Continue reading →

Too Big To Function

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This post by Stephanie Raffelock offers a concise summary of our political and economic problems. It’s a quick read, and I recommend you read it all. I want to highlight nearly every sentence. — John

Obituary For A “Rich Tyrant”

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Please read “Margaret Thatcher’s dead and I want to cry” by Katy Evans-Bush at “Baroque in Hackney.” It might be the most important blog post you’ll read this year.

MARGARET THATCHER. (Photo via Baroque in Hackney)

MARGARET THATCHER. (Photo via Baroque in Hackney)

It’s a moving and honest essay on the death of a “rich tyrant.” It’s also a scathing indictment of a certain type of aristocratic leadership, and of the political and economic systems that empower and protect such leadership.

I believe Ms. Evans-Bush’s analysis is not limited to Margaret Thatcher. Didn’t Ronald Reagan represent the same harsh policies, but with a kinder, smiling face and a charming personality?

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Opportunities for Political Mischief

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I personally believe that U.S. debt is not a “crisis,” particularly with the economy now expanding. It would be crazy to derail the expansion, which will do much to mitigate debt, by sharply cutting government spending.

But as you can see from the graphic at Fix The Debt., the debt is an issue that’s not going away. Plenty of opportunities (speed bumps) for mischief between now and 2014 elections.

Just my opinion.  — John Hayden

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Sequestration In America, Dancing On Wall Street, Pain In Maryland And Virginia

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As I write this on Tuesday, the Dow-Jones Index has hit an all-time high. It’s historic! Higher than the last record, set in 2007.

Sequestration, which I call Austerity, took effect on Friday.

Devastating economic pain is predicted throughout America, although some exaggeration is baked into the “sky-is-falling” rhetoric.

Exaggeration or no exaggeration, economic growth has been sluggish. Sequestration of $85 billion in federal spending will slow the economy even more.   Continue reading →

The Truth About Sequestration And Democracy, According to One Humble American

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“Sequestration” went into effect in America this week, reducing U.S. government spending by $85 billion.

What does it mean? It means that the United States has accepted “Austerity.” 

It’s not the end of the world. The vast majority of U.S. government spending will continue as usual. The government will not grind to a halt, at least not because of sequestration. It’s still possible that Congress could force a shut-down of government sometime in the future, but not likely this year.

Failure of Government Decision-making

Most interestingly, Austerity was NOT imposed by the normal processes of legislative or executive action.  Continue reading →