Free Republic

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas comptroller said Monday that the economic recovery is taking hold, producing higher than expected tax revenues and possibly resulting in a budget surplus in 2013. In a letter to the Legislature, state Comptroller Susan Combs said tax collections were on pace to produce a $1.6 billion budget surplus for the fiscal biennium ending in 2013. That means the state could earn $82.7 billion over the next two years, while the 2012-2013 budget is only $81.1 billion. That represents an 8.2 percent increase in state revenues over the 2010-2011 budget cycle.

I spoke with Stephanie about how the economy is affecting young women. Beside dealing with long term unemployment, the "jobless" economy is affecting how young men and women perceive each other. Many are putting off marriage and reassessing relationships. Many young women are investing free time with giving emotional support to their friends and seeking stronger ties with their existing families.

Spanish voters on Sunday are expected to dismiss the Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and usher in the conservative People's Party (PP) and its leader, Mariano Rajoy. Mr. Zapatero’s Socialist party (PSOE), which has been in power for eight years, has borne the brunt of public blame for Spain’s increasingly perilous economic situation, which has tainted the party’s leadership candidate, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba. Meanwhile, Mr. Rajoy has been coasting toward an expected landslide victory without saying much about how he plans to reverse Spain’s economic course... The situation is bleak for the eurozone’s fourth-largest...

HITE BEAR LAKE - Big changes are coming worldwide as shifting demographics and economic conditions combine for a "New Normal." Whether Americans see those changes as debilitating or a huge opportunity will decide America's future. Those were among messages from State Economist Tom Stinson and State Demographer Tom Gillaspy as they made the presentation "The Boomer Tsunami" to a group of about 80 at Century College Oct. 5.

In an announcement that is likely to deepen concerns over the U.S. economic woes the Federal Reserve has slashed growth and employment projections for 2011 and 2012. Data projections released by the Fed suggested that it had revised a measure of the average, or “central tendency,” for the U.S. economy's 2011 gross domestic product growth rate from the 2.7-2.9 per cent range to the 1.6-1.7 per cent range. Similarly, the central bank cut its 2012 projection for growth from the 3.3-3.7 per cent range to the 2.5-2.9 per cent range. Unemployment which in June the Fed projected would hover between...

U.S. growth accelerated in the third quarter as consumers and businesses ramped up spending, a report that shows the economy remained resilient in the face of strong headwinds. Gross domestic product in the July-through-September period expanded at a 2.5% annual rate, the government said Thursday. That’s nearly double the 1.3% rate of growth in the second quarter and much faster than the first quarter’s tepid increase of 0.4%.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is bombarding Americans with job initiatives that may lack economic heft but show him as an activist leader compared to a 'do-nothing' Congress as he campaigns for re-election in 2012. Obama will have rolled out three separate measures in three days when he wraps up a tour of electorally vital western states on Wednesday, and more moves are coming. White House Communications Director Dan Pfieffer said the Democratic president will use executive orders and other tools to deliver initiatives "on a consistent basis for months to come." "While the policy benefits of this new...

<p>“I think the downturn in the economy occurred in the year 2000,” Paul told CNN, adding that there have been no new jobs since then “and yet we’ve had a 30 million increase in population.”</p> <p>“Just go out and talk to the people – unemployment rate in the true numbers (is) over 20%, so there’s been a depression,” Paul said after an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”</p>

Full Article Follows - less graphics The Secret to Herman Cain's 999 Plan Success The most recent Wall Street Journal Poll shows Cain leading the Republican Primary, 27% to Romney's 23%. At the most recent debate, the Cain 999 Plan dominated the debate and discussion. Though the plan was roundly attacked by the moderators and competitors, Cain's Economic Plan wasn't damaged. What is appealing about Herman Cain's 999 Plan? "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."...Albert...

It’s official – China’s de facto monopoly on current rare earths production is a threat to the global economy. As least, that was the gist of hearings on 21 September by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. Center for a New American Security fellow Christine Parthemore ominously intoned, "Reliable access to critical minerals is a matter of both economic and geostrategic importance to the United States. Today, no minerals are more troubling to U.S. security and foreign policy than rare earth elements. Supplies are concentrated mostly in the hands of one...

"We know that the debt is now 100 percent -- approximately 100 percent of (gross domestic product)," said Allan Meltzer, a professor of political economy at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. "That doesn't include the unfunded liabilities. It doesn't include (mortgage lenders)Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It doesn't include a number of other things." Chris Edwards, Director of Tax Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, argues that U.S. debt is so far out of control that it must be contained soon. "We've had five trillion (in) deficit spending since 2008, the most enormous sort...

Germany—buoyed by its cadre of family-owned niche companies—appears to be weathering the global slowdown, countering fears that Europe's economic powerhouse faces a sharp downturn that could deepen the region's debt crisis. A pair of bullish reports, on German employment and manufacturing, were reassuring on Wednesday: Unemployment remained at its lowest level in nearly two decades last month, while July machine orders jumped 9% from a year earlier. The latest data suggest that Europe's largest economy, which is expected to grow 3% this year, remains resilient, even as evidence mounts that the U.S. and much of the rest of the world...

(CNSNews.com) - Speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyo., yesterday at an economic symposium sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the economic recovery in the United States had proved to be “even weaker” than the Federal Open Market Committee had originally thought it was. Bernanke also reiterated that the committee had recently lowered its expectations for economic growth in the coming quarters. “[I]t is clear that the recovery from the crisis has been much less robust than we had hoped,” Bernanke said. “From the latest comprehensive revisions to the national accounts as...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors fled stocks on Thursday, putting the S&P 500 into correction territory, as worries about the U.S. economy and European debt escalated. All three indexes were down 2 percent, having fallen more than 3 percent each at one point. Decliners beat advancers on the New York Stock Exchange by 14 to 1. "People are throwing in the towel because they can't find relief on any front. There are a lot of worries about the economy," said Milton Ezrati, market strategist at Lord Abbett Co. in Jersey City, New Jersey, which manages $110 billion in assets. The...

[Snip] The smart money in Washington continues to be on some hybrid of the Boehner/Reid/McConnell plans. If I had to place a bet now, I’d say the final deal looks something like this: Cuts: $1.2 trillion in discretionary spending cuts, with somewhat more of the total falling on defense spending than in Boehner’s bill and somewhat less of the total falling on defense spending than in Reid’s bill. Committee: The bipartisan “Supercommittee” will be formed and charged with developing a plan that cuts the deficit by $1.8 trillion or more. Unlike in Boehner’s plan, future debt-ceiling increases will not require...

At some point during the first two years of his administration, President Obama stopped receiving the daily economic briefing that he requested when he took office. Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs announced at this own first daily briefing reporters that Obama asked for the daily economic briefing, described then as comparable to the daily intelligence briefing the president gets every morning. “The president asked that this be added every day to his schedule,” Gibbs said at the time. Gibbs added that Obama believed it is “important that each day he receive the most up to date information as...

RUSH: Headline for the Associated Press: "Stocks, Bond Yields Sink After Gloomy US Reports -- Stocks are mostly lower and bond yields are at a new low for the year after two reports dimmed hopes for the job market and the U.S. economy. The government says more people applied for unemployment benefits last week, the first increase in three weeks." By the way, it was unexpected. Ahem. "A separate report says the economy grew at a sluggish 1.8 percent in the January-March quarter. Surging gasoline prices and cutbacks in government spending offset strong corporate earnings." Stocks "unexpectedly" tumble. Unemployment "unexpectedly"...

Key EXCERPT: If one believes as I do that QE II has been negative for the economy it is logical to now anticipate the opposite as we near the end of the program. Just as the effects of QE II were felt before its actual implementation, so too will the effects of its end be anticipated. That appears to be happening now. Commodity prices that started rising before the start of QE are now peaking before the end. Interest rates that rose with QE are now falling. For the economy, the end of QE should be positive as commodity prices...

RUSH: We start in Indianapolis. This is John. Great to have you, sir. You're up first. You set the tone for the day as far as callers are concerned. It's a very important role that has befallen you. CALLER: Hey, Rush. I know it's a heavy responsibility. Hey, the reason I'm calling is there's talk out there now about how the great Clinton tax increase of the early nineties spurred economic growth, and it's a lie that we have to keep combating. I know you do it but what people have to remember is that in the wake of that...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Americans are more pessimistic about the U.S. economic outlook than they have been since the start of the Obama administration and most believe the United States is on the wrong track, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll released on Thursday. The number of Americans who think the economy is getting worse jumped 13 percentage points in just one month, to 39 percent, the poll suggested. Just 23 percent said they thought the economy was improving, down 3 percentage points from the previous month. Seventy percent of respondents said the country was heading in the wrong...