Free Republic

America’s economy resembles the propped-up false fronts of an old Western movie set; it seems unlikely to support a middle class anymore.  The existential issue is simple, though insufficiently discussed: technology, demographics, and government policy are collaborating to impose economic decline.  The evaporating middle class is taking the erstwhile American worker and his employer with it as it fades.  Folk whose worry ends with the deficits hollowing out Social Security and health care are worried about poor passenger service in a falling airplane. First, consider the U.S. workforce.  Contrary to some folk, the government isn’t going to support everybody;...

Vietnamese civil servants holding positions at levels of ministerial bureaus and departments or higher should be banned from depositing money or assets abroad or owning property overseas, according to a research group’s proposal aimed at preventing corruption and improving the recovery of losses in corruption case. Such a proposed prohibition is one of many solutions that have been raised in a study on “recovery of property from corruption cases – the practice in Vietnam and international experience” conducted by a group of researchers under the Vietnam Party Central Committee's Commission for Internal Affairs. The suggested ban was voiced by Vu...

While it’s becoming common to hear Scott Walker dismissed as a flash-in-the-pan or Flavor of the Month or Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time gaffmeister sure to be pushed aside to make way for Jeb’s Brinks truck of cash or Rubio’s glamor, there are less-apparent aspects of his appeal worth noting. That intrepid translator of the Christian Right’s codes, Sarah Posner, has a fascinating take at Religion Dispatches about Walker perfectly matching a growing mood among politically active conservative evangelicals who want a less showy but more reliable champion: >>>>Should he run for president, Walker may very well turn out to be the 2016 cycle’s...

Last Friday, we learned that the official “unemployment rate” has fallen to 5.5 percent. Since an unemployment rate of 5 percent is considered to be “full employment” by many economists, many in the mainstream media took this as a sign that the U.S. economy has almost fully “recovered” since the last recession. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, some Federal Reserve officials believe that “the U.S. economy is already at full employment“. But how can this possibly be? It certainly does not square with reality. Personally, I know people that have been struggling with unemployment for years and...

The Greek liquidity, pardon "cash flow" problems are so bad, not only Zero Hedge, but also Bloomberg has launched a daily maturity tracker of how much money Greece has to pay either to the IMF or to prefund T-Bill rollovers. This is what Bloomberg blasted out earlier today: Greece is preparing for another week of hurdles that ends with a ~EU2b repayment on March 20. Most economists say that it will be difficult for Greece to get past end of March without fresh EU funds. Here’s a timeline of the most important events scheduled this week: Monday, March 16: Greece...

Mike Bird March 13, 2015 The dollar is set for its strongest quarterly strengthening since 1992, according to Bank of America, a good sign that a rate hike is around the corner. When markets expect that US interest rates will be hiked, it typically strengthens the dollar. That's because people rush to change other currencies into dollars — they can make more money in dollar-denominated investments. The higher demand for the US currency drives its value up. In the past, significant dollar gains against other currencies have pretty much happened only during periods of extreme financial or geopolitical distress. The...

While I sometimes make moral arguments against the current tax system (because it is corrupt, because it doesn’t treat people equally, because it provides unearned wealth for insiders, etc), my main arguments are based on economics.High tax rates on workers and entrepreneurs discourage productive behavior.Double taxation on income that is saved and investeddiscourages capital formation.Tax preferences and other loopholes bribe people to use resources inefficiently.These are the principles that explain why I like tax reform, why Ipromote the Laffer Curve, and why I advocate for tax competition.Maybe it’s time, however, for a back-to-basics primer on taxes and behavior. That’s why I’m...

Even with Michigan’s right-to-work law, workers do not have full freedom. In bringing true fairness to both unions and workers, Michigan has the power to give public workers a complete choice when it comes to associating with a union, while at the same time lifting government unions’ burden of representing nonmembers. In Michigan, unlike non-right-to-work states, workers do not need to pay a union to keep their jobs. However, in both types of states, employees in a unionized job must accept union representation whether they want it or not. But right-to-work isn’t the only option available for bringing real fairness...

Urbandale, Iowa - Scott Walker is running for president, but he can’t say that just quite yet. “I hate the word ‘explore,’ ” he tells a group of activists at a private meeting in the strip mall offices of Our American Revival, the political organization through which Walker is exploring a presidential bid. Walker says that lawyers tell him he has to use that word when discussing his “likely campaign” in order to avoid running afoul of campaign finance rules. In case there’s any doubt about how likely that campaign is, Walker concludes his remarks by saying, “We’re going to beat...

Jeb Bush and Scott Walker both land in New Hampshire today — but this is Walker’s state to lose. Bush is all name, Walker is all game. The last time the former Florida governor spent any real time politicking in the Granite State, the Old Man of the Mountain was intact. But time and erosion took their toll. That natural marvel crumbled in 2003, leaving only memories and photos of better days to preserve the legend. Sound familiar, Jeb? If anyone is still showing up in the old viewing sites in Franconia, it is for nostalgia’s sake. Likewise, some Granite...

Much is being written today about the Republican party’s urgent need to find “the next Ronald Reagan.” With Governor Scott Walker’s recent rise in the polls, many pundits have rushed to dismiss his chances because “Walker is no Reagan.” But, hold on a minute. Are the pundits missing something here? The two most successful Republican presidents in the last century were Calvin Coolidge and Ronald Reagan. A serious look at the two of them sheds light on the current question of Walker’s viability as a presidential candidate. Different as Coolidge and Reagan were in looks and personality, there were striking...

The table that I assembled is in response to vague references that we see and hear like "the BLS said", "the WSJ said", "radio/TV/Blog/column said" . . . the table has links directly to the original data. It's too large to post repeatedly on threads though I do hope to keep it current quarterly (with annualized data) until Election 2016. And change/add columns as needed.

Having previously hinted that they might 'dip' into public pensions funds for some short-term cash to payback The IMF, and then confirming that the plan is to repo that cash from pension cash reserves (raising concerns about how they will unwind the repo - i.e. pay it back); the Greek government finally signed the bill today that enables them to plunder the Greek people's pension funds (for their own good). The massive irony of this bill is the bill enables greek deposits to be fully invested in Greek sovereign bonds... which Tsipras and Varoufakis both admitted today is "unsustainable" and...

Tyler Durden 03/12/2015 ... it's government.(snip)

Sales at U.S. retailers fell in February for the third month in a row, as most stores fared poorly with the notable exception of gasoline stations. Retail sales, which account for about one-third of consumer spending, fell 0.6% last month, following even larger declines in January and December, the government reported Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 0.3% gain. Poor weather was almost certainly a factor. A series of snow storms wracked the eastern half of the country in February, making it harder for Americans to move around. Sales even sank 0.6% at restaurants and bars, marking the...

In what could be a significant opening for the Republican Party, working-class Americans have largely abandoned President Obama and rejected his economic policies as they continue to suffer from the historically weak economic recovery, a new analysis of IBD/TIPP Poll data finds. By wide margins, this group is more likely than any other income class to say the country is headed in the wrong direction, the economy is getting worse, and they fear losing their jobs. Just 36% approve of the job that Obama is doing, compared with 43% overall, and vast majorities say his policies haven't helped the middle...

1. The “job creators” are CEOs, corporations, and the rich, whose taxes must be low in order to induce them to create more jobs. Rubbish. The real job creators are the vast middle class and the poor, whose spending induces businesses to create jobs. Which is why raising the minimum wage, extending overtime protection, enlarging the Earned Income Tax Credit, and reducing middle-class taxes are all necessary. 2. The critical choice is between the “free market” or “government.” Baloney. The free market doesn’t exist in nature. It’s created and enforced by government. And all the ongoing decisions about how it’s...

MADISON (WKOW) - Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wisconsin) met with African-American community leaders from Madison Wednesday and spoke with the mother of Tony Robinson, the unarmed 19 year-old man who was shot and killed by a Madison police officer last Friday night. Boys and Girls Club of Dane County CEO Michael Johnson reached out to Gov. Walker on Monday asking for a meeting. He wanted to not only discuss what happened to Tony Robinson, but about helping Wisconsin's African-American population going forward. Meeting for breakfast at the governor's mansion Wednesday morning, both Johnson and one of his top officers said they...

...the next time anyone asks why there is no broad-based pick up in consumer retail spending across the entire population, just show them the above charts.

The currency war salvos just keep on coming. Moments ago the BOK unexpectedly (the move was predicted by just 2 of 17 economists polled by Bloomberg) cut its policy rate from 2.00% to a record low 1.75%, in what is clearly a full-blown retaliation against the collapse currency of its biggest export competitor, Japan, whose currency has cratered to a level that many in South Korea believe has become a direct subsidy for its competing exports. As such the only question is why the BOK didn't cut earlier. The Korean Won reacted appropriately, if only in the first millisecond: then...