Economy

Why Raising the Minimum Wage is a Terrible Idea

February 13, 2013

The biggest problem with Americans today, and the politicians that pander to them, is that they make choices based on emotional effect and not on data.  This is why there’s no outrage over the budget-busting compensation of public sector employees like teachers, firefighters and police (yes, they all do important jobs, but the free market [...]

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Poll: Has the Fiscal Cliff Uncertainty Affected Your Spending or Financial Plans at All?

December 23, 2012

There are 2 main camps when it comes to economics and politics – some feel that people and businesses will go about their routine patterns of spending, saving, investing and hiring regardless of any “uncertainty” and another camp that feels all the uncertainty we’re constantly facing gives people and leaders pause, which constantly constrains behavior [...]

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Robots and Automation Are Taking American Jobs – Think Your Job is Safe?

December 16, 2012

You’d think the same headline would be the prominent theme of every year since the 1800s. After all, we’ve seen a decline in the need from everything from lamplighters once electricity was invented to farm workers once farming equipment, tractors and trucks came along. However, for various reasons throughout 2012, there’s been a steady debate [...]

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How Obamacare is Costing My “Middle-Class” Family More in 2013

October 15, 2012

Obama’s medical insurance legislation that was first billed as not being a “tax” (hilarious given the number of “fees” and “surcharges” it levies; even the Supreme Court could not pass up the opportunity to classify it as such), and also claimed that the plan would be “revenue neutral” (which it clearly won’t be if you [...]

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State Sends Illegal Immigrants Packing. And Nobody Wants the Jobs [Law of Unintended Consequences]

October 8, 2012

In yet another case of the law of unintended consequences (which virtually anyone could have predicted), Alabama’s HB56 law was meant to drive illegals out of the state to purportedly “free up jobs” for native Alabamians.  Well, guess how that worked out?  They don’t want the damn jobs.  See, it’s too easy to live off [...]

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QE3: 11 Winners and Losers

September 16, 2012

Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve are ready to stimulate the economy at any cost. The Fed will inject $40 billion per month in mortgage-backed securities purchases. This policy is good for some, bad for many. Let’s keep track of the score. 11 Winners and Losers from QE3 1. Winner: Banks – Banks are inflation [...]

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Does a Bad Economy Dictate Whether You’ll Have Children or Not?

August 19, 2012

I followed the path of (what I thought was) the traditional American life.  I went to college, got a job, got a house, got married and started having kids in my twenties.  This is what my parents did and their parents before them, and what’s always been portrayed in pop culture as a typical American [...]

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Common Sense Comeback? Thank The Recession

July 29, 2012

Recessions aren’t too bad if you don’t lose your job. Gas prices plummet, restaurants push inexpensive dinner options, and your dollar really does go further. So while it may seem like the world is nearing its end, there are always a few things that make an economic slump a little more bearable. Common Sense Back [...]

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10 Most Business-Friendly States: 8 Have Republican Governers

July 12, 2012

CNBC conducted a pretty extensive analysis of where the best and worst places to do business are in the United States (study). Out of curiosity (well, I already knew what the answer would be, so more like “validation”), I cross-checked their list with the party affiliation of the sitting governor for each state: STATE-BY-STATE RANKINGS 1. Texas [...]

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Natural Gas and Oil Spreads: What’s Up with Energy Prices?

June 3, 2012

In 1974, as oil reached new highs, Richard Nixon declared that the United States would be energy independent by 1980. He barked his claim as part of a State of the Union Address, outlining his goal he said, “At the end of this decade, in the year 1980, the United States will not be dependent [...]

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