Economics

California Approves $10 Minimum Wage; What Will Become Automated Now?

"The next time you pump gas for yourself ask yourself what happened to the gas station attendants that used to pump gas and wash your windshields. The same thing when you can't find a department store clerk. It's the same thing with those damn automated phone answering services that most firms now use, it's just too expensive to hire human operators. And its the same with grocery store baggers from days of old. Thank you minimum wage. The damage of minimum wage isn't some theoretical, you have just gotten so use to it that you have forgotten what things were like, or you are too young to know the good old days." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia Approves $10 Minimum Wage; What Will Become Automated Now?

A Rare Sign of Fiscal Sanity in France

"France’s state auditor urged the government Tuesday to redouble efforts to limit spending rather than increases taxes… He said 'the spiraling welfare debt was particularly abnormal and particularly dangerous.' During his first year in power, President François Hollande relied on large tax increases to plug holes in public finances, including social programs such as pensions, unemployment benefits and health care. But economic stagnation in 2012, coupled with a mild recession at the start of 2013, has waylaid the plan, while both companies and households are crying foul over what some have called 'a tax overdose.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Rare Sign of Fiscal Sanity in France

Farm subsidies on the rise in the world’s biggest economies

"Farm subsidies in the world’s biggest economies rose in 2012, the OECD said, reversing a long-term trend as governments poured more funding into agriculture despite strained budgets and high food prices. In its annual report on global farming, the OECD said state support for farming stood at an average of one-sixth of gross farm receipts in the 47 countries covered in the assessment, about 17 percent of total receipts in 2012 compared to 15 percent in 2011. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said the rise was unnecessary as high prices for farmers made the timing opportune for governments to cut subsidies that skew food markets and disrupt trade." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFarm subsidies on the rise in the world’s biggest economies

Peter Schiff: The Taper That Wasn’t

"The Fed's failure today to announce some sort of tapering of its QE program, despite the consensus of an overwhelming percentage of economists who expected action, once again reveals the degree to which mainstream analysts have overestimated the strength of our current economy. The Fed understands, as the market seems not to, that the current 'recovery' could not survive without continuation of massive monetary stimulus. Mainstream economists have mistaken the symptoms of the Fed's monetary expansion, most notably rising stock and real estate prices, as signs of real and sustainable growth. But the current asset price bubbles have nothing to do with the real economy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Schiff: The Taper That Wasn’t

Poverty Just Ain’t What It Used To Be

"A newly released report by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that most Americans living below the bureaucratically designated 'poverty line' enjoy most modern conveniences. For example more than 80 percent of U.S. households below the poverty line have a: refrigerator (97.8%); stove (96.6%); television (96.1%); microwave oven (93.1%); air conditioner (83.4%); VCR/DVD player (83.2%); and cell phone (80.9%). In addition, more than half of households beneath the poverty level also have a: clothes washer (68.7%); clothes dryer (65.3%); computer (58.2%); and landline telephone (54.9)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPoverty Just Ain’t What It Used To Be

Median Household Income Is Flat

"In 2012, median household income in the USA was flat. Adjusted for price inflation, it was down 9% since 1999: the Clinton era. It is where it was in the late 1980s: early Bush I. All this has happened under Keynesianism. The engine of economic development has gone flat for 80% of Americans. According to Keynesian economic theory, none of this should have happened. The federal government is supposed to be able to manage the economy, so that recessions are short and mild. But that theory was blasted by the recession of 2008-9. The recovery has not done anything for the vast majority of Americans." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMedian Household Income Is Flat

Health Insurance Premiums Continue To Rise Under Obamacare

"Yesterday the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report that claims to highlight how Obamacare is working for Americans—but in reality, it actually shows how the law has fallen short of candidate Obama’s promises. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then one chart in the report tells the tale. Figure 3 of the HHS report (below) highlights what happened when insurers requested to increase premiums by more than 10 percent—triggering a new rate review process established under Obamacare. While some of these premium increases were modified or withdrawn, nearly three in five (57.8 percent) were approved 'unmodified' by regulators." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHealth Insurance Premiums Continue To Rise Under Obamacare

Health Insurance Premiums Continue To Rise Under Obamacare

"Yesterday the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report that claims to highlight how Obamacare is working for Americans—but in reality, it actually shows how the law has fallen short of candidate Obama’s promises. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then one chart in the report tells the tale. Figure 3 of the HHS report (below) highlights what happened when insurers requested to increase premiums by more than 10 percent—triggering a new rate review process established under Obamacare. While some of these premium increases were modified or withdrawn, nearly three in five (57.8 percent) were approved 'unmodified' by regulators." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHealth Insurance Premiums Continue To Rise Under Obamacare