economic-stimulus
The Debt Bomb Boogie
Yes, this country’s financial situation is abysmal. The federal deficit is set to hit $1.7 trillion for the 2009 fiscal year, hovering around 13 percent of GDP. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts that the total federal budget could reach $13 trillion by the fall of 2010. The NY Times reported that the CBO puts [...]
Federal Budget Deficit Kills Spring Fever
Spring is finally here after a long, frightfully cold winter. And with it comes the delusions induced by spring fever. Both the Obama administration and investors are stricken with the heady optimism associated with this illness, classifying the trickles of less than horrible economic data as green shoots that will bring America out of the [...]
The Culture of Debt
I have something that I’m quite proud of to share with you this afternoon. It’s an essay called The Culture of Debt, and I wrote it about three years ago. At the time, the credit bubble was still growing, feeding a boom in real estate and fueling all manner of mindless consumption. I wrote this [...]
The World According to Gordon Brown
It was all smiles at the conclusion of the G20 summit held in London yesterday. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown babbled on about the emergence of a new world order – which will be composed of the very same self-serving politicians that he was bickering with just a few hours before this laughable announcement of [...]
Fed Buys U.S. Debt!
I believe that a disproportionate amount of media attention has focused on political squabbles inspired by the latest mega-billion dollar economic stimulus package, the continuing costs of bailing out financial institutions, and the recent show trials of A.I.G. employees. In my opinion, far too little attention is set upon the Federal Reserve, which is embarking [...]
Where did America’s Wealth go?
Where did America’s wealth go? That is the question being asked from Washington state to Washington DC. The Federal Reserve reported yesterday that U.S. household net worth plummeted by $11.2 trillion, equivalent to a loss of close to 18 percent, during 2008. Household net worth – which is assets owned minus liabilities owed – of [...]
Feds Scheme to Nationalize Citigroup
It’s round three in the federal government’s fight to save Citigroup. Last weekend, officials from the Obama administration and Citigroup discussed the possibility of expanding the government’s ownership stake in the troubled banking giant by converting existing preferred shares into common stock. This development makes the question of nationalizing large, troubled commercial banks a matter [...]
Stop Digging! – A Criticism of Economic Stimulus
Over the past two decades, the U.S. has shifted from a nation of producers and savers to one of shoppers and spendthrifts. Now, our collective recklessness is plunging our economy into its darkest period since the Great Depression. It’s time for politicians to create policies that promote fiscal responsibility as opposed to ones that encourage [...]
Downward Dow
2.17.09- Stocks were caught in a nasty downward spiral as President Obama signed the super mega-billion dollar economic stimulus package. Financial shares led the charge lower, sending the Dow to levels not seen in over a decade. All the world’s panicky investors were fleeing shares to buy gold and treasuries.
Gathering Clouds Set to Deluge Soggy Economy
The clouds forming over the McMansion-filled American landscape are getting darker by the moment. I’m not even talking about the dismal consumer confidence readings, plummeting retail sales and mounting job loses – these clouds have been with us for a while now. The new, darker vapor formations are emanating from Washington D.C. and the international [...]
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