The economy continues to tank with Caterpillar announcing more layoffs today. In response to deteriorating business conditions, Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest maker of mining and construction equipment, disclosed nearly 20,000 job cuts, most of which already have been made. They include 5,000 new layoffs of white collar workers, which will occur globally by the […]
This graph of the United States' adjusted monetary base comes courtesy of the St. Louis Fed: Wow. Just wow. Can you say inflation? Stagflation?
I've noted before that the Republican Study Committee has a lot of good ideas on providing the economy a needed kick-start. Some conservative commentators have also suggested cutting the payroll tax -- something that would be felt by rich and poor alike and would also help businesses to keep employing workers. Unfortunately, it doesn't look […]
From the Los Angeles Times: Transfixed by the daily spectacle of dismal economic news and wild Wall Street swings, few Americans have looked up to see what a wide array of economists say lies beyond the immediate crisis. And with good reason: The picture isn't pretty. The sleek racing machine that was the U.S. economy […]
The Republican Study Committee released some bullet points on its alternative to the Democrat's stimulus plan. Some highlights: An increase in the child tax credit from $1,000 to $5,000. An increase in the deduction for college expenses from $4,000 to $6,000, and in the income threshold at which the deduction can be taken. An end […]
Thanks to the Los Angeles Times, we have the number I was curious about last week. Among the first to get IOUs instead of payments would be business and individual taxpayers who are expecting refunds, local governments and recipients of grants from the California Student Aid Commission. Last year, more than 10 million taxpayers received […]
The California legislature's runaway spending spree of the past decade -- with the assistance of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gov. Gray Davis before him -- has brought us to the point that the state is going to run out of money. In the midst of a housing market that is in the tank and an […]
The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof discovered that liberals are generally less generous than their conservative counterparts. This holiday season is a time to examine who’s been naughty and who’s been nice, but I’m unhappy with my findings. The problem is this: We liberals are personally stingy. Liberals show tremendous compassion in pushing for generous […]
President Bush announced Friday that he would be making $13.4 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to bailout General Motors and Chrysler. During brief remarks at the White House, President Bush said in normal times he would have not been in favor of preventing a bankruptcy of the two companies. But the current state […]
The Tribune Company, owners of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times among others, has filed for bankruptcy. For those interested in the potential sale of the San Diego Union-Tribune (that would be me), it appears as though Sam Zell is out of the running. The New York Times announced today that it would be […]