Political Economy category archive
One for All and All for Me 0
This is not a surprise.
A study in Japan shows that Homo economicus makes up only a minority of the population, but a minority with a wide range of unusual personality traits, including a touch of psychopathy.
More at the link.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Somewhat better.
(snip)
The four-week average of jobless claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, declined to 298,750 from 299,500 the week before.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits dropped by 147,000 to 2.37 million in the week ended Dec. 6, unwinding the previous week’s surge. Insured unemployment had jumped to 2.52 million in the period ended Nov. 29, which was the highest since August.
Responsible Fiscals 0
Indeed.
The party owes $75,000 on a line of credit at Alliance Bank for loans taken out in late October and November, according to federal finance reports filed this month. It owes another $85,000 in other bank loans.
All told, the party had $990,000 in debt in its federal account after the election. As of mid-October, it also had $450,000 in debt in its state account.
I trust I am not the only person to see the irony in this.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Back under 300k.
(snip)
The four-week average of jobless claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, was little changed at 299,250 after 299,000 the week before.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits jumped by 142,000 to 2.51 million in the week ended Nov. 29, the highest since mid-August.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
A little better.
(snip)
Employment probably increased by 230,000 in November after a 214,000 gain the previous month, according to the Bloomberg survey median ahead of the Labor Department’s Dec. 5 report. The unemployment rate is projected to hold at 5.8 percent, the lowest since July 2008.
The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, rose to 299,000 from 294,250 the week before.
In the most stunning development, Bloomberg’s experts were, for all practical purposes, right on the money.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Back over 300k.
(snip)
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits dropped by 17,000 to 2.32 million in the week ended Nov. 15, the fewest since December 2000.
In that same period, the unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits fell to 1.7 percent, the lowest since November 2000, from 1.8 percent the prior week, the report showed.
In other news, Bloomberg’s experts blew it again.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Still under 300k.
(snip)
The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, climbed to 287,500 from 285,750 the week before.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits dropped by 73,000 to 2.33 million in the week ended Nov. 8, the fewest since December 2000.
Easy Money 0
Taxes are the price of living in a civilized society. State governments have turned to casinos because politicians are too gutless to be honest about taxes, so they resort to trickery:
“Casinos will solve everything,” they say. “Casinos are easy money, not like taxes. Taxes are hard.”
It’s not working out so well. Atlantic City is becoming a wasteland and, increasingly, new casinos, like new sports palaces, don’t live up to developers’ projections. Werner Herzog’s Bear considers why; here’s a bit of the considering:
Casino gambling, like most promises of easy money, is a mug’s game. It’s a mug’s game for the gambler and for the polity. The house always wins; the reverse of that is that, ultimately, the gambler and the polity are always fleeced.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Still under 300k:
(snip)
The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, rose to 285,000 last week from 279,000.
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits climbed by 36,000 to 2.39 million in the week ended Nov. 1. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 1.8 percent. The data are reported with a one-week lag.
Ancient Mysteries 0
Recent archaeological findings suggest that an essential feature of every Babylonian office was the Nebucadenza.
Once More Repetitively All Over Again 0
Jim Wright expects the next years to be painful, but he finds some cause for optimism. A snippet:
Yeah, we got America’s first black liberal president.
In a landslide.Twice.
You owe it to yourself to follow the link and read the rest of the post.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Still looking up a mite.
(snip)
The U.S. Labor Department’s report on jobless claims showed the four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure of job cuts than the weekly readings, declined to 279,000, the lowest since April 2000.
Nothing To Do, Nowhere To Go 0
Still looking up a mite:
The four-week average of jobless claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, fell to 281,000 in the period ended Oct. 25, the lowest since May 2000, from 281,250 the week before, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. Compared with the prior week, applications for benefits rose by 3,000 to 287,000.
(snip)
The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 29,000 to 2.38 million in the week ended Oct. 18.