Political Economy category archive

A little better.

Jobless claims declined by 26,000 to 323,000 in the week ended March 1, the least since the end of November and fewer than any economist forecast in a Bloomberg survey, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington.

(snip)

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits decreased by 8,000 to 2.91 million in the week ended Feb. 22, the fewest this year.

Think Progress tries to understand the glibertarian tilt of the fans of bitcoin. A nugget:

. . . there’s a fair amount of privilege built directly into the currency: In order to buy the sometimes wildly expensive currency, Bitcoin users need to be wealthy. And they can afford to put their wealth into a currency that isn’t widely accepted or even recognized. Plus, they move easily through the financial and digital space — the process of “mining” bitcoins demands it; it is all about knowing coding and decryption and how to use an exchange. The sum total of these things — advanced knowledge of computer science, wealth — are also markings of the young, white male.

(snip)

Bitcoin users’ rejection of the government reflects the luxury of being able to live well without state support, while the less advantaged desperately need a larger government role in the banking system to help them them overcome deep, systemic bias.

Read the rest.

Via Zandar.

Status quo ante.

Jobless claims increased by 14,000 to 348,000 in the week ended Feb. 22, exceeding all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey and the highest level in a month, from 334,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. A Labor Department spokesman said no states were estimated and there was nothing unusual in the data.

(snip)

Today’s Labor Department data showed the four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, was unchanged at 338,250.

For all practical purposes, no change.

Jobless claims declined by 3,000 to 336,000 in the week ended Feb. 15, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington.

(snip)

Today’s data showed the four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, increased to 338,500 from 336,750 the week before. The average for the comparable survey week in January was 332,250.

Via Escape from Whitemanistan.

In a long and closely reasoned article, McGill University’s Reuven Brenner sees one possible redeeming aspect to BitCoins.

More important perhaps, Bitcoin’s mere existence may draw attention to the fact that its birth is due to the utter mismanagement of monetary and fiscal and regulatory affairs around the world, and thus may speed up the search for lasting solutions and re-establishing trust.

Follow the link for the full discussion. Summary cannot do it justice, especially as no one really understands how bitcoins work. Nevertheless, like any other fiat currency, bitcoins have value because (some) persons believe bitcoins have value.

________________

*With apologies to The Shadow.

Once more, for all practical purposes, status quo ante.

Jobless claims increased by 8,000 to 339,000 in the week ended Feb. 8 from 331,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington.

(snip)

The Labor Department’s report showed the four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, increased to 336,750 from 333,250 the week before.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits decreased by 18,000 to 2.95 million in the week ended Feb. 1.

This is my first edition of what Spocko said.

Image via Bob Cesca’s Awesome Blog.

Via BartCop.

For all practical purposes, steady:

Jobless claims dropped by 20,000 to 331,000 in the period ended Feb. 1, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decrease to 335,000.

(snip)

The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, rose to 334,000 from 333,750.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 15,000 to 2.96 million in the week ended Jan 25.

Still pretty much status quo ante.

Jobless claims climbed by 19,000 to 348,000 in the period ended Jan. 25, which included the Martin Luther King holiday, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The reading was the highest since mid-December. The median forecast of 55 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected 330,000.

(snip)

The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, increased to 333,000 from 332,250 in the prior week.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits fell by 16,000 to 2.99 million in the week ended Jan. 18.

Sign the petition.

Still over 300k,
But no emergency, okay?

Jobless claims decreased by 2,000 to 326,000 in the week ended Jan. 11, the least since the end of November, from a revised 328,000 in the prior period, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington.

(snip)

The four-week average of jobless claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, declined to 335,000 from 348,500 the week before.

The number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs rose by about 63,500 to 1.35 million in the period ended Dec. 28, the last week of the emergency unemployment compensation.

Bloomberg is all rosy about this, but, for all practical purposes, it’s status quo ante–still in mid 300K.

The number of applications for unemployment insurance payments declined by 15,000 to 330,000 in the period ended Jan. 4, the fewest since the end of November, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. Another report today showed consumers grew a bit more optimistic at the start of 2014.

(snip)

The four-week average of claims, which smoothes short-term volatility, dropped to 349,000 from 358,750.

Via Bob Cesca’s Awesome Blog.

Dave Johnson explains “workplace loans.” A nugget:

This new loan scheme is being promoted as a “service” by unscrupulous employers working in cahoots with predatory lenders. The employee can ask for an “advance” and the loan is included right in the paycheck. These loans are great for the lender because payments come straight out of the employee’s paycheck. The loans are terrible for the employee because payments come straight out of the employee’s paycheck.

Workplace loans have very high interest rates, as much as 165% per year, and are repaid directly out of wages. So far only about 100,000 workers are being offered these scams by their companies, but at least half a dozen companies are marketing this “service” to employers.

Addendum, Later That Same Day:

Juanita Jean reports on a new twist to the scam in Texas. Not surprisingly, Rick Perry’s mitts are all over it.

Llewellyn King, successful television producer and ex-unemployed person, explores how the “Haves” use myths of the “undeserving poor” to justify cruelty to the “Have-Nots.”

Being unemployed isn’t a vacation. It’s not a glorious excuse to watch television at home and snigger at working stiffs who get a paycheck, have savings, take vacations, hope for promotions and whose children will be able to afford to go to college.

Unemployment means cold economic fear . . . .

Do read the rest.

Or not, because the poor must be punished.

When it was initially discussed as a rude repercussion of a bungled budget deal, the prospect that 1.3 million Americans would lose long-term unemployment benefits just days after Christmas was bad enough.

Now, that the day has come, however, it stands as a stark reminder of the extent to which the United States has regressed from the days when Franklin Delano Roosevelt greeted the Holiday Season with a celebration of the fact that: “Today neighborliness no longer can be confined to one’s little neighborhood. Life has become too complex for that. In our country neighborliness has gradually spread its boundaries—from town, to county, to State and now at last to the whole Nation.”

A little better.

Jobless claims declined by 42,000 to 338,000 in the week ended Dec. 21, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington.

(snip)

The jobless claims report showed the four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, rose to 348,000 last week from 343,750.

Robyn Blumner ruminates on the real meaning of A Christmas Carol.

It’s not what the “Christmas Special” complex would have you think.