Political Economy category archive

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.

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*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.

Merry Christmas.

Jobless claims climbed by 10,000 to 379,000 in the period ended Dec. 14, the most since the end of March, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 48 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a decrease to 336,000. It’s best to focus on the four-week average during the holiday season to determine the underlying trend, a government spokesman said as the figures were released.

(snip)

The data tend to be volatile around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays as seasonal adjustment is difficult to calculate, the Labor Department spokesman said last week.

The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, climbed to 343,500, the highest in a month, from 330,250 in the prior week.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits increased by 94,000 to 2.88 million in the week ended Dec. 7.

Still foreclosure-based.

Last month, the price (of a house–ed.) fell 5.5 percent to $188,000 from $199,000 a year earlier, according to data released Friday by Virginia Beach-based Real Estate Information Network, the region’s multiple-listing service.

Fluctuations in median price largely depend on the share of sales that are distressed, said Vinod Agarwal, an economics professor at Old Dominion University. Distressed sales occur when a home is either lost to foreclosure or sold for less than what was owed on the mortgage.

Nearly 27 percent of November sales were distressed in Hampton Roads, the listing service reported – down from 28.4 percent the same month a year ago.

Diana Wagman volunteered for “Operation Santa 2013.” Volunteers read letters to Santa and can choose to send the writers a gift and a response as Santa.

It was not the innocent, heartwarming experience she expected. A nugget:

What I found were pleas from parents. A mother out of work said her family would eat, but there wouldn’t be any presents. A dad wrote that his kids needed school supplies. Parents with two kids, three kids, maybe more, were hoping for help with what they couldn’t provide. A dad just out of prison wanted to make Christmas special for the kids he hadn’t seen for so long. A disabled grandmother asked for a church dress for her granddaughter.

I was overwhelmed. Many of the letters _ even the ones from kids _ asked for groceries and shoes, clothing and shampoo. One child wrote: “Please bring my mommy some food. She’s been good this year.”

Elizabeth Warren evicerates the myth of the “entitlement crisis.”

The “entitlement crisis” is a pretext to allow the rich to take from the rest.

Via Raw Story.