Political Economy category archive

Still over 450k:

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 457,000 in the week ended June 19, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

The decline in claims was the largest since the week ended April 17. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected claims to fall to 460,000.

Separately, durable good orders excluding transportation rose 0.9 percent last month, the Commerce Department said. However, overall durable goods orders fell 1.1 percent, the first decline in six months, dragged down by the volatile aircraft component.

LCD signs seem to have made much greater inroads here than in the Greater Philadelphia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Up there, I remember some LCD billboards along I-95 south of the Philadelphia Airport, but I did not see them at schools and churches. Furthermore, the billboards would rotate among several advertisements, but each ad would be a static display, except possibly for a temperature display.

These sign down here are more animated than a Pixar movie, with dancing text, fade-in-fade-out, graphics, and pictures. (Probably look good on the computer screen when they are composed and allow the persons who program the signs to think they have l33t hax0rz sk1lz, but from the road they are really uglificated.)

Schools and churches and some businesses have them and more businesses want them. More to the point, the people who sell them want to sell more of them, until Atlantic Avenue looks like the Lost Wages strip.

Personally, I find them obnoxious, ugly, and distracting from my driving. (A church with an LCD sign is a church whose door I shan’t darken.)

So, when Virginia Beach restricted them, I did not regret it, though I didn’t feel strongly enough to, say, write a letter about it to a council critter.

I would still prefer that they went away, but, on reflection, I think Joel has a fairer idea.

If a business can afford an LCD sign, let them get an LCD sign. A less invasive ordinance would have been to regulate the size, height, brightness, etc. of the signs. Let’s keep the signs from being too big and too bright, but let’s allow businesses to take advantage of new technology in advertising.

Especially the brightness.

(The local rag says garden clubs were responsible for the ban.)

Ask and ye shall receive:

The City Council has agreed to lease developer Bruce Thompson more parking spaces in the 31st Street garage so he can build a hotel on the site of a BP gas station.

The City Council on Tuesday didn’t debate the issue and the discussion lasted less than 15 minutes, but the 6-5 vote indicated how controversial leasing these public spaces has been behind-the-scenes.

(snip)

The city built the garage for the Hilton in a public-private partnership with Thompson.

The rate the Beach will charge Thompson is less than the $1,080 a year that the city markets for a reserved space and lower than the $1,275 annual fee the Beach’s parking staff initially recommended.

As I mentioned last week, the speed of this sort of gives me the creeps.

MarketWatch:

“If history is a guide, what happens with jobs will matter the most to the strength of the housing rebound,” said Eric S. Belsky, executive director of Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, in a news release. Jobs keep homeowners out of foreclosure and help others feel confident enough to form households.

Another problem: Affordability issues are still lingering, said Nicolas P. Retsinas, the center’s director. According to the report, 40.3 million households spent more than 30% of their income on housing in 2008, and 18.6 million spent more than half of their income, up from 13.8 million in 2001.

“Notwithstanding the fall of prices and tempering of rents, there are serious affordability challenges,” Retsinas said.

Real median household incomes are poised to end 2010 lower than they were in 2000, according to the report. The household median income was $49,800 in 2008, down from $52,400 in 2000, the report said, citing the most recent data available.

Also, deficits.

From the Chicago Trib:

The good news for bank customers this summer is that new federal rules should cut down on unexpected overdraft fees.

The bad news is that banks are starting to design new fees to help make up for the surcharges they might lose.

I have no problem with banks charging fees as long as the fees are open and above board.

In recent years, though, they have not been. In too many cases, we have been dealing with the National Bank of by Hook or by Crook.

George Monbiot reviewed a book recently, pointing out that the central thesis of the author was completely false, his evidence questionable, and his reasoning circular (in fact, I think I might have linked the review, but I’m too lazy on a Saturday afternoon to check).

The author begged to differ.

In responding to the author’s dissent, Monbiot explains how the circular reasoning of right wing economics works and why it is successful:

His book has now been reviewed dozens of times, and almost all the reviewers have either been unaware of his demonstration of what happens when his philosophy is applied or too polite to mention it. The reason, as far as I can see, is that Ridley is telling people – especially rich, powerful people – what they want to hear.

(snip)

When, as I have found many times before, you explain an inconvenient truth about neoliberal or anti-environmental ideas, it is met with silence. The media simply looks the other way. There is a massive rightwing echo chamber. Nothing comparable exists on the left.

Rapacious credit card fees to be limited:

Consumers, particularly those who are consistently late in paying their credit-card bills, now can breathe a sigh of relief: The Federal Reserve said Tuesday it is limiting penalty fees to no more than $25 in most cases as well as banning so-called “inactivity” fees.

In its third stage of implementing the sweeping Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, the Fed also said it’s putting the squeeze on late fees that are higher than the consumer’s violation. For example, a consumer who was late paying a $20 minimum payment could be charged a $39 penalty fee. The Fed on Tuesday said penalty fees cannot exceed the dollar amount of the consumer’s violation.

New unemployment claims still in the high 400,000s. Bloomberg:

Initial jobless claims increased by 12,000 to 472,000 in the week ended June 12, Labor Department figures showed. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected the number of applications would drop to 450,000, according to the median forecast.

The figures indicated firings are staying elevated even as the economy grows. Some companies are trimming payrolls to boost or maintain profits at the same time overall employment has grown each month this year.

Other trends are more positive. Follow the link for more.

MarketWatch’s prognosis is less positive.

Locally, foreclosures are still up.

MarketWatch explores four myths about the housing market and explains why the bubble won’t rebubble all over again.

“Bubble” means the prices were far higher than they should have been. They shouldn’t go back to those levels. If they do, run and hide.

The myths (follow the link for the full discussion):

1. The housing recession is over.

2. After markets hit bottom, prices will rebound to boom levels.

3. The worst of the foreclosure mess is behind us.

4. The tax credits saved the housing market.

United States military spending is almost half the federal budget. It should be scrutinized as carefully as any other portion of the budget.

The Boston Globe:

THE NEED to pare down wasteful Defense Department spending has been obvious for some time, yet too many politicians have kept a discreet silence on the issue. So kudos are due to a bipartisan quartet of legislators for making the case that meaningful cuts in the Pentagon’s budget must be part of any serious effort to reduce future deficits. The national interest is plain to see: America must stop borrowing money from other countries to fund weapons systems and foreign military bases for which there is no need.

Kenny Golden, who is running as an independent against Democratic Congressman Glenn Nye and Republican Scott Rigell, is not a responsible fiscal. According to The Slant, his budget plan exempts defense spending completely (it also is arbitrary and capricious, mandating cuts without reference to usefulness or efficiency, but that’s another issue).

From his press release (emphasis added):

Kenny’s Top Three Issues

1. Cutting the budget deficit

• 2% annual budget cuts on each cabinet level department except the Department of Defense

• Consolidate or eliminate redundant federal agencies and functions

Then, again, Mr. Golden was a Republican until he jumped ship to run in this election. The public record of Republicans as responsible fiscals is clear. They talk a lot.

Still above 450k:

Initial jobless claims dropped by 3,000 to 456,000 in the week ended June 5, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected 450,000 claims, according to the median forecast. The number of people receiving unemployment insurance fell to the lowest level since 2008, while those getting extended payments climbed.

While payrolls rose for a fifth month in May, hiring by companies was less than forecast, underscoring Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s comments yesterday that there will be “only a slow reduction” in the unemployment rate. Job gains are needed to spur consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy, and ensure a sustained expansion.

Roy Edroso explains wingnut capitalism. Shorter version:

Money for us, not for working people.

Via the Brad Blog.

Still in the hight 400Ks.

Initial jobless claims fell by 14,000 to 460,000 in the week ended May 22, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Economists forecast claims would drop to 455,000, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The economy expanded in the first quarter at a slower pace than initially estimated, the Commerce Department said today.

(snip)

The four-week moving average for initial claims, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, rose to 456,500 last week from 454,250, today’s report showed.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits dropped by 49,000 in the week ended May 15 to 4.61 million, the lowest since March 27 and in line with the median forecast.

The continuing claims figure does not include the number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs.

The story does not specifically mention unemployment in the oil barrens.

Via the New Sense.

On the way down the road, I stopped at a convenience store to pick up a soda (pop if you are west of the Mississippi) and a newspaper. The store was not a corporate outlet, but one of the gas company travelmart franchise type thingees.

The clerk was a very pleasant young lady (and by young I mean she looked high school age) who helped me find where they hid the paper I was looking for. When we got back to the checkout, she noticed her time slip lying on the counter and mentioned that she was working clocked out. Though speaking lightly, she was clearly disturbed.

I said, “You mean you aren’t being paid?”

She said, “No, we’ve been so busy the manager has been holding me over after I clock out. This is the third time since Wednesday.”

I said, “That’s illegal. Call your Congressman and find out where to report it.” We talked a little more, but that was the substance of the conversation.

We need regulations (and unions), because, left unregulated, American business will even take advantage of children to pad its pockets.

(Her Congressman is, unfortunately, a Republican in the pocket of big business, but that’s another story.)

The party of privilege:

In a dramatic gesture, (New Jersey–ed.) Gov. Christie on Thursday evening vetoed the “millionaire’s tax” just moments after it was passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

(snip)

Democratic legislators argued that with the tax, which would increase the tax rate on income above $1 million from 8.97 percent to 10.75 percent, the state could restore property tax rebates to 600,000 senior citizens and disabled residents.

In RepublicanWorld, it’s clearly better to lay off workers, cut services, attack state employees’ pay, and gut their pensions than to ask the privileged to chip in.

Bad week on jobs front. Unemployment claims back up above 450 grand.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 471,000 in the week ended May 15, the highest level since the week ended April 10, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

(snip)

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected claims to fall to 440,000. A Labor Department official said there was nothing unusual in the state level data.

The four-week moving average of new claims, which is considered a better measure of underlying labor market trends, rose 3,000 to 453,500.

By the way, don’t let those Reuters analysts help you pick the ponies next time you go to the track.

Doug Noland at the Asia Times explains why he is bearish on the world economy.

There is a lot of financial industry lingo in the article, but plowing through it worth while. The bulk of it is in the first page and a half. The remainder is daily news summaries and citations. As I interpret it, his thesis is that, by sanctioning the creation and growth of instruments such as CDOs, governments, especially the U. S. government and the Fed under Alan Greenspan, encouraged a business model based on selling bags of air.

And that the detrimental results are not over yet.

A sample:

My bearish thesis on our markets and economy is based upon the view that the financial fuel for our recovery has been unsound, unstable and unsustainable. This “monetary process” is now in jeopardy. The global government finance bubble, which lunged into its terminal phase of excess with the collapse of the Wall Street/mortgage finance bubble, has been pierced. Greece’s debt crisis marks a momentous inflection point. And, yes, some government markets – certainly including Treasuries – are benefiting from Greek and periphery European debt woes. Yet key bubble dynamics percolate under the surface.