Political Economy category archive

I suspect that the poll results cited below are not atypical.

Persons think that government is able to give them something for nothing.

From a poll in Virginia:

Most Virginians are adamant about not wanting to raise taxes to address transportation problems, but depending on where they live, they disagree about whether fixing urban congestion is a regional or a state responsibility, according to a new poll.

Almost one of every four likely voters indicated that if the state needs to make more budget cuts, they want to start with transportation spending.

In other words, if it’s broke, don’t ask me to help fix it.

Even though I use it every day.

In other news, for example:

In 2008, 25.9 percent of Virginia’s bridges were functionally obsolete or structurally deficient, placing the state at 29th lowest in the nation for percent of deficient bridges. (Note: Functionally obsolete or structurally deficient bridges are not necessarily unsafe.) Virginia’s rate was higher than Tennessee’s 20.2 percent, but lower than that of either North Carolina or Maryland, which had 28.7 and 26.3 percent functionally obsolete or structurally deficient bridges, respectively. Arizona was the leading state at 11.2 percent; the national average in 2008 was 25.2 percent.

Many have theorized that one reason the Bush administration gave so much TARP money to so many banks, including those who protested that they didn’t need it, was that the Treasury Department didn’t want to reveal who was in the biggest trouble. (For example, follow this link and listen to Hour One, October, 6, 2009, or click here to listen to the mp3.)

If this were indeed the case, I guess now we have a hint who they were protecting:

Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender, posted its second quarterly loss in less than a year, unable to shake off effects of the economic contraction that drove the company to take two taxpayer bailouts.

There’s one less bank in the San Jaoquin Valley:

San Joaquin Bank, Bakersfield, California

I’ve been to the San Jaoquin. Having seen it is one reason why I never understood the fascination persons have with Lalaland.

Still over half a million. The press seems to defining “less bad” as “good.”

The department also said initial claims for state unemployment aid fell 10,000 to 514,000 last week, a second straight weekly drop that hinted at some easing in the pace of layoffs.

Still over half a million:

The number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest since January, a sign the labor market is deteriorating more slowly as the economy emerges from the recession.

Applications fell by 33,000 to 521,000, lower than forecast, in the week ended Oct. 3, from a revised 554,000 the week before, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The total number of people collecting unemployment insurance dropped in the prior week to the least since March.

In other news, John Cole looks at news from the commercial real estate market and concludes:

. . . it is going to be both tragic and funny to watch Atrios and the rest of the DFH crowd be right about a double-dip recession.

California continues to crumble:

Hotel foreclosures in California more than tripled in the first nine months of this year as business travelers and vacationers cut spending.

Foreclosures climbed to 47 in January through September from 15 a year earlier and properties in default more than quadrupled to 259, Irvine, California-based Atlas Hospitality Group said in a statement. Atlas specializes in selling hotels. The survey didn’t include states other than California.

Warren Bank, Warren, Michigan

Jennings State Bank, Spring Grove, Minnesota

Southern Colorado National Bank, Pueblo, Colorado

In other news, the commercial real estate market is less than desirable.

The Balloon Juice dictionary becomes required reading.

An excerpt:

No One Could Have Predicted– Used by members of the Bush Administration, especially Condolezza Rice, about situations that anybody with an IQ above room temperature could (and frequently did) predict. Thus, “In May 2002… Condoleezza Rice said, ‘I don’t think anyone could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center.’”—although the World Trade Center had been attacked by terrorists in 1993, and GWBush had been given an official briefing in August 2001 titled “Osama bin Ladin determined to Strike within the United States.” Became an object of ridicule after Hurricane Katrina, and is frequently employed by bloggers and commenters about situations that were easily predicted, such as “No one could have predicted that electing a black man would drive some people crazy…”

Reuters:

A report from the Labor Department showed new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 530,000 last week. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected initial claims to rise to 550,000.

530,000 + 21,000=551,000, or it used to in my day.

Interestingly, the initial figure reported for last week was 545,000.

Reuters’s analysts also blew it last week guessing high. Who are they anyway?

Home sales also dropped.

Glomarization translates a judge’s ruling.

What happened to median income in the aughts:

Trickle down . . . the drain.

Via Atrios.

That was me. I was on the road all day.

That wasn’t these folks.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance declined to a lower-than-expected seasonally adjusted 545,000 in the week ended Sept 12 from 557,000 the week before, the Labor Department said. It was the lowest reading since early July.

That’s slightly over a three per cent decline in the number masquerading as good news.

Follow the link. A kewpie doll if you can figure out the explanation of “seasonally adjusted.”

By the way, these are the folks who don’t get bonuses when companies screw up. They just get screwed.

Glomarization has the story.

The problem with using “leverage”–investing in stuff using somebody else’s money–is that it works only so long as you can keep borrowing money.

Dubai investment firm Istithmar World may be the first sovereign wealth fund to liquidate after a $27 billion spending spree financed largely with borrowed money, people briefed on the matter said.

Talk of the cost to the government of fixing health care never seems to mention the countervailing savings to the private sector:

When Columbus, Ohio, health care lobbyist Rick Colby writes his monthly check of $2,556 for his family’s health insurance, his hand trembles.

TPM:

Total spending on health care, per person, 2007

United States: $7290
United Kingdom: $2992
Italy: $2686
Spain: $2671
Japan: $2581 (2006)

Reuters:

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week to 550,000, according to a government report on Thursday that also showed the number of those collecting long-term aid tumbled.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected initial claims to drop to 560,000, after reaching 576,000 the prior week, which had previously been reported as 570,000.

As regards the “tumbling” number of persons collecting long term benefits, it “tumbled” all the way 6,247,000 to 6,088,000. That’s a “tumble” of about 3.5%.

I’ll be looking to know whether it “tumbled” because persons got jobs or because their benefits expired.

Unemployment benefits do expire.

This is still a Republican scorecard. Their policies caused this. And this was the result of policy–not of blind dumb luck.

To the extent things might be looking up a little, it’s not their doing.

Choose your indicator: upsy or downsy.

A Labor Department report on Thursday showed initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 570,000 last week. However, the four-week moving average for new jobless claims, considered a better gauge of underlying trends, rose 4,000 to 571,250.

Still over half a million.

Addendum, the Next Day:

9.7% Unemployment. QOTD from Marketwatch:

Economist Robert Brusca said the trend is favorable, adding that he couldn’t understand the pessimism of so many observers. “I feel like a parent locked in a car with a little kid screaming ” DADDY! ARE WE THERE YET?”

Many economists think the unemployment rate will top out near 10%, late this year or early next year. “What really matters is when payrolls and the jobless rate will turn, and we still believe that the timeframe on both is soon, probably sooner than most other forecasters expect,” wrote Stephen Stanley, chief economist for RBS Securities.

Joseph DiStephano discusses the walking dead.

This is wrong on so many levels I don’t know where to start.

I’ll put it this way. Somebody burns down a house. Someone else comes along and tries to rebuild the house.

That does not change who set the damned fire to begin with.