Political Economy category archive

Chris Busby gives an example:

My favorite is the Maine State Pier. Almost 10 years ago, city officials declared that the publicly owned pier was in such rough structural shape that Portlanders could never afford to fix it. Ipso facto, we need to allow private developers to lease the pier for, say, a century, and they’ll replace the rotting pilings for us in exchange for the favor of allowing them to build luxury office space, a hotel, restaurants and other amenities for tourists there.

Of course, the pier wouldn’t have been in bad shape to begin with had those same city officials done their jobs and maintained the waterfront infrastructure for which they are responsible.

Follow the link for more.

Still not bad.

Jobless claims increased by 10,000 to 272,000 in the week ended Feb. 20, a report from the Labor Department showed on Thursday in Washington.

(snip)

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly claims numbers, decreased to 272,000 last week, the lowest since mid-December, from 273,250.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits fell by 19,000 to 2.25 million in the week ended Feb. 13. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 1.7 percent. These data are reported with a one-week lag.

The Local finds eerie similarities between Donald Trump and Silvio Berlusconi. A snippet:

Michael Day, the author of Being Berlusconi, told The Local that the similarities between the two moguls are obvious.

“The vulgarity, the megalomania, the implausible ‘hair’ styles and of course, the cash. Lots of it, . . . .”

Paul Krugman points out that the Republicans are not the only party capable of falling under the spell of voodoo economics.

He believes that some Sanders supporters are sprinkling fairy dust on the figures. Note that the figures in question did not originate from the Sanders campaign, but the campaign is not contesting them.

By endorsing outlandish economic claims, the Sanders campaign is basically signaling that it doesn’t believe its program can be sold on the merits, that it has to invoke a growth miracle to minimize the downsides of its vision. It is, in effect, confirming its critics’ worst suspicions.

As economic policy is the linchpin of Sanders’s quest, I commend this article as an important read.

Afterthought:

In case you wondered, no, I’m not feeling the Bern.

I respect Sanders and agree with many of his positions, but my gut tells me that he is Nader v. 2016.

Do I find Hillary Clinton likable? Not particularly, but I never expect to sit across a bridge table from her. Likability is not a criteria for president. Competence is.

Think how many persons voted for President George the Worst because they thought they would like to have a beer with him . . . .

I also must ask myself how many of my questions about Hillary are the result of the two-and-a-half-decade-long Republican vendetta against the Clintons and how many are founded in reality. I think that the vendetta outweighs reality in this case.

Come the Virginia primary next week, for what it’s worth, which is not much, I shall vote Clinton. Her reconciliation with President Obama after the 2008 election and her conduct as Secretary of State shows me that she is capable and competent.

Do I think Bernie is qualified? Yes. Do I think he is capable? Yes. Do I think he is electable? No. His samba has only one note and the electorate wants more, a quartet at least, if not a concerto or even a symphony.

Not at all bad. In fact, a little better.

Initial jobless claims dropped by 7,000 to 262,000 in the week ended Feb. 13, the lowest since Nov. 21, a report from the Labor Department showed on Thursday.

(snip)

The four-week average of claims, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, decreased to 273,250, the lowest since Dec. 19, from 281,250. The latest figure compares with an average of 285,250 during the comparable employment survey period for January. The economy added 151,000 workers in January, the fewest in four months.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 30,000 to 2.27 million in the week ended Feb. 6. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits climbed to 1.7 percent from 1.6 percent. These data are reported with a one-week lag.

A bit better:

Jobless claims dropped by 16,000 to 269,000 in the week ended Feb. 6, a Labor Department report showed Thursday.

(snip)

The four-week average of claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, fell to 281,250 from 284,750 in the prior week.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits dropped by 21,000 to 2.24 million in the week ended Jan. 30. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits fell to 1.6 percent from 1.7 percent.

Still unanswered is the question, in what flea market does Bloomberg find its “experts”?

Still not bad.

Jobless claims climbed by 8,000 to 285,000 in the week ended Jan. 30, from a revised 277,000 in the prior period, a report from the Labor Department showed on Thursday.
(snip)

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly claims numbers, increased to 284,750 last week from 282,750. The last time the average exceeding 280,000 for at least three consecutive weeks was in April.

The number of applications dropped as low as 255,000 in mid-July, the lowest in four decades.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits fell by 18,000 to 2.26 million in the week ended Jan. 23. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 1.7 percent. These data are reported with a one-week lag.

A little better, but basically status quo ante.

Jobless claims fell by 16,000 to 278,000 in the week ended Jan. 23, from 294,000 in the prior period, a report from the Labor Department showed on Thursday in Washington.

(snip)

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly claims numbers, decreased to 283,000 last week, from 285,250.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 49,000 to 2.27 million in the week ended Jan. 16.

Via MarketWatch. More financial tomfoolery at the link.

A little worse, but still under 300k.

Initial jobless claims climbed by 10,000 to 293,000 in the week ended Jan. 16, a report from the Labor Department showed on Thursday.
(snip)

The number of applications last week was the most since the period ended July 4. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for claims of 278,000.
Four-Week Average

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, increased to 285,000 from 278,500.

Via Job’s Anger.

Despite Bloomberg’s silly headline (follow the link), for all practical purposes, status quo ante:

Initial jobless claims rose by 7,000 to 284,000 in the week ended Jan. 9, the second-highest level since July, a report from the Labor Department showed on Thursday.

(snip)

The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, increased to 278,750 from 275,750. The average was the highest since July.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 29,000 to 2.26 million in the week ended Jan. 2. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits increased to 1.7 percent from 1.6 percent.

Marginally better.

Jobless claims dropped by 10,000 to 277,000 in the week ended Jan. 2, a report from the Labor Department showed on Thursday.

(snip)

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly claims numbers, decreased to 275,750 last week from 277,000.
Continuing Claims

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 25,000 to 2.23 million in the week ended Dec. 26. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 1.6 percent. These data are reported with a one-week lag.

Jeb! is reported to be soliciting President George the Worst to campaign for him.

This painfully protracted campaign season seems to promise one benefit: the end of the Bush League.

As the middle class gets pushed into poverty, the era of “anchor stores” fades.

The number of households living below the poverty level has doubled since 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Stamp Program. With that, disposable income has decreased.

(snip)

That new norm has been nothing less than brutal on the former mall stars, whose glow continues to dim nationwide.

Sears has closed 152 mall stores since 2007. Penneys closed 40 locations in 2015 alone, including some at Pennsylvania and New Jersey malls.

If persons can’t afford to consume, you cannot maintain a “consumer economy.”
.

Although Bloomberg chose to go with a panicky headline because news is not new unless accompanied by panic (follow the link to clutch your pearls), still under 300k.

Jobless claims jumped by 20,000 to 287,000 in the week ended Dec. 26, a report from the Labor Department showed on Thursday in Washington.

(snip)

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly claims numbers, increased to 277,000 last week from 272,500.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits rose by 3,000 to 2.2 million in the week ended Dec. 19.