The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Expecting the Unexpected

The media have nearly warn out an adverb — “Unexpectedly!” — in describing bad economic news in the past two years. So what should we expect when we read a sentence that begins like this? “Few economists are predicting an out-and-out return to recession, but . . .” Which prompts concerns for the Lonely Conservative: Um, are […]

Euro-Doom Looming?

The Standard & Poor 500 this week suffered its seventh week of losses in the past eight weeks, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average again closed below 12,000 on Friday. The problem? In a word, Europe: “Everybody is trying to digest how the European debt situation is going to shake out,” said Jason Pride, director […]

Boeing and the Myth of ‘Skills’

Back during the 1990s, I got tired of hearing a line that Bill Clinton relentlessly repeated about the need to “invest” in education to provide “the skills needed to compete in the 21st-century economy.” As nice as that rhetoric sounds, it didn’t match the economic reality: Major manufacturers weren’t opening new factories in Latin America […]

He’s Got His. Have You Got Yours?

A sad bit of bitter irony: While unemployment among the general population is about 9.1 percent, it’s at 16.2 percent African Americans, and a bit higher still for African American males. . . . [N]ow it’s at Depression-era levels. The most recent figures show African American joblessness at 16.2 percent. For black males, it’s at […]

The Dow Goes Greek

Since late April, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost more than 850 points and fell by 178.84 Wednesday, below the 12,000 threshold. Reuters reports: U.S. stocks tumbled on Wednesday, driven lower by escalating Greek debt woes, while troubling U.S. data pointed to further losses ahead. Financials came under fire after Moody’s Investors Service said […]

Pointing Out the Obvious: They Don’t Teach Economics at Harvard Law School

Conveniences you’ve enjoyed for decades have suddenly become a cause of long-term unemployment: “There are some structural issues with our economy where a lot of businesses have learned to become much more efficient with a lot fewer workers. You see it when you go to a bank and you use an ATM, you don’t go […]

This Just In: Obamanomics Sucks

Are folks on Wall Street finally figuring out what the folks on Main Street have known for two years? U.S. stocks fell Friday to cap their first five-week losing streak since July 2004, as a dismal jobs report added to the drumbeat of investor concerns about a slowing economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell […]

Unexpectedly! Unemployment Hits 9.1%

“U.S. hiring slowed dramatically in May and the unemployment rate kept rising, adding to concerns the jobs market will take years to heal as the economy remains weak. . . . . The jobless rate . . . unexpectedly rose to 9.1% . . .” — Wall Street Journal “May’s job gain was about a […]

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