Michael Parks

Feb 122017
 

Don’t miss the excellent piece on the importance of immigrants to Silicon Valley in the New York Times February 9, 2017. Some highlights: “Silicon Valley is unlikely, as a phenomenon — it is not the default state of the world,” said John Collison, an immigrant from Ireland who is a [continue reading . . . ]

Jan 142017
 
Where the money is

When it comes to median household income, tech powerhouses, especially in California, and suburbs of Washington, D.C., tend to dominate the top lists. Among cities with more than 65,000 population, Palo Alto ranked No. 1 in 2015 (latest data) at almost $148,000. Half of households in Palo Alto had higher income [continue reading . . . ]

Jan 142017
 
Temperature rising

It’s winter outside — cold, snowy, wet. But when it comes to the economy, especially as measured by employment growth, there’s a heat wave on the West Coast (aka the Left Coast). Washington and Oregon, in particular, are mucho caliente. Employment in the services-providing sectors grew faster in the Evergreen [continue reading . . . ]

Jan 042017
 
Living dangerously

The global economy is likely to grow at between 3% and 4% in 2017 adjusted for inflation and differences in exchange rates. Emerging economies, led by Asia, are likely again to outgrow advanced economies (the U.S., Europe, Japan). That’s the word from one of the world’s most respected and widely followed [continue reading . . . ]

Aug 232016
 

Terrific perspective on China’s growing importance, the coming fight in Congress over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the standing of the United States in a changed world in an op-ed in today’s New York Times by Clyde Prestowitz, founder and president of the Economic Strategy Institute. He delivers his punch [continue reading . . . ]