Is Social Security a Ponzi scheme, as Texas Gov. and GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry labeled it during the GOP candidates’ debate Sept. 7? The answer is “No.” Charles Ponzi gave money collected from early suckers attracted by phony promises of high returns to new suckers after taking a cut. [continue reading . . . ]
The Swiss National Bank’s surprise decision Tuesday to try to prevent the Swiss franc from rising beyond SF1.20 to the Euro may well turn out to be a key miles-marker on the road to a global depression. The Swiss franc had become one of two leading refuges for investors seeking [continue reading . . . ]
I get a headache thinking about how much money Uncle Sam is borrowing — in the past year at the rate of almost $42 million a second (hat tip to the Financial Times blog Alphaville for calling this debt graphic to my attention). Think the U.S. is an outlier? Guess [continue reading . . . ]
Today’s brutal report on the labor market from Uncle Sam reminded me that the Seattle Times (where I once worked) the other day conjured the image of vast expanses of state office space bereft of employees (here’s a link to the article). State government employment has declined two years in [continue reading . . . ]
On KUOW’s Weekday program July 6, I suggested Washington’s tourist industry tax itself to fund tourism promotion now that the state’s puny effort (that spawned such forgettable campaigns as “Say WA”) have dried up (here’s a link to a New York Times piece that appeared in the Seattle Times). I [continue reading . . . ]
The bad news is that the United States – indeed, much of the developed world – is in the midst of a “contained depression.” The private sector continues to de-leverage. Unemployment remains high. Pay for most is static or declining. Deflation remains a bigger threat than inflation. Depressions eventually end, [continue reading . . . ]
Oregon would have to increase taxes on each household by more than $2,000 each year for several years to fully fund the pension obligations of its public employees (those working for states, counties, cities, school districts, etc). By this measure, only in New Jersey and New York are the burdens [continue reading . . . ]
Now you know. It is all right there on the front page of today’s New York Times, and in fewer than 300 words in this edited excerpt: Workers are getting more expensive while equipment is getting cheaper, and the combination is encouraging companies to spend on machines rather than people. [continue reading . . . ]