ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES

Bob Cesca comments on The GOP Plot to Screw the Economy and the Middle Class .

Recent surveys suggest that U.S. citizens are increasingly dissatisfied with President Obama's leadership, primarily because unemployment remains high. What people fail to realize, however, is that economic recovery frequently takes time, regardless of the actions taken by political leaders. Billionaire Warren Buffett understands this and conveyed his feelings to the President. Political leaders frequently receive too much blame for poor economic performance and too much credit for prosperity. A better understanding of the sources of economic growth might make public perceptions more accurate. In the July 16 Reuters article " Buffett warns Obama U.S. economy only halfway back ," Alister Bull summarizes Buffett's claim that the economic recovery will take time, regardless of the country's leadership. WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama heard a sobering message from Warren Buffett when he asked for the investment guru's views about the economic reco

According to the July 14, 2010 article " New WH report claims more jobs from stimulus bill ," the Obama administration claims the federal government stimulus spending program prevented unemployment in the U.S. from being worse than it was. Claims such as this are impossible to prove (or disprove), however. The report is an attempt to deflect blame from the President for the condition of the economy and to inform the public that the Obama administration has been pursuing the standard remedies for fighting economic recession: expansionary fiscal policy (in the forms of increased government spending and tax cuts) and expansionary monetary policy (in the form of low interest rates). According to the article: WASHINGTON – A new White House report says last year's $862 billion stimulus law has now "saved or created" between 2.5 million and 3.6 million jobs. That's up from 2.2 million to 2.8 million in the last quarterly report from the White House Council of Ec

The irony of this billboard is that it seems to be based in fear and ignorance, yet purports to inform its readers to be mindful of fear and naiveté. Socialism is fundamentally about the public ownership and operation of the means of production in an economy. In the July 13, 2010 article " Billboard linking Obama, Hitler draws complaints ," Associated Press writer Luke Meredith explains how the sign caused controversy, even within the tea party movement. DES MOINES, Iowa – A billboard created by an Iowa tea party group that compares President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin is drawing sharp criticism — even from fellow tea party activists who have condemned it as offensive and a waste of money. The North Iowa Tea Party began displaying the billboard in downtown Mason City last week. The sign shows large photographs of Obama, Nazi leader Hitler and communist leader Lenin beneath the labels "Democrat Socialism," "National Socialism," and &

The July 13, 2010 Bankrate.com article " Good Debt vs. Bad Debt " provides some guidelines on when it is wise and unwise to borrrow money: Debt is a concept as intricately intertwined with America these days as baseball, Mom and apple pie. The amount of personal debt in this country is ever-increasing, and a large part of the reason is that credit has never been easier to get. Whereas credit card issuers previously looked for customers who could repay, today card issuers relish the chance to reel in those who'll continuously charge beyond their means at 18 percent or 20 percent. But debt is a complex concept. Not all of it is good -- a fact a surprising number of Americans fail to realize until they're in the hole -- and yet not all of it is bad. When used intelligently, debt can be of tremendous assistance in building wealth. One of the secrets, therefore, to being smart with your money is to differentiate between good debt and bad debt. While the differences often s

Debt commission leaders paint gloomy picture By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer Glen Johnson, Associated Press Writer Sun Jul 11, 9:30 pm ET BOSTON – The heads of President Barack Obama's national debt commission painted a gloomy picture Sunday as the United States struggles to get its spending under control. Republican Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles told a meeting of the National Governors Association that everything needs to be considered — including curtailing popular tax breaks, such as the home mortgage deduction, and instituting a financial trigger mechanism for gaining Medicare coverage. The nation's total federal debt next year is expected to exceed $14 trillion — about $47,000 for every U.S. resident. "This debt is like a cancer," Bowles said in a sober presentation nonetheless lightened by humorous asides between him and Simpson. "It is truly going to destroy the country from within." Simpson said the entirety of the nation's cu

In the July 5, 2010 BBC News article " African-American women struggle to overcome wealth gap ," Paul Adams highlights some of the difficulties associated with poverty.

In the July 2, 2010 CNNMoney article " 7.9 million jobs lost, many forever ," Chris Isidore reports that many of the jobs lost recently will not return.

In the July 2, 2010 article " Job market not growing fast enough for big rebound ," Associated Press economics writers Jeannine Aversa and Christopher S. Rugaber report: WASHINGTON – A second straight month of lackluster hiring by American businesses is sapping strength from the economic rebound. The jobless rate fell to 9.5 percent in June, still far too high to signal a healthy economy. It came in slightly lower than the month before only because more than a half-million people gave up looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed. The private sector added just 83,000 jobs for the month. Looked at from that angle or almost any other, from a teetering housing market to falling factory orders, the recovery is limping along as it enters the year's second half. And that is when the benefits of most of the government's stimulus spending will begin to wear off. The fate of the economy will hinge on whether it can stand on its own. President Barack Obama acknow

8 Problems That Could Trigger a Double-Dip Recession

In the July 1, 2010 article " So what exactly is a 'double-dip' recession? ," Associated Press economics writer Jeannine Aversa explains the answer: WASHINGTON (AP) -- Concerns are rising that the economy is at risk of slipping into a "double-dip" recession. High unemployment, Europe's debt crisis, a slowdown in China, a teetering housing market and sinking stock prices are all weighing on a fragile U.S. recovery. So what exactly is a double-dip recession? Robert Hall has an idea of what one looks like but no precise definition. He's chairman of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a group of academic economists that officially declares the starts and ends of recessions. In Hall's view, a double dip is akin to a continuous recession that's punctuated by a period of growth, then followed by a further decline in the economy. The NBER doesn't define a double dip any more specifically than that, says Hall, an economics professor at Stanf

In the July 1, 2010 LiveScience article " U.S. Is Richest Nation, But Not Happiest ," Jeanna Bryner reports on a study that questions the relationships between money and happiness: The United States may be the richest nation on Earth, a new study indicates, but it's not the happiest. The new analysis of Gallup World Poll data suggests, however, that trying to compare the happiness of one nation to another is not straightforward. Rather, there are two major categories of happiness : overall life satisfaction; and more moment-to-moment enjoyment of life. And while overall satisfaction of life is strongly tied to income, meaning richer nations and individuals have more of this overall bliss, how much one enjoys life (by measures such as laughing and smiling) depends more on social and psychological needs being met. These include having social support and using one's abilities, as opposed to sitting at a mind-numbing job. The United States, which had the highest gross d