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How Homeownership Has Changed in America And Why You Shouldn't Give Up on Buying by Sara Robinson, alternet.org | May 24, 2012
In one short decade, home ownership has gone from being the Holy Grail of middle-class financial achievement -- the biggest and most lucrative investment most of us would ever make, and the one most reliably likely to pay off -- to a very risky financial ball-and-chain that more and more of us are going way out of our way to avoid. For the last few years, renting has seemed prudent and safe -- even for those lucky enough to have the cash for a down payment and a stable enough income to buy. But as the bubble has deflated, and the prices are getting closer to what they would have been in a less exuberant economy, a few hardy souls are starting to venture back in. What's different now, though, is that there are signs that the deep expectations and motivations of American homebuyers are changing. read more »Obama has to Explain Why Fairness is Essential to Growth (and Why Some Democrats Have to Stop Believing Otherwise) by Robert B. Reich, robertreich.org | May 24, 2012
Fairness isn’t inconsistent with growth; it’s essential to it. The only way the economy can grow and create more jobs is if prosperity is more widely shared. The key reason why the recovery is so anemic is so much income and wealth are now concentrated at the top is America’s the vast middle class no longer has the purchasing power necessary to boost the economy. Wall Street is part of the problem because it’s responsible for so much of the concentration of income and wealth at the very top – and for much of the distress still felt in the rest of the economy after the Street nearly melted down in 2008. Translated into presidential politics, all this means the President should be talking about fairness and growth and jobs, and explaining why we can’t have the latter without the former. read more »Billion Dollar Bait & Switch: States Divert Foreclosure Deal Funds by Paul Kiel and Cora Currier, propublica.org | May 22, 2012
States have diverted $974 million from this year’s landmark mortgage settlement to pay down budget deficits or fund programs unrelated to the foreclosure crisis, according to a ProPublica analysis. That’s nearly forty percent of the $2.5 billion in penalties paid to the states under the agreement. The settlement, between five of the country’s biggest banks and an alliance of almost all states and the federal government, resolved allegations that the banks deceived homeowners and broke laws when pursuing foreclosure. One part of the settlement is the cash coming to states; the deal urged states to use that money on programs related to the crisis, but it didn’t require them to. read more »American Manufacturers Ask President To Address Currency In Trade Agreements by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | May 22, 2012
A number of groups representing American manufacturing companies and industries have asked the Obama administration for clear language that bans currency manipulation to be included in any new trade bills. read more »Will Conservatives Support American Companies ... or Chinese? by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | May 18, 2012
Which is better for an economy: millions of future jobs and trillions of future dollars, or a few people making a quick buck today by selling out their country? read more »The Return of the Man From Bain by Terrance Heath, OurFuture.org | May 14, 2012
The Human Disaster of Unemployment by Dean Baker and Kevin Hassett, cepr.net | May 14, 2012
The American economy is experiencing a crisis in long-term unemployment that has enormous human and economic costs. In 2007, before the Great Recession, people who were looking for work for more than six months — the definition of long-term unemployment — accounted for just 0.8 percent of the labor force. The recession has radically changed this picture. In 2010, the long-term unemployed accounted for 4.2 percent of the work force. That figure would be 50 percent higher if we added the people who gave up looking for work. Long-term unemployment is experienced disproportionately by the young, the old, the less educated, and African-American and Latino workers. The result is nothing short of a national emergency. Millions of workers have been disconnected from the work force, and possibly even from society. If they are not reconnected, the costs to them and to society will be grim. read more »The Trade Deficit Keeps Draining Money From Our Economy by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | May 11, 2012
Another month and another terrible trade deficit report. Why is it that DC elites who profess to care so much about deficits say so little about our worst deficit? The trade deficit drains money from our economy, lowers our wages and forces us into an ever-lower standard of living. read more »If Governments Weren't Firing People by Michael Tomasky, thedailybeast.com | May 10, 2012
One of my pet issues, as you may recall, is the things the Republicans are doing to wreck the economy intentionally, and one of the main things they're doing, in my view, is enforcing these massive budget cuts to states and localities that in turn force large layoffs. I wrote a column about this last week, but the computer ate it. But now comes fresh information that I didn't have last week that is more dramatic than even I expected. The Wall Street Journal has done some cyphering and arrived at what the unemployment rate would be if there weren't such huge public-sector layoffs. read more »Romney says Obama "Takes His Marching Orders" From Unions by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | May 10, 2012
Is this guy a Presidential candidate from a major party, or a fringe nut? He sounds like Rush Limbaugh. HuffPo: Mitt Romney: Obama 'Takes Marching Orders From Union Bosses', read more »
The Latest
The sweatshop price of Apple’s huge success, Marketwatch | February 3, 2012
Summary:
The beautiful iPad, a technical and financial success story in the modern age. If you have bought one you probably love it, its that good.The beautiful iPad, a technical and financial success story in the modern age. If you have bought one you probably love it, its that good. more »TARP expected to cost U.S. only $25 billion, CBO says, The Washington Post | November 30, 2010
The Troubled Assets Relief Program, which was widely reviled as a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street titans, is now expected to cost the federal government a mere $25 billion - the equivalent of less than six months of emergency jobless benefits. more »
If GOP wins, Expect More Obstruction, The Washington Post | October 19, 2010
Article Publication Date:10/19/2010I'm cautious about the conventional wisdom that the Democratic Party is about to get flattened by a Republican steamroller. Pollsters are less certain than they'd like you to believe about who's a "likely voter" and who isn't. more »
Banks Restart Foreclosures, The Wall Street Journal | October 19, 2010
Article Publication Date:10/19/2010Bank of America Corp. reopened more than 100,000 foreclosure actions, declaring that it had found no significant problems in its procedures for seizing homes. GMAC Mortgage, a lender and loan servicer, said that it also is pushing ahead with an unspecified number of foreclosures that came under intense pressure.
Geithner Weak Dollar Seen as U.S. Recovery Route Versus BRICs, bloomberg.com | October 19, 2010
Article Publication Date:10/19/2010The dollar has dropped more than 7 percent since Aug. 27, when Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled the Federal Reserve is prepared to ease monetary policy. Where once such a decline may have been met with resistance from the U.S., Geithner may now be tolerating it as a way of bolstering the recovery.
Gridlock Sam: The Tea Party’s Bridge to Beyond Nowhere, pbs.org | October 19, 2010
Article Publication Date:10/18/2010The Tea Party has captured the imagination and spirit of many Americans and may very well turn that into a powerful voting bloc come November. But, that bloc may not have a leg or girder to stand on as our nation’s infrastructure continues to crumble. more »
Administration Assures Pelosi on Restoration of Renewables Aid, thehill.com | August 11, 2010
The Obama administration has “assured” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that $3.5 billion in renewable energy loan guarantees diverted for other policy priorities will be restored this year. more »
S. Carolina Takes Stimulus Money, The New York Times | August 11, 2010
State Aid Bill Breezes Into Law, dyn.politico.com | August 11, 2010
Included is $10 billion to preserve teaching jobs in the new school year, and $16.1 billion to help states cover their Medicaid payments for the first six months of 2011. more »
$26-Billion Aid Package for States Becomes Law, Los Angeles Times | August 11, 2010
