Amid Market Viral and Spiral

Update 417: Amid Market Viral and Spiral,A Survey of Business and Consumer Debt In the midst of the coronavirus panic, the Dow plummeted 1,191 points yesterday — the biggest single-day point drop in history. This past week, the S&P 500 dropped 12 percent, making this a full-blown market correction from nowhere in just six trading …

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Millennial Economic Challenge

Update 416 —Millennial Economic Challenge:Agenda to Redress Generational Imbalance  Never in the nation’s history have circumstances and public policy combined to produce an entire generation economically disadvantaged compared to — if not by — its immediate forebears. Those responsible did not intend this consequence, and many in fact have remorse and resolve.  From spending priorities …

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Something Completely Different — Bloomberg on Stage

Update 415: Something Completely Different:Bloomberg on Stage, Foil or Proxy for Trump? On the eve of the Nevada caucuses, the Democratic presidential process remains fluid, and it may be more so come Sunday, with Iowa and New Hampshire having less predictive value than usual for several reasons.  One of those reasons is the entry in …

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The Price of Poverty

Update 414: The Price of Poverty Before we go to Las Vegas, the site of tonight’s Democratic presidential debate, let’s have a look at what happens when wages are lost to layoffs or when luck turns and a car wreck or a diagnosis pushes a family over the economic edge. How many Americans are living …

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2020 Presidential Candidate Series — Mayor Bloomberg

Update 412 — 2020 Pres. Candidate Series;Fmr. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg is making what could be a billion dollar bet — on himself or, in the alternative, against Donald Trump.   Should Mayor Bloomberg’s own bid for the Democratic presidential nomination not prevail, Democrats could reap a munificent consolation prize. Bloomberg has …

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The Aftermath of Iowa

Update 411 — The Aftermath of Iowa:Results to Debate ahead of New Hampshire  Mayor Pete Buttigieg raised eyebrows, taking the lead in Iowa Democratic presidential caucuses thus far. Despite the data debacle bedeviling the process, the caucus is providing meaningful information on what participants care about.  Domestic economic policy weighed heavily on Iowa voters’ minds. …

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Trump’s Trillion Dollar Legacy

Update 410 — Trump’s Trillion Dollar Legacy 10-Year Cost in Interest Expense: $5.9 Trillion Whether many Americans will feel indebted to Donald Trump for his policies is TBD. Per this week’s CBO report on the nation’s fiscal future, though, all Americans will be indebted by him.  A look at the fiscal legacy of the Trump administration, …

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Domestic Economic Priorities

Update 409 — Domestic Economic Priorities:Modernizing Assistance for U.S. Households Domestic economic policy in the United States has failed to keep pace with the changing economy, the needs of workers, consumers and investors, and the reality of international competition. When political circumstances finally allow, what area of domestic economic policy is in most dire need …

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Beware the Aggregate Stat

Update 408 — Beware the Aggregate Stat:How Wage Gains Make Inequality Look Good The nation’s ten-year-plus economic recovery from the financial crisis of 2008 barely lifted wage gains above inflation much of that time. Workers treaded water until the last couple of years when gains were finally recorded. This made news.  Of course, over the …

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