Articles tagged as

Economics

Notable Quote – Coyote Blogger

I understand that this is exactly what the Left is shooting for – an environment where the competent have no advantage over the incompetent.  If employers are resorting to FICO scores, it just demonstrates how all the other reasonable avenues of obtaining information have been closed to them. The only saving grace in this country … Read more

A.D.D.D (Revisited)

Sing...Sing a song....Sing out loud....
 
[[Given the recent noise from progressives about unemployment extensions (not just the payments but the joblessness) I thought I’d revisit a post I wrote back in March, the last time we went through this—because to be honest, it still applies.]]
 
 
A.D.D.D
 
There’s this liberal talking point, it’s spin actually, that anyone who does not disown Jim Bunning is an obstructionist.  It is founded on the premise that the Senator was against extending unemployment benefits.  The meme therefore goes; if you do not scold Jim Bunning you hate people who are unemployed and should burn in hell.

This is a natural extension of all the other mutually exclusive applications of association that elitist, finger-wagging, dimwitted, left wing spin doctors and their blindfolded parrot-like familiars shout from the rooftops of foreclosed homes.  It’s the same one that makes all white, heterosexual Christian, men, racist -globalist- misogynistic robber barons, and lets liberals try to escape the hypocrisy of ignoring the behavior of violent liberal bigots and hate mongers while whining about right wing complicity with all the winsome air of finger nails following Obama’s declining popularity down to the bottom of the chalkboard.

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Carol-(S)Care

 

Carol-Care Meets RealityIndependent voices might have some expectation of doing independent things.  Things like reading legislation or accessing resources outside the ones the people desperately selling a bill want you to stick to.  That kind of open mindedness would go a long way to demonstrating integrity and responsibility.  Or you could be Carol Shea Porter. 

Carol sold Health Care reform as instructed.  She shifted gears as instructed, spun when asked, and followed the talking points all the way to the bitter end like a clumsy dancer following on the fly choreography.

But now that the reality of what she has done is upon us, it sure would have been nice to have an independent voice instead Carol Shea-Porter.

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From Russia with love?

From the English language version of the Russian newspaper, Pravda, of all places…pick your favorite! (I admit…I’m a fan of #48 and the SWAT teams who protect us all.)

Carol Is Still Batting .980

Carol “98%” Shea Porter surprised several people when she offered to co-sponsor HR 1207, the Audit the Fed Resolution.  The bill, sponsored by Republican Ron Paul would require an audit of the not so independent “independent” central bank. 

The hobgoblins who run the Fed were not interested in an audit for obvious reasons.  As the manipulators of monetary policy they were and are responsible for trying to manage the boom bust cycle or more appropriately (and more likely) causing it. But they were still part of the government, so for Carol to step up and make even a token gesture was unexpected. 

Or was it? 

 

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The End Of The Road

Hat in hand, governor Lynch is looking for the feds to bail him out of the accumulated disaster of his administration. On the matter of extending federal unemployment benefits (from this morning’s Union Leader) the governor was emphatic.

Failure to do so (to extend federal benefits) will jeopardize the economic progress we’ve been making, Lynch said, warning that roughly 20,000 people in the state could run out of benefits in the next four months. Next week alone, 938 people will lose their benefits, he said.

Progress?

You have so mismanaged your stewardship of the state budget, been so beholden to years of irresponsible legislative spending and grossly inaccurate revenue projections, that we are incapable of finding even a few million dollars anywhere in our own state of New Hampshire to resolve any problem without further flights of legislative fancy or begging an even more bankrupt federal government for another handout.

You put us here John Lynch. You created this monster.

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Really? Unexpected? GDP revised downward – again

In its final estimate on the first quarter on Friday, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product expanded at a 2.7 percent annual rate instead of the 3 percent pace it reported last month. (H/T: Big Government) So much for the cheery pronouncements of "things are getting better!  Happy faces all around!" With all of … Read more

Data Point – It was said that Obama could beat Bush…

NewsAlert: According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. shed 2.3 million jobs since February 2009, Obama’s first full month in office. Going back to World War II, that is by far the worst record for any president in his first 17 months, outpacing the job destruction experienced in the early … Read more

Killing Prosperity

The total incompetence in Washington-unless of course they are in fact a super villain like Moriarty hell bent on the economic destruction of the country–is fully on display.  We have people taking profits in 2010 without hiring, giving the impression of a recovery when in fact they are simply storing their nuts for the long … Read more

Why The Stimulus Had To Fail

It’s simple economics.  Government money comes from taxpayers.  The more government spends the more it relies on taxpayers to pay for its spending.  The less money taxpayers have the smaller the economy will be the fewer jobs there are, which means less income, less taxes, more debt.  The stimulus, the huge budget bills, the massive … Read more

One Hell Of A Wild Ride

There is always speculation about the state of the economy and plenty of people–mostly middle left–have looked at the goat entrails and pronounced a recovery underway if for no other reason than that they want to.   More than a few folks disagree, and it is fair to say that to some small degree the  opinion is … Read more

Seth Marshall Discovers Property Taxes

  Hat tip out of the gate to fellow NHI front pager Richard Olsen Jr. for this fine bit or wordsmithing on Nashua Rep Seth Marshall’s brief letter to the Nashua Telegraph about a pamphlet on the burden of property taxes.  Mr. Marshall (it appears) feels blessed as if the contents of this pamphlet revealed the answer … Read more

Washington’s New Financial’s Fig Leaf

A well functioning financial system is essential to the lives of customers, investors and businesses alike. We have just seen the dangers of a system that is broken and dysfunctional. A key part of that system is the regulatory framework which is supposed to oversee the smooth functioning of the financial markets. Clearly that has … Read more

Rumors Of A Recovery…

As rumors of the recovery continue, consider this.  The same willing media that over emphaszied the failing economy to get democrats elected is the same willing media that is selling a recovery to protect them now that they are in office. One possible upside.  People are less trusting of the media, in a downward arc … Read more

Kimball: Lynch must end “business as usual” here in NH

  Jack Kimball (GG file photo) From the Kimball Gubernatotorial Exploratory Committee: CONCORD, N.H.—The AP reported a $12 million shortfall for New Hampshire revenues in October. This is further proof that, while national leaders and economists would have us believe the worst is behind us, the reality for New Hampshire’s citizens is that the worst … Read more

A Little Good News, Some Mixed News But Even More Bad News in Concord

Guest Post by State Senator Jeb Bradley 

The recent release of New Hampshire’s revenue receipts simultaneously offers glimmers of hope while raising even more concerns about the State Budget enacted in June.

First the good news: The “Rainy Day Fund” which is the State’s hedge against economic downturns ended the fiscal year with $56 million more of a cushion than anticipated. Governor Lynch froze new hiring, deferred equipment purchases, and curtailed out of state travel to produce these savings. 

Despite the fact that Governor Lynch and Democratic Legislators approved an overall spending increase in 2007 of 11.17% and in 2009 of 10.48%, the Governor’s executive orders curbed the worst excesses of the Legislature’s spending blitz that has increased expenditures from $9.36 billion to $11.5 billion during that time.

This $56 million in the Rainy Day Fund will be a critical one-time buffer if the State loses its NH Supreme Court appeal of the JUA (Joint Underwriting Association) lawsuit. This lawsuit comes from a budget provision attempting to simply “take” $110 million from a fund designed to keep a lid on physician’s medical liability insurance costs. The State’s attempted money grab has already been ruled in violation of both the State and Federal Constitutions by the Superior Court.

The mixed news is that business tax revenues were only 4% lower than expectations. While it is preposterous to call any shortfall good news, in comparison to last year’s business tax receipts that were off by 25%, being 4% below expectations is a slim glimmer of hope. However, it’s also a warning that if the trend continues the State will face a nasty budget deficit.

Despite the good and the mixed news, NH is far from out of the budget woe woods as the bad news dwarfs the good. Other revenue sources are badly underperforming, despite many taxes being increased in the budget. Receipts from the rooms and meals tax, communication tax, and real estate tax are all down by about 9%. The interest and dividend tax is down a whopping 25%. Even tobacco taxes are down slightly.  In the three months since the budget was enacted revenues are down a total of $26 million or 6.4%. Should this trend continue the deficit will only grow.

Now that the state employees union has rejected the proposed contract that would have implemented 19 furlough days, Governor Lynch must begin a series of layoffs to save a mandated $25 million. Whether he will run into roadblocks if the union files a grievance for each position eliminated or political roadblocks from his allies in the Legislature – these savings may be questionable. 

So with all these budget monkey wrenches, it is certainly understandable that its authors are quick to claim that the national economy is to blame and that revenues are likely to rebound when the economy turns around. But that is a cavalier attitude based on wishful thinking rather than rational evidence.

 

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With “recoveries” like this, who needs [more] “stimulus?”

Stimulating Misery
Guest Post by Robert Romano

The White House is prepared to unleash another so-called “stimulus” upon the U.S. economy, according to Yahoo! News. Only, they do not want to admit it’s a “stimulus”. According to White House spokeswoman, Jennifer Psaki, "The fact is that this is a word game.”

It could add up to over $100 billion in tax funds when all is said and done. Which may help explain why the White House dare not use the “s” word.

First off, this would be the third such so-called “stimulus.” The first occurred in 2008 under President George Bush totaling some $152 billion. The second occurred earlier this year, costing the taxpayers $787 billion. And that’s without even calculating interest that will be owed by future generations for what amounts to record-level deficit-spending, borrowing and printing cash designed to prevent the economy from sliding—but actually further pushing it—into the Abyss.

Put together with $300 billion for foreclosure “prevention” in 2008, the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, $200 billion to nationalize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, over $300 billion in FDIC liquidity guarantees, the Federal Reserve’s $300 billion committed to purchase treasuries, and other initiatives, the federal government has kicked out more than $4 trillion to “rescue” the economy. And it has pledged as much as $12.8 trillion as “necessary.”

That’s over 3.58 times what the federal government collected in individual income taxes in 2007, some $1.115 trillion. Put another way, the government could grant a three-year moratorium on income taxes, and it would still not equal the amount of money that the government has put on the table in its failed attempt since 2007 to “stimulate” the economy.

In addition, the Federal Reserve has had the money spigots on high, more than doubling the money supply since last year. And it has left the federal funds rate near zero.

But to no avail. The stark fact is, the real reason the White House would rather not call its new plans “stimulus” is because, to date, the previous efforts have not achieved their stated aims. And the American people full well know it. The economy is still in recession. In fact, the Gross Domestic Product has shrunk for the past four economic quarters at about 2.7 percent.

All the while, the Administration has insisted the American economy is in “recovery.”

 

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Report: Democrat Health Plan to Cost NH Businesses Hundreds of Millions

  STEWARD STUDY: HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL PLANS INCLUDE HIDDEN COSTS FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE’S BUSINESS COMMUNITY Economists’ Report Tells Granite State Businesses to Brace for Hundreds of Millions in New Taxes CONCORD, NH – New Hampshire businesses would have to pay as much as $229 million to comply with Democrat plans to overhaul America’s health care … Read more

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