economic issues

It appears that GOP will make gains, both in Federal and State elections. So, you'll have lot of states making dramatic spending cuts and sending a million public workers to the unemployment rolls, while the Federal government will be unwilling to do anything to counter that. I see a very large...

Was reading about a suggestion from Duncan Smith regarding doing something about "unemployment blackspots" (see: Duncan Smith's "incentive for the unemployed to move" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/7856349/Coalition-to-tell-unemployed-to-get-on-your-bike.html )...

Talks going around in the media. We need a thread on it. Opinions? For starters, here is Krugman: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/dining-room-tables-and-minimum-wages/ Technically this would be Econ forum, but what the heck; the disagreements are just political anyways.

An AP story via FoxNews reports management at a French Caterpillar plant was "detained" by angry employees because of reports the machinery giant would be laying off 20,000 employees worldwide due to the economic slowdown. The article states a similar event had previously occurred at a Sony...

Taxpayers to Buy Off Sugar Racketeers A Not-So-Sweet Environmental Victory There is currently a proposal for the state of Florida to buy out U.S. Sugar Corp. for $1.7 billion, a premium over its fair market value, so that that part of the Everglades given over to sugar cane production can be...

As I have been told by many a libertarian who has taken Economics 101, and many a pundit, the minimum wage hurts those it tries to help because of the simple Law of Supply and Demand (Or something like that). Well, to see if they are correct, I got my hands on a textbook ingeniously entitled...

Trade protectionists often raise the specter of sweatshops and try to make you feel guilty for buying Nikes or other products made in poor countries. I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t feel the least bit guilty about it. Buying products made in developing countries helps poor people...

Saipan, Marianas Islands, USA Territory If you recall, this is where Chinese and other poor women are being lured with the promise of a job in the US. Instead the women end up in sweat shops under the worst of conditions. All the while the sweatshop owners rake in the millions using the slave...

Won't this merely cause everyone else to want more money so that they can keep ahead of minimum wage earners wages by the same percentage? And won't this then defeat the purpose of the wage hike? And won't this just merely cause everything we buy to require more cash? If someone like me...

Gee, it's just amazing how the predictions of economics just keep coming true, despite the claims of many on this board to the contrary. Like, the claim that the Minimum Wage doesn't destroy the jobs of the very people it's purporting to guarantee higher wages for. New Study Reveals Minimum...

There is a lot of myth in economics, just as there is myth in much of psychology. And I hope that we can discuss the myths both for and against the minimum wage. I personally support the minimum wage but I am open to hearing any ideas. The first myth that I have heard goes like this: 1...

Since there isn't a Business section here this will have to settle here. In the last couple of years we have heard a lot about how Wal Mart is destroying America. (Mostly from the liberal media, which is pretty much everybody except Fox, WSJ, W. Post to name a few) But what is so bad with...

Suppose YOU were in charge. Could you do it? Please don't get too cutesy and say stuff like we should abolish the entire government. (You know this ain't going to ever happen) Try to be realistic in what could actually happen. And could you improve on the unemployment rate faster? What woud...