Macroeconomics? In America, that means Study the Rich

In 1994, as we created economic models in grad school, this fact was explained to me (that "we U.S. economists" really only need to be concerned with the spending patterns of the rich, since that spending accounts for most of the US economy).

us-economy-is-increasingly-tied-to-the-rich: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

Krugman: Crumbling Infrastructure

Remember that bridge in Minnesota....

Paul Krugman at NYT Op-Ed page: America Goes Dark
"With infrastructure and education crumbling, we’re on the unlit, unpaved road to nowhere."

Companies Not Restoring 401(k)s

Daniel Gross reports on the sweet benevolence of business:

The 401(k) Travesty

"Recent government data suggest an economy in confusion. Growth and consumption are slowing, but savings are rising, up to 6.4 percent of personal income. The savings rate, in fact, has been climbing for three years, as Americans have been hoarding cash to protect themselves against the struggling economy....."

Hugely profitable companies that won't restore the 401(k) match they ditched in 2008.

EconoSpeak: If anyone watched my video tonight, I would appreciate your comments

Michael Perelman says: EconoSpeak: If anyone watched my video tonight, I would appreciate your comments

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/unsettling-economics

The Superlatives Can Now Be Uttered, and Blame on the Boomers

A new study highlights a devastating trend of increasing economic insecurity among American families.

    Thanks a lot, previous generations. You really squandered things for us.    

"The pain coursing through American families is all too real and no one seems to know what to do about it. A rigorous new analysis for the Rockefeller Foundation shows that Americans are more economically insecure now than they have been in a quarter of a century, and the trend lines suggest that things will only get worse."
continued....

Rockefeller Foundation Study - Long-Term Economic Pain for American Families

Judge Bolton's ruling on SB1070 Full-text

The takeaway? The law was written so poorly as to suggest its authors were as unfamiliar with writing a legal statute as a slug is to riding a bicycle.

You gotta love this line: "In its Motion, the United States provided evidence that Arizona police officers have no familiarity with assessing whether a public offense would make an alien removable from the United States."

Read the ruling here: SB1070 Ruling

Shouldn't High Unemployment = Less Work To Do?

Productivity, a better future....Dave Johnson writes:

Seeing the Forest: Shouldn't High Unemployment = Less Work To Do?

Source: www.seeingtheforest.com

"Simple question: have we reached a point where machines and computers leave us with less work to do? If so it can mean a lot of people are left without jobs and incomes, losing their homes and health, while the rest have our wages dragged ever downward. Or we can make some changes in who gets what for what, and every one of us ends up better off."  Continued..