By: JD from A Penny Saved
You are correct that historically the rates appear higher today than in the past. However there have been times when it has been higher (i.e. 1929-1937) than it is today. The question is whether this...
View ArticleBy: Kirk Kinder
The recent upturn in consumer spending coincided with a downturn in savings. I guess we just don’t want to save as Americans. I still think GDP can’t get to where it was in 2006 and 2007 since a large...
View ArticleBy: John
Maybe if workers actually had an increase in there real income during the 2000′s, they would have been able to increase consumption. On top of that, most now have to fund their own retirements and pay...
View ArticleBy: JLP
John, One could also argue that the US is overregulated and that the environmentaltists have made it so tough to do build new plants in the States that companies are saying, “Forget it,” and building...
View ArticleBy: DennyM
GDP is a highly flawed & arbitrary “statistic” …heavily manipulated by government politicians and bean-counters. One cannot draw any objective ‘conclusions’ about the U.S. economy from GDP. People...
View ArticleBy: Mark
@ JD: Consumer spending did not decline during 1942 – 1945. It declined as a percentage of GDP. But GDP rose so fast that consumer spending did not keep up. Similarly: In 1929 – 1933, GDP fell, and...
View ArticleBy: JLP
Denny, I understand the government’s motivation to manipulate numbers and indicators (the CPI comes to mind). However, what would use to gauge the economy?
View ArticleBy: John
How can you say that unions artifically create higher wages, when in the 1970′s the average CEO made 30 times the average workers wages and today they make 300 times? In today’s Business Week they...
View ArticleBy: Stephan
Great post, and it definitely points out the problem that the American economy could have moving forward. If consumer spending made up 70% of GDP before the recession and spending habits have changed...
View ArticleBy: Lindsay Downs
I think it’s funny that a year and a half later, people are still talking about this exact situation. Quote from a book I’m reading (published the end of 2010): “…It’s likely that Americans will be...
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Should I Pull Money Out of My 401(k) to Pay Off Debt?
This is good but he misses one point. I’m not sure if it’s true of all 401(k) plans but interest on a 401(k) loan usually is paid into the 401(k) account. In other words, the interest is your money....
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What’s in your debt regret bucket?
When is it ok to carry a balance on your credit cards or use consumer loans? Inquiring minds want to know. I don’t carry any credit card balances, but have been keeping a fairly large HELOC (i.e. Home...
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The Unemployment Rate Magically Fell to 7.8%!
From US jobless rate falls to 7.8 pct., 44-month low: The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent last month, dropping below 8 percent for the first time in nearly four years. The rate declined...
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Pardon the Mess…
I’m working on changing up AFM. I felt it was time for a new look. This template actually cost me some money (all the other templates I used in the past were free). Bear with me while I work out the...
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OT: Chavez, Venezuela, and Socialism
From an opinion piece by Bret Stephens in today’s WSJ: Since coming to power 14 years ago, Mr. Chávez has manufactured dependency on a scale unseen elsewhere in the post-Soviet world. He has...
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I Need Your Feedback Regarding Disqus
I installed and exported all 30,000+ AFM comments to Disqus yesterday. This morning I received the following email from a long time AFM reader and fellow blogger: Please re-consider on using Disqus or...
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More Blog Housekeeping. Back to the Old Comment Structure
I’m in the process of uninstalling Disqus. I got the feeling from the majority of AFM readers that they didn’t care for it. So, it’s gone. Next up is to figure out a banner, organize my links, figure...
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How to Get Your Very Own Avatar for AFM Comments
I finally learned how to get my own avatar for AFM comments. It’s pretty simple: Go to Gravatar.com and create and account and upload your avatar. I’m not sure if you have to sign in to something in...
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Chart of the Day: The REAL Unemployement Rate
This is interesting. You can click on the graphic to go to the source. Bottom line: Unemployment is MUCH HIGHER than we’re being told it is.
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