Robert Oak's blog

Must Read Posts for August 5, 2010

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On The Economic Populist you might have noticed the right column. We try to list other sites and blogs who have exceptional insight and writing on what is happening in the U.S. economy.

Sometimes though, one cannot say it better but miss those who did.

Must Read Post #1

An Aerospace Engineer states the obvious, the best job training is a job:

The problem was not the investment Cortney's family made in her education. The problem is our dangerously low level of job creation.

What happened to the jobs Cortney was counting on?

Investment creates jobs. GE invests billions in China. Microsoft invests billions in India. Boeing invests billions in Russia. General Motors builds more cars in China than in America. We are making millions of new jobs -- just not in America.

It is no surprise that our economy is hollowing out. Look at the huge global oversupply of cheap labor, combined with mobility of capital, rapid transfer of technology out of the country, and trade policies that encourage investment offshore.

Must Read Posts for July 31, 2010

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On The Economic Populist you might have noticed the right column. We try to list other sites and blogs who have exceptional insight and writing on what is happening in the U.S. economy.

Sometimes though, one cannot say it better but miss those who did.

Must Read Post #1

Ethics is coming to D.C. Maxine Waters seemingly got some TARP money for a bank her husband and earlier herself, had stock in. Charlie Rangel didn't pay his taxes, while writing legislation to modify the U.S. tax code.

Friday Movie Night - Economic Impacts of Immigration

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hot buttered popcorn It's Friday Night! Party Time!   Time to relax, put your feet up on the couch, lay back, and watch some detailed videos on economic policy!

 

The rhetoric on immigration is coming out in full force, most of it divorced from labor economics realities. Below are two lectures by George Borjas, considered the top Labor Economist in the U.S.

 

Costs of Immigration

 

Hung Over on Debt

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American business appears to be hung over on a massive debt fest from before the financial crisis. Debt Overhang to be more specific. It's so bad, it's causing real investment which in turn generates real jobs for the real economy which generates real growth... to be muted. One problem, the declining values of assets, specifically commercial real estate.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland researcher Filippo Occhino delves deep, complete with crayons, on how debt overhang is negatively impacting business investment.

The below video explains debt overhang in simple terms, real simple, must watch simple.

 

 

Turning to adult versions of crayons, here is Occhino's graph of assets to business debt. Notice the asset to debt ratio historic high. (To read las matemáticas version of the research, pdf here).

 

Sunday Morning Comics - Sing Along Edition

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Brought to you by government policies - People are so broke they aren't making funny videos anymore.
Cup O' Joe

 

Good Morning! Rise and Shine! Get that Cup O' Joe...
break out the O.J....hang out with the pooch...time to check out the Funnies!

 

Goldman Sachs Resort and Casino:

Goldman Sachs is proud to announce a consumer-enriching expansion from the hallowed halls of Wall Street to the glittering neon of Las Vegas. In addition to continuing our world-class wealth-friendly Private Wealth Management and Personal Banking services; our internationally-recognized client-focused Global Investment Research services; our award-winning, growth-facilitating Debt Financing teams, we are excited to unveil plans for the globally diversified, entertainment-enhanced, Goldman Sachs Lounge & Casino, perfect for both the high roller, and the high-net-worth individual, financial institution, corporation and/or government.

Apple's Revolutionary New Product

 

Greedy Executive Pay Gets a Scolding and Not Much Else

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Where have we seen this before? The White House has a lot of talk. Then a pay czar is appointed. After some period, a damning report is issued. Then we have the public scolding, while legislation, policy and amendments are ignored and defeated, often by the very same administration.

Any action on the latest outrage du jour? Nah.

Such is the the Obama administration's pay czar's report. To be fair, the Pay Czar was given no power to actually get the ill gotten gains back. He also was limited to institutions who received TARP funds, not the real bail out going on at the Federal Reserve.

The Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation, Kenneth R. Feinberg, a.k.a. Pay Czar, was chartered to monitor executive compensation of bailed out financial firms. This covered 419 banks who received TARP funds. 17 of those banks handed out ill-advised executive compensation tallying $1.6 billion dollars. $1.6 billion dollars equals 26,666 $60,000 a year salaries. In other words, to feed the executive pig, 26,666 people went without a job.

Friday Movie Night - Big Sugar

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hot buttered popcorn It's Friday Night! Party Time!   Time to relax, put your feet up on the couch, lay back, and watch some detailed videos on economic policy!

 

First up is the short film, The Cost of a Coke, which shows murders and mayhem to union bust abroad.

 

The Cost of a Coke

 

Next is the CBC documentary, Big Sugar.

Big Sugar explores the dark history and modern power of the world's reigning sugar cartels. Using dramatic reenactments, it reveals how sugar was at the heart of slavery in the West Indies in the 18th century, while showing how present-day consumers are slaves to a sugar-based diet. Going undercover, Big Sugar witnesses the appalling working conditions on plantations in the Dominican Republic, where Haitian cane cutters live like slaves. Workers who live on Central Romano, a Fanjul-owned plantation, go hungry while working 12-hour days to earn $2

 

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