Category: Economy

The election certainly surprised many with Democrats retaining control of the Senate, while Republicans squeaked over the line to take control of the House with a small majority. Per my earlier update below, this does change the calculus of what may happen in the next two years as both parties…

This article looks at the current and past debt ceiling debacles and potential impacts to everyday Americans Basically if the debt ceiling (currently $31.4 trillion) is not raised, the government would not be able to borrow more money to pay its bills, which could lead to a default on its…

[October Pre Election Update] Millions of Americans are desperately asking, "when will the next stimulus check payment arrive?" However due to the ongoing Congressional stalemate around compromising on a comprehensive stimulus package, the payment of another stimulus check in 2020 continues to be delayed. There have however been some promising…

Great graphic from the CBPP on maximum unemployment insurance benefit duration (in weeks) by state. Unemployment insurance (UI) benefits are state administered and generally most workers are eligible for UI benefits for between 13 to 26 weeks. But with the enhanced unemployment benefits now available under the CARES act, specifically…

I wrote this article (see update below) over 10 years ago on the best jobs for the next decade. It was based on the US BLS data and ended up being pretty accurate. So with the current unemployment situation I thought I would refresh this article based on what is…

What a whirlwind the United States Presidential Election was! It sparked record interest in the Presidential Debates and polls predicted the highest turnout rate of voters in the history of our Presidential Elections.   Trump was the third Presidential candidate in US history to win the election after losing the…

According to an analysis conducted by two former census bureau officials median income for the average American is still around 6 percent lower (after adjusting for inflation) than when the recession began. So if you feel poorer today than you did a few years ago you are not alone. The…

The good news is that in many of the states where the minimum wage is higher than the prevailing federal rate - generally higher cost of living areas - there is a strong push in 2023 to continue raising the minimum wage as inflation soars. See more in this updated…

[Updated Jan 2013] Congress and the Obama administration have reached an agreement that will avert a significant portion of the fiscal cliff and its associated impacts on your pay check and taxes next year. The passed legislation would increase tax revenue by $620 billion and only cut spending by $15 billion because the planned…

[Updated following fiscal cliff deal] - Unfortunately it looks like the payroll tax credit will not be extended into 2013 under the new deal Congress and the Obama administration have reached. See how this will impact your 2013 take home pay. For the latest on other fiscal cliff impacts and negotiations see this article. The…

The Federal Reserve announced a new round of quantitative easing, known as QE3, to boost economic growth and promote employment. The stock markets and investors reacted very favorably, building on an already strong run over the last two months. The new round of quantitative easing will be executed by the…

In a presidential campaign, you hear lots of rhetoric on the how bad the economy is (Republican viewpoint) or how things are much better than in 2008, when we were at the depths of the recession and had a different president (Democrat viewpoint). On a monthly basis, media outlets publish…

[Update - Fed Undertakes QE3] The Federal Reserve has confirmed market expectations of a new round of quantitative easing, known as QE3. The new round of easing will be done by expanding its holdings of long-term securities with open-ended purchases of $40 billion of mortgage debt a month. The focus,…