So why are more companies not yet hiring?
U.S. Workers are still filing a large amount of unemployment claims and this is after five weeks of declines in this area.
Where are the culprits and which industries are still hurting? It’s apparent as we have seen over the last year is that a gradual stabilization of the economy does not naturally translate to a increase in the labor market stability.
The gripping effects of the recession have no indications of going into a double dip as economist like to call it, trade gaps are narrowing, imports and exports are up, and yet bottom line profits are not improving.
Where are the jobs going and why even after the influx of billions of dollars in stimulus funds…the unemployment rate still hovers around 9-10%?
Save your resume from destruction and don’t use these terms, please…
Please do yourself a favor and leave these all too common cliche remarks out of your resume according to Yahoo’s Savvy Networker Liz Ryan:
Just another worthless PSA from us to you in this market of joblessness, despair, depression, and utter lost hope. Have a great afternoon!
After downing a pint of Guinness in the airport terminal…you won’t find this Irish humor too funny
It has finally happened. An airline executive has pondered a great way to make extra income, charge passengers to use the plane potty. Irish carrier Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary told the BBC that the idea had come up in discussions on how to generate income. The rational is that most passengers have money on them when they travel, however the decision would not affect those passengers that choose not to use the plane’s toilet.
Whaaaa? You have the option “not” to use the toilet? Check out the article for yourself. Maybe it’s something you declare when being screened at the security gate.
Do you wish to use the toilet? Yes or No
Will you be drinking heavily while flying with us? Yes or No
Did you eat Mexican food in the last hour? Yes or No
Do you have first class tickets or will you be sitting in the blue water suite? Yes or No
Personally, I’d stick my tush out the window but that air pressure issue might come into play.
Debunking a “theoretical” criticism of the Obama Stimulus
January 20, 2009 - President Barack Obama Oath of Office
OK, I am probably diving in over my head on this one. So here goes. The Wall Street Journal online ran an opinion piece (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123292987008414041.html?mod=googlenews_wsj) which cites a study that claims to de-bunk the theory behind a Keynesian-style stimulus plan as a cure (partial or otherwise) for an ailing economy.
The basis of the argument is that when a government spends a dollar, it takes a dollar from some other pocket which washes the impact of the spending.
The claim is that because the government would have to (in this case) sell a bond, the investor that buys the bond would otherwise have invested the money somewhere that would have had much the same effect as the stimulus package would have on the greater economy.
I accept that this may be true in an otherwise healthy economy. But in the current economy it must be kept in mind that the propensity of savers to invest in riskier assets – let alone in job creating businesses is sharply lower than what it would be in an otherwise healthy economy. Thus it is likely that those funds, if not used to purchase the government bond used to finance the stimulus, would have stayed in some ultra secure savings vehicle, a bank account (and we know how eager banks are to lend these days) or some other asset which is ultra secure and would not in fact be deployed somewhere that would get the economy moving.
It is exactly in situations like the one we are in where a Keynesian stimulus package will work. No, it will not cure all the economy’s problems. Will it make them less severe than they otherwise might be. I truly believe it will.
You can find a PhD or study to say just about anything you want. The key is to understand the assumptions underlying the theory or study. I have not reviewed the study referenced in the opinion piece. But you do not need a PhD to know that Keynesian stimulus proposals – whose impact may very well be muted by less private spending in a healthy economy – are made to order for an environment where the propensity of consumers and investors is to be risk averse to an extreme degree.
Further, the psychological shift in confidence that may result in increasing private economy risk appetites (and is probably impossible to quantify in an economic study) over time from the knowledge that the government is stepping up to the plate is a key component in the effectiveness of any stimulus plan.
The article makes some good points about the first version of the stimulus package and its apparent lack of timeliness (when the money will be spent). But this Congress and Administration have been in place less than a week (together). Let’s give them a few weeks.
In ordinary times I am very much opposed to Keynesian policy for reasons consistent with the position laid out in the article. But, like the great man himself once said, “when the facts change, I change my mind….what do you do sir?”
Some stimulation feels really good, and others not so much
Samuel J. Palmisano recent put fourth three ideas to help stimulate the economy. His stimulus ideas, or should I say IBM’s stimulus ideas are by no means unique or original, however, IBM did take the time and spend the money (one assumes) to put some facts and figures to the ideas, which I give them total credit for.
The three stimulus ideas are build broadband infrastructure across America, mandate and create a unified health care records and management system and finally develop a modern electrical grid.
All three of these ideas are great ideas and many-many people have brought them up in the past, including our current President elect. All three of the plans combined would cost approximately $30 billion a year, but the flip-side is they would generate (according to IBM) $100 billion a year in new revenue and stimulate significant job creation. Because the Wall Street Journal published the entire article about these topics I will simply include a link to the story for you to read more about these topics. However, I have a few other suggestions I believe should be high on the national agenda, and I will write about them here on my favorite site.
First – A high speed rail network across America. I would like a national high speed rail network that connects all major metropolitan areas in the United States, with more than 1.5 million residents. The system at first could be built for interstate or inter-coastal connectivity, and then integrated into a national system as the project matures. California has proposed a similar system several times with an estimated price tag of $8 billion – $15 billion, so we will take an educated guess and say the national system would cost at least $100 billion dollars, but it would not be completed in a single year, so let’s call it $15 billion per year.
Start the project on the West Coast and East Coast simultaneously, with a third project starting in Texas within 24 months. The first 15 routes would focus on metropolitan areas with more than 4 million residents and then connect to the smaller metropolitan areas as it builds out, based on proximity to the major metro areas.
Second – A national airline. This airline would be used for small “hopper” routes in the Midwest and rural United States. The airline would offer reasonable to cheap flights to under-served areas on non-profitable routes for the major airlines. The national airline would also offer international flights to smaller airports and cities meeting the same criteria.
Third – A national broadband wireless network. IBM proposed a broadband network connecting the entire United States, but they did not specify wireless or hard-wired. I firmly lean toward wireless. I believe we should have the ability to access a wireless Internet signal anywhere we currently receive television or radio signals through the air. The Internet is a government controlled and funded system, and allowing private enterprise to capitalize on such a valuable conduit for providing and receiving information only stifles creativity and growth in the economy, while providing marginal bottom-line benefit to the corporations that push the service.
Fourth – Offer free classes and training at most two-year community colleges. Allow people who need to educate themselves, learn a new trade or simply want to learn the ability to attend a two-year community college or trade school for free. This will not only help stimulate the economy by increasing the available job pool, but it will help in many ancillary ways as well. I better educated society will be healthier, less prone to crime and financially more responsible.
There are many other areas and ideas that should be addressed, but the obvious point of this article and the IBM article, is the approach should be rifle targeted rather than a shotgun scatter approach as is currently the case. If we are going to spend trillions of dollars stimulating the economy let’s at least make us a stronger, wiser and more prepared country as a result.
Flaa la la la laaaaa..la la laaaa…at! Sing it
I hate the word “flat”. The holiday retail season forecasts are looking “flat”. Buyers on Black Friday were spending more than last year, but the long range outlook is “flat”. No no – wait, I do like the word “flat”.
I like the word “flat” because it conjours up images of the way many things shouldn’t be in our round world…bare with me as I sort out a random ode’ to the flatness:
“He flatlined!” – really really not good…
“My damn tire is flat.” – again, not good if you’re stuck on a “flat” stretch of highway…
“Your hair is looking kind of flat today.” – really not good if you’re a female…flat means you slept in or the relative humidity is higher than it was yesterday…
“This pillow is totally flat.” – oh my, not good if you’re camping, passed out at a friends house on the living room floor, or nudged up against a cold airplane window (they’re all cold by the way)…
“His voice is kinda flat.” – yeah, that’s a nice way of saying that someone can’t hold a note, is tone deaf, or needs to back away from the jukebox…
“Dude, her chest is kinda flat”- we won’t entertain that one…
“Eww, this beer is flat” – now depending where and when this occurs, it has never really stopped many from lavishing in all that remains of the once bubbly, crisp, and foamy goodness.
Alas, we have good uses for “flat” as well:
“The pancake is flat.” – lumps are bad…
“My abs are looking flat.”- I don’t say this myself, but some do…
Anyway, can we agree on which adjective will become the mainstay when referring to the current economic condition? I also like “the economy is bleak”. I will settle for “the quarterly earnings are dim.” I prefer to hear that “the sales were sluggish”, “buyers were stingy” or even “retailers were in the red”. Amazing how just the right word can put me into a horrible mood and force me to covet my wallet even more.
Flat bread pizza anyone?
Heard It In A Bar RSS Feed- Brittany Murphy’s death is troubling March 13, 2010Not that it’s another tragic celebrity death, not that it’s another young life taken so early…these are all troubling and sad in their own right. It’s another tragic case of someone getting caught up in the web of drugs…the legal type! It truly saddens me that so many of these stars seek out more and more prescription [...] […]kansasview
- Internet fun for the weekend… March 13, 2010By far one of my favorite websites of late is called GraphJam.com. Essentially, the website attempts to break down the world and how we interact with it in a series of graphs. It is hilarious when you see how the world around us can be so easily summed up in a pie or bar chart. [...] […]kansasview
- So why are more companies not yet hiring? March 13, 2010U.S. Workers are still filing a large amount of unemployment claims and this is after five weeks of declines in this area. Where are the culprits and which industries are still hurting? It’s apparent as we have seen over the last year is that a gradual stabilization of the economy does not naturally translate to a increase [...] […]kansasview
- Facebook is down…Facebook is down…5:42 (cst) March 13, 2010This website is not a help desk for Facebook but it’s a civic duty to keep the American public aware of all possible natural disasters!! Facebook is down! Facebook is down! Don’t toss your Iphone in the river or hurl it at your wife and complain that it doesn’t work worth a s***. Here is the current [...] […]kansasview
- Hot new golfer to challenge Tiger’s limelight March 13, 2010It’s tough not to hear Tiger Woods’ name in the media of late with all this marital infedelity hoopla and now text messages coming out from his brood of women across the country. Frankly, it’s getting old and let’s focus our attention on those athletes who don’t get all the attention. Especially those golfers who shy away [... […]kansasview
- Eight years of success turns into one year of demise for Kansas coach Mark Mangino March 13, 2010The story and the jokes can finally come to an end. Sports fans throughout the midwest have been following the fate of KU head football coach Mark Mangino and allegations that he verbally and physically abused his players. Well fans, now that he has resigned and the weeks of rumors and headlines about his coaching future [...] […]kansasview
- Tiger’s “cat” is almost out of the bag March 13, 2010Of course we couldn’t wait too long before throwing in our own two cents about the Woods story, it wouldn’t be American! I’m getting to the point where I’m getting angry because this is now a public issue. It’s private until Tiger hopped behind the wheel and crashed his vehicle. It’s private until the police are called a […]kansasview
- Come on ABC…Lambert only kissed another guy, big deal March 13, 2010What’s wrong ABC? You can’t allow a very flamboyant and talented singer on GMA? However, you have prime time shows that openly display homosexual men/women and sometimes they kiss! Brothers and Sisters, Modern Family, Grey’s Anatomy, they all have gay characters who quite frequently engaged in PDA. Granted, these are actors but there is […]kansasview
- Wow! Those facebook pics sure got some attention! March 13, 2010Interesting story out of Quebec, if you haven’t read the article, do so. Once again, a story comes along that just sends my editorial neurons out of whack. So, you go to the doctor and are diagnosed with severe depression…so severe that she is forced to go on short term disability for a year from her [...] […]kansasview
- Palin…go away! March 13, 2010Seriously, I don’t care that you have a new book….I don’t care that you have a tattered relationship with your daughter’s “baby daddy“…and I find absolutely nothing of this fascinating in the least. It’s all over TV, she’s been on every talk show on earth….all for what? To increase exposure for a […]kansasview
- Brittany Murphy’s death is troubling March 13, 2010
