The New York Times notices what millions of Americans have known for years and years.
The liberal-progressive Obama economy is hostile to the Middle Class.
Just consider this: why have Billionaires flourished in the Obama economy?
And why should millions of average Americans, clinging to honorable middle class hopes and dreams, continue to pay the price?
Shame on the progressive frauds. It is phony progressive policies that attack the middle class.
The most difficult truth to accept is that progressive politics is the poison that afflicts middle class Americans. PB
------
From the New York Times online:
The economy created 215,000 jobs, in line with average job creation so far this year.
The growth in July was centered in retail, restaurants and other low-paying service jobs, though there was also encouraging growth in higher-paying fields, including construction and finance.
What was lacking — in July, as in every other month in the past several years — was any appreciable growth in wages.
Average hourly earnings for all private-sector employees rose by 0.5 cents, to $24.99.
Take away the minority of employees who are bosses, and the increase was just 0.3 cents, to $21.01 an hour, or $42,000 a year for a full-time job.
Over all, the average annualized growth rate for wages over the past three months comes to 1.9 percent, barely outpacing inflation.
Job growth without pay raises is a discouraging sign of slack in the job market.
For example, the share of the population age 25 to 54 that is working is stuck at recession-era levels and, worse, has stopped improving in the past five months.
That suggests a dearth of job opportunities for a pool of potential workers that is larger than indicated by the relatively low unemployment rate of 5.3 percent...
------
Link: http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/07/the-hole-in-the-middle-of-the-jobs-report/
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Inequality: Bill and Hillary Clintons' Speaking Fees Dwarf Average Worker Pay
Ahh, the champions of the middle class: the Clintons.
I feel sorry for them. After all, last year Hillary Clinton said, "We came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt."
Dead broke.
The travails of being public servants can sometimes just wear you down. Even when you're the former First Family of the United States.
Indeed, especially when the First Family also had been Co-Chief Executives of the United States, as in Bill's claim that America was getting "two for the price of one" when he and Hillary were elected as a team of equals.
Millions of average Americans who cling to the hope of maintaining their middle class position, but suffer from continued economic uncertainty, might be sympathetic to Hillary's claim.
We find out, however, that inequality of income afflicts people in different ways. In the case of the Clintons, inequality has a different dimension than what most Americans understand. PB
------
From Investors.com:
The AFL-CIO publishes an annual report called Executive PayWatch.
According to the most recent report, in 2014 the average pay for a CEO at a Standard & Poor's 500 company was $13.5 million.
At the same time, average take-home pay of nonsupervisory workers was $36,134.
So on average, per the AFL-CIO, CEO earnings were 373 times greater than worker income.
Anyone can email companies and the Securities and Exchange Commission through the AFL-CIO website to express their outrage at this presumed unfairness.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton's newly released tax returns show that she and Bill earned $139.1 million between 2007 and 2014, an average of $17.4 million per year.
In 2014, the power couple earned $20 million in speaker fees — 553 times that aforementioned average worker salary, 50% greater than the CEO ratio...
------
Link: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-on-the-right/080415-765021-big-pay-gap-between-clintons-speaking-fees-and-average-worker-income.htm?
I feel sorry for them. After all, last year Hillary Clinton said, "We came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt."
Dead broke.
The travails of being public servants can sometimes just wear you down. Even when you're the former First Family of the United States.
Indeed, especially when the First Family also had been Co-Chief Executives of the United States, as in Bill's claim that America was getting "two for the price of one" when he and Hillary were elected as a team of equals.
Millions of average Americans who cling to the hope of maintaining their middle class position, but suffer from continued economic uncertainty, might be sympathetic to Hillary's claim.
We find out, however, that inequality of income afflicts people in different ways. In the case of the Clintons, inequality has a different dimension than what most Americans understand. PB
------
From Investors.com:
The AFL-CIO publishes an annual report called Executive PayWatch.
According to the most recent report, in 2014 the average pay for a CEO at a Standard & Poor's 500 company was $13.5 million.
At the same time, average take-home pay of nonsupervisory workers was $36,134.
So on average, per the AFL-CIO, CEO earnings were 373 times greater than worker income.
Anyone can email companies and the Securities and Exchange Commission through the AFL-CIO website to express their outrage at this presumed unfairness.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton's newly released tax returns show that she and Bill earned $139.1 million between 2007 and 2014, an average of $17.4 million per year.
In 2014, the power couple earned $20 million in speaker fees — 553 times that aforementioned average worker salary, 50% greater than the CEO ratio...
------
Link: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-on-the-right/080415-765021-big-pay-gap-between-clintons-speaking-fees-and-average-worker-income.htm?
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
WSJ: Oil Companies’ Spending Cuts - Will Cuts Be Enough?
Low oil prices are having a big effect on the major players. How much pain will there be if companies consolidate? And will gas prices drop to $2 or below? PB
------
From the Wall Street Journal online:
The world’s biggest oil companies have vowed to bring down the costs of big projects in the face of slumping oil prices, but the unrelenting price weakness—with crude below $50 a barrel—suggests they could have to dig deeper still...
Focusing on lower-cost projects with higher returns will help to some extent, but companies are also relying on cost deflation for everything from drill rigs to pipelines, improved efficiency and increased standardization to help manage the lower price environment.
“They are bringing down their costs both operationally and also in terms of capex, but it’s probably not going to be enough,” said Roberto Cominotto, investment manager at Swiss investor GAM, highlighting the need for a structural shift in the way big oil companies operate after years of diminishing returns as production costs crept higher...
...the current weak prices illustrates the risk that the market could remain under pressure for longer than anticipated, driving prolonged pain and the need for more stringent action among Shell and BP in Europe and American giants such as Chevron and Exxon Mobil Corp.
Their focus remains on driving down capital expenditure and continuing to reduce costs, the benefits of which oil companies say could begin to show through by the end of this year.
In the U.S., energy producers have proven more resilient than expected, finding ways to lower drilling costs even as they have reworked hedge programs and issued equity to bolster their balance sheets.
But pressure is mounting...
What the industry really needs is a shakeout, said David Tameron, an analyst at Wells Fargo Securities. Too many energy companies, particularly in the bottom tier, have been able to hang on through the downturn with the help of financial backers.
“You need that wash out,” Mr. Tameron said. “You need some producers to go away.”
The prospect of tougher cuts down the line is a sign that the severity of the situation is dawning on the industry...
“Although they’re still not willing to abandon their rosy forecasts, at least they are addressing the near term situation that we have to do something now and not wait for oil prices to recover,” Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Fadel Gheit said of the major oil companies.
He said it won’t be easy.
“It’s a monumental challenge to offset the impact of a 50% drop in oil price,” said Mr. Gheit.
“The priorities have shifted completely. The priority now is to discontinue budget spending. The priority is to live within your means. Forget about growth. They are now in survival mode.”
------
Link: http://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-companies-spending-cuts-unlikely-to-be-enough-1438720142
------
From the Wall Street Journal online:
The world’s biggest oil companies have vowed to bring down the costs of big projects in the face of slumping oil prices, but the unrelenting price weakness—with crude below $50 a barrel—suggests they could have to dig deeper still...
Focusing on lower-cost projects with higher returns will help to some extent, but companies are also relying on cost deflation for everything from drill rigs to pipelines, improved efficiency and increased standardization to help manage the lower price environment.
“They are bringing down their costs both operationally and also in terms of capex, but it’s probably not going to be enough,” said Roberto Cominotto, investment manager at Swiss investor GAM, highlighting the need for a structural shift in the way big oil companies operate after years of diminishing returns as production costs crept higher...
...the current weak prices illustrates the risk that the market could remain under pressure for longer than anticipated, driving prolonged pain and the need for more stringent action among Shell and BP in Europe and American giants such as Chevron and Exxon Mobil Corp.
Their focus remains on driving down capital expenditure and continuing to reduce costs, the benefits of which oil companies say could begin to show through by the end of this year.
In the U.S., energy producers have proven more resilient than expected, finding ways to lower drilling costs even as they have reworked hedge programs and issued equity to bolster their balance sheets.
But pressure is mounting...
What the industry really needs is a shakeout, said David Tameron, an analyst at Wells Fargo Securities. Too many energy companies, particularly in the bottom tier, have been able to hang on through the downturn with the help of financial backers.
“You need that wash out,” Mr. Tameron said. “You need some producers to go away.”
The prospect of tougher cuts down the line is a sign that the severity of the situation is dawning on the industry...
“Although they’re still not willing to abandon their rosy forecasts, at least they are addressing the near term situation that we have to do something now and not wait for oil prices to recover,” Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Fadel Gheit said of the major oil companies.
He said it won’t be easy.
“It’s a monumental challenge to offset the impact of a 50% drop in oil price,” said Mr. Gheit.
“The priorities have shifted completely. The priority now is to discontinue budget spending. The priority is to live within your means. Forget about growth. They are now in survival mode.”
------
Link: http://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-companies-spending-cuts-unlikely-to-be-enough-1438720142
Monday, August 3, 2015
Go, Cars. Go!
Go, Cars. Go! PB
----From Forbes online:
GM, Fiat Chrysler, Ford: July Sales Up
U.S auto sales blew past expectations in July, the nation’s automakers said on Monday, helped by continued demand for trucks and SUVs.
The big three — Fiat Chrysler, Ford and General Motors — all reported sales figures that trounced analyst expectations and marked their best July since before the recession.
Automakers are currently benefiting from the winning combination of an improving economy, lower gas prices and easy credit.
They’ve also been running deals to draw buyers onto the car lot and have seen increasing demand for trucks and SUVs, which have a higher margin...
------
Link:http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurengensler/2015/08/03/u-s-auto-sales-july/
Friday, July 31, 2015
Low Interest Rates Could Harm Us
Bill Gross speaking on Fox Business:
Bond king Bill Gross warns that low interest rates could have a negative impact on the U.S. economy.
“There is potential harm to a capitalistic economy because when interest rates are that low, it introduces distortions into financial markets,” Gross said.
“It elevates stock prices, it elevates bond prices and lowers interest rates.”
Gross told FOX Business Network’s Trish Regan that the Fed needs to act soon on rates.
“Capitalism depends on investment,” he said.
“Productivity depends upon that investment in the extent that markets are distorted, then the investment in the real economy, which is the most important and critical factor, becomes distorted and at risk. Ultimately, I think the Fed gradually has to raise interest rates to give, if only, savers a break.”
He added, “I think [the Fed] is still stuck in the old method that suggests that the lower the interest rate the better. When Bernanke went through one percent or through two percent down to the zero level and introduced QE that the distortions began.”
“Ultimately, I think the Fed does have to try to normalize interest rates and bring them back to pre-Lehman types of levels… probably lower, but certainly not zero percent.”
------
Link: http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4387501065001/bill-gross-there-may-be-bubbles-around-us-dollar-/?intcmp=related#sp=show-clips
Bond king Bill Gross warns that low interest rates could have a negative impact on the U.S. economy.
“There is potential harm to a capitalistic economy because when interest rates are that low, it introduces distortions into financial markets,” Gross said.
“It elevates stock prices, it elevates bond prices and lowers interest rates.”
Gross told FOX Business Network’s Trish Regan that the Fed needs to act soon on rates.
“Capitalism depends on investment,” he said.
“Productivity depends upon that investment in the extent that markets are distorted, then the investment in the real economy, which is the most important and critical factor, becomes distorted and at risk. Ultimately, I think the Fed gradually has to raise interest rates to give, if only, savers a break.”
He added, “I think [the Fed] is still stuck in the old method that suggests that the lower the interest rate the better. When Bernanke went through one percent or through two percent down to the zero level and introduced QE that the distortions began.”
“Ultimately, I think the Fed does have to try to normalize interest rates and bring them back to pre-Lehman types of levels… probably lower, but certainly not zero percent.”
------
Link: http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4387501065001/bill-gross-there-may-be-bubbles-around-us-dollar-/?intcmp=related#sp=show-clips
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Obama Economy Worst Expansion Since WWII - even Weaker than George W. Bush Presidency
From the Wall Street Journal online:
The economic expansion—already the worst on record since World War II—is weaker than previously thought, according to newly revised data.
From 2012 through 2014, the economy grew at an all-too-familiar rate of 2% annually, according to three years of revised figures the Commerce Department released Thursday. That’s a 0.3 percentage point downgrade from prior estimates.
The revisions were released concurrently with the government’s first estimate of second-quarter output.
Since the recession ended in June 2009, the economy has advanced at a 2.2% annual pace through the end of last year.
That’s more than a half-percentage point worse than the next-weakest expansion of the past 70 years, the one from 2001 through 2007.
While there have been highs and lows in individual quarters, overall the economy has failed to break out of its roughly 2% pattern for six years...
------
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/07/30/the-worst-expansion-since-world-war-ii-was-even-weaker/?
The economic expansion—already the worst on record since World War II—is weaker than previously thought, according to newly revised data.
From 2012 through 2014, the economy grew at an all-too-familiar rate of 2% annually, according to three years of revised figures the Commerce Department released Thursday. That’s a 0.3 percentage point downgrade from prior estimates.
The revisions were released concurrently with the government’s first estimate of second-quarter output.
Since the recession ended in June 2009, the economy has advanced at a 2.2% annual pace through the end of last year.
That’s more than a half-percentage point worse than the next-weakest expansion of the past 70 years, the one from 2001 through 2007.
While there have been highs and lows in individual quarters, overall the economy has failed to break out of its roughly 2% pattern for six years...
------
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/07/30/the-worst-expansion-since-world-war-ii-was-even-weaker/?
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Pending Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Unexpectedly Declines; Housing Still Constructive!
From Bloomberg online:
Fewer Americans signed contracts in June to buy previously owned homes, representing a pause in the housing market’s momentum.
The index of pending home sales unexpectedly fell 1.8 percent, the first drop this year, after a revised 0.6 percent increase in May that was smaller than initially reported, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed Wednesday in Washington. The median forecast of 37 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.9 percent gain.
The data are consistent with the slow improvement in housing, restrained by still-tight lending standards and a limited selection of available properties.
An easing of those conditions, along with an acceleration in wage growth, would allow more Americans to take advantage of cheap borrowing costs and provide more of a tailwind for real estate.
“There’s still ongoing demand for housing,” said Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities USA Inc. in New York, who projected a drop in contract signings. The report “just tells us that sales have been roughly unchanged for the last couple of months, but the trend is still broadly positive...”
------
Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-29/pending-sales-of-u-s-existing-homes-unexpectedly-fell-in-june
Fewer Americans signed contracts in June to buy previously owned homes, representing a pause in the housing market’s momentum.
The index of pending home sales unexpectedly fell 1.8 percent, the first drop this year, after a revised 0.6 percent increase in May that was smaller than initially reported, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed Wednesday in Washington. The median forecast of 37 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.9 percent gain.
The data are consistent with the slow improvement in housing, restrained by still-tight lending standards and a limited selection of available properties.
An easing of those conditions, along with an acceleration in wage growth, would allow more Americans to take advantage of cheap borrowing costs and provide more of a tailwind for real estate.
“There’s still ongoing demand for housing,” said Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities USA Inc. in New York, who projected a drop in contract signings. The report “just tells us that sales have been roughly unchanged for the last couple of months, but the trend is still broadly positive...”
------
Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-29/pending-sales-of-u-s-existing-homes-unexpectedly-fell-in-june
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Americans start to feel price hikes
------
From the Associated Press online:
Apartment rents are up. So are prices for restaurant meals, haircuts, gym memberships and a cup of coffee.
For American consumers who have become used to flat or even falling prices for several years, an unfamiliar sight has emerged in many corners of the economy: Inflation is ticking up.
The price increases remain modest. And in many cases, they're canceled out by price declines for other items that are keeping overall inflation historically low.
Yet the stepped-up price tags for a range of consumer items are the largest since the Great Recession ended six years ago.
They actually reflect a healthier economy: Many businesses have finally grown confident enough to pass their own higher costs on to consumers without fear of losing customers.
Link: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONSUMER_PRICES_TICK_UP?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-07-28-20-07-23
From the Associated Press online:
Apartment rents are up. So are prices for restaurant meals, haircuts, gym memberships and a cup of coffee.
For American consumers who have become used to flat or even falling prices for several years, an unfamiliar sight has emerged in many corners of the economy: Inflation is ticking up.
The price increases remain modest. And in many cases, they're canceled out by price declines for other items that are keeping overall inflation historically low.
Yet the stepped-up price tags for a range of consumer items are the largest since the Great Recession ended six years ago.
They actually reflect a healthier economy: Many businesses have finally grown confident enough to pass their own higher costs on to consumers without fear of losing customers.
- In June, the price of haircuts jumped 1.6 percent, the biggest monthly jump in the 62 years that the government has tracked the data...
- Coffee prices jumped 6.1 percent in January from 12 months earlier, the most in nearly three years...
- And beef prices have soared nearly 11 percent in the past year...
- The biggest driver of inflation this year has been residential rents. They climbed 3.5 percent in June from a year earlier, the fifth straight month with an annual gain of that size...
Link: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONSUMER_PRICES_TICK_UP?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-07-28-20-07-23
Sunday, July 26, 2015
The Economist: A global movement toward much higher minimum wages is dangerous
From the Economist.com:
WHEN prices rise, demand falls.
Exceptions to the most basic rule of markets are curiosities—the kind of thing an economist might bore you with at a dinner party. Set carefully, minimum wages can provide such an example. But policymakers must not assume this is a cast-iron law.
Big rises in minimum wages are a gamble with people’s futures...
In America campaigners want the federal minimum wage more than doubled from today’s stingy $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour, or 77% of median hourly income...
One danger is that a high minimum wage will push some workers out of the labour force for good.
A building worker who loses his job in a recession can expect to find a new one when the economy picks up.
A cashier with few skills who, following the introduction of a high minimum wage, becomes permanently more expensive than a self-service checkout machine will have no such luck.
The British government’s defence of its new policy—that a strong economy will generate enough jobs to replace those lost to a higher minimum wage—is disingenuous: the jobs are still lost.
That is why Milton Friedman described minimum wages as a form of discrimination against the low-skilled...
----
Link: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21659741-global-movement-toward-much-higher-minimum-wages-dangerous-reckless-wager?
WHEN prices rise, demand falls.
Exceptions to the most basic rule of markets are curiosities—the kind of thing an economist might bore you with at a dinner party. Set carefully, minimum wages can provide such an example. But policymakers must not assume this is a cast-iron law.
Big rises in minimum wages are a gamble with people’s futures...
In America campaigners want the federal minimum wage more than doubled from today’s stingy $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour, or 77% of median hourly income...
One danger is that a high minimum wage will push some workers out of the labour force for good.
A building worker who loses his job in a recession can expect to find a new one when the economy picks up.
A cashier with few skills who, following the introduction of a high minimum wage, becomes permanently more expensive than a self-service checkout machine will have no such luck.
The British government’s defence of its new policy—that a strong economy will generate enough jobs to replace those lost to a higher minimum wage—is disingenuous: the jobs are still lost.
That is why Milton Friedman described minimum wages as a form of discrimination against the low-skilled...
----
Link: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21659741-global-movement-toward-much-higher-minimum-wages-dangerous-reckless-wager?
Friday, July 24, 2015
Seattle sees fallout from $15 minimum wage
Living wages might be forcing some living adjustments in lifestyle - and government benefits.
And small business owners are getting crushed by government regulations. What should be done?
You pay the tab. You decide! PB
------
From FoxNews.com:
Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law is supposed to lift workers out of poverty and move them off public assistance.
But there may be a hitch in the plan.
Evidence is surfacing that some workers are asking their bosses for fewer hours as their wages rise – in a bid to keep overall income down so they don’t lose public subsidies for things like food, child care and rent.
Full Life Care, a home nursing nonprofit, told KIRO-TV in Seattle that several workers want to work less...
Despite a booming economy throughout western Washington, the state’s welfare caseload has dropped very little since the higher wage phase began in Seattle in April.
In March 130,851 people were enrolled in the Basic Food program. In April, the caseload dropped to 130,376.
At the same time, prices appear to be going up on just about everything.
Some restaurants have tacked on a 15 percent surcharge to cover the higher wages.
And some managers are no longer encouraging customers to tip, leading to a redistribution of income.
Workers in the back of the kitchen, such as dishwashers and cooks, are getting paid more, but servers who rely on tips are seeing a pay cut.
Some long-time Seattle restaurants have closed altogether, though none of the owners publicly blamed the minimum wage law.
“It’s what happens when the government imposes a restriction on the labor market that normally wouldn’t be there, and marginal businesses get hit the hardest, and usually those are small, neighborhood businesses,” said Paul Guppy, of the Washington Policy Center...
----
Link: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/22/seattle-sees-fallout-from-15-minimum-wage-as-other-cities-follow-suit/?
And small business owners are getting crushed by government regulations. What should be done?
You pay the tab. You decide! PB
------
From FoxNews.com:
Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law is supposed to lift workers out of poverty and move them off public assistance.
But there may be a hitch in the plan.
Evidence is surfacing that some workers are asking their bosses for fewer hours as their wages rise – in a bid to keep overall income down so they don’t lose public subsidies for things like food, child care and rent.
Full Life Care, a home nursing nonprofit, told KIRO-TV in Seattle that several workers want to work less...
Despite a booming economy throughout western Washington, the state’s welfare caseload has dropped very little since the higher wage phase began in Seattle in April.
In March 130,851 people were enrolled in the Basic Food program. In April, the caseload dropped to 130,376.
At the same time, prices appear to be going up on just about everything.
Some restaurants have tacked on a 15 percent surcharge to cover the higher wages.
And some managers are no longer encouraging customers to tip, leading to a redistribution of income.
Workers in the back of the kitchen, such as dishwashers and cooks, are getting paid more, but servers who rely on tips are seeing a pay cut.
Some long-time Seattle restaurants have closed altogether, though none of the owners publicly blamed the minimum wage law.
“It’s what happens when the government imposes a restriction on the labor market that normally wouldn’t be there, and marginal businesses get hit the hardest, and usually those are small, neighborhood businesses,” said Paul Guppy, of the Washington Policy Center...
----
Link: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/22/seattle-sees-fallout-from-15-minimum-wage-as-other-cities-follow-suit/?
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Social Security disability fund to run dry next year: Greece is the word, the word that you heard...
Cuts are coming. Unfunded liabilities continue. But the full realization of those costs is kicked down the road. Sound familiar?
Huge social disruption is baked into our future by the phoniness of political promises. We can't pay our future debt. We might soon see flickers of social tension in the SSI disability system as the AP reports below.
Today's crisis in Greece is baked into our future. Light the cheese. Opa!
About 15 years from now the flashpoints will begin to erupt in our society.
Greece in America, anyone?
Those great seers the Bee Gees forecasted this:"grease Greece is the word, is the word that you heard..." PB
------
From the Associated Press online:
"The 11 million Americans who receive Social Security disability face steep benefit cuts next year, the government said Wednesday, handing lawmakers a fiscal and political crisis in the middle of a presidential campaign.
The trustees who oversee Social Security and Medicare said the disability trust fund will run out of money in late 2016.
That would trigger an automatic 19 percent cut in benefits, unless Congress acts.
The average monthly benefit for disabled workers and their families is $1,017.
The typical beneficiary would see a reduction of $193 a month...
Separately, about 7 million Medicare beneficiaries could face a monthly premium increase of at least $54 for outpatient coverage. That works out to an increase of more than 50 percent.
The annual report card on the financial health of Social Security and Medicare shows that the federal government's largest benefit programs are feeling the strain of aging baby boomers as they both approach milestone anniversaries.
Medicare turns 50 at the end of the month and Social Security turns 80 two weeks later.
Together, the programs accounted for more than 40 percent of federal spending last year..."
----
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SOCIAL_SECURITY_MEDICARE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-07-22-17-11-13
Huge social disruption is baked into our future by the phoniness of political promises. We can't pay our future debt. We might soon see flickers of social tension in the SSI disability system as the AP reports below.
Today's crisis in Greece is baked into our future. Light the cheese. Opa!
About 15 years from now the flashpoints will begin to erupt in our society.
Greece in America, anyone?
Those great seers the Bee Gees forecasted this:
------
From the Associated Press online:
"The 11 million Americans who receive Social Security disability face steep benefit cuts next year, the government said Wednesday, handing lawmakers a fiscal and political crisis in the middle of a presidential campaign.
The trustees who oversee Social Security and Medicare said the disability trust fund will run out of money in late 2016.
That would trigger an automatic 19 percent cut in benefits, unless Congress acts.
The average monthly benefit for disabled workers and their families is $1,017.
The typical beneficiary would see a reduction of $193 a month...
Separately, about 7 million Medicare beneficiaries could face a monthly premium increase of at least $54 for outpatient coverage. That works out to an increase of more than 50 percent.
The annual report card on the financial health of Social Security and Medicare shows that the federal government's largest benefit programs are feeling the strain of aging baby boomers as they both approach milestone anniversaries.
Medicare turns 50 at the end of the month and Social Security turns 80 two weeks later.
Together, the programs accounted for more than 40 percent of federal spending last year..."
----
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SOCIAL_SECURITY_MEDICARE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-07-22-17-11-13
Friday, July 17, 2015
Google records 1-day windfall of $65 Billion
Is Google the new Greece? Newfound austerity? Who knew austerity could be so wealth inducing? PB
----
From the Associated Press online:
Google's stock roared out of a long slumber Friday to produce the biggest shareholder windfall in U.S. history as investors rewarded the Internet company for promising to curb its spending on risky projects.
A 16 percent surge in Google's publicly traded stock translated into an additional $65.1 billion in shareholder wealth, on paper at least...
Google's gigantic run-up came after the Mountain View, California, company reported quarterly earnings that topped analyst estimates for the first time since late 2013. The company's inability to hit the targets that steer investors had raised doubts about Google that had caused its stock to lag the rest of the market since the end of 2013.
Investors were even more impressed with a message of newfound austerity delivered by Google's new chief financial officer, Ruth Porat. In prepared remarks and in responses to analyst questions posed in a late Thursday conference call, Porat repeatedly stressed that Google intends to control its costs more diligently.
The words placated investors who had become increasingly frustrated with Google's penchant for spending on projects that had little or nothing to do with its man business of Internet search and advertising - areas that the company has long dominated...
----
Link: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOOGLE_STOCK_SURGE?
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From the Associated Press online:
Google's stock roared out of a long slumber Friday to produce the biggest shareholder windfall in U.S. history as investors rewarded the Internet company for promising to curb its spending on risky projects.
A 16 percent surge in Google's publicly traded stock translated into an additional $65.1 billion in shareholder wealth, on paper at least...
Google's gigantic run-up came after the Mountain View, California, company reported quarterly earnings that topped analyst estimates for the first time since late 2013. The company's inability to hit the targets that steer investors had raised doubts about Google that had caused its stock to lag the rest of the market since the end of 2013.
Investors were even more impressed with a message of newfound austerity delivered by Google's new chief financial officer, Ruth Porat. In prepared remarks and in responses to analyst questions posed in a late Thursday conference call, Porat repeatedly stressed that Google intends to control its costs more diligently.
The words placated investors who had become increasingly frustrated with Google's penchant for spending on projects that had little or nothing to do with its man business of Internet search and advertising - areas that the company has long dominated...
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Link: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GOOGLE_STOCK_SURGE?
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