I’ve been working on explaining pictures like the one below, trying to understand why middle-class incomes so dramatically stopped tracking productivity growth. Productivity gains are society’s main path to improved living standards, but if those gains elude the middle class, it’s not a reach to say that the glue holding our society together starts to… Read more
Archive for the ‘New Posts’ Category
More on the Squeeze
The work I’ve been doing on the middle-class squeeze is for a hearing to be held by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday at 10. (Webcast: http://help.senate.gov) Interestingly, most of the folks who are testifying are “real people” struggling with all the stuff I’ve been blogging about. I think it’s great… Read more
Quick—Rent Those Distressed/Foreclosed Homes!
Point #1: The housing market is still glutted with excess inventory and thus remains a fat, hairy albatross around the economy’s neck (i.e., if birds can be hairy). #2: The government, through the GSEs (Fannie and Freddie) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) hold a lot of mortgages. #3: As shown in a research note… Read more
A Break in the Force?
Ezra reports that Republicans who have been stonewalling on tax revenues in the budget deal might be open to cutting some tax expenditures. These are the $1 trillion or so of “spending through the tax code” that everyone theoretically wants to go after until you start indicating which ones should go. That’s Ezra’s point: that… Read more
Don’t Try This At Work
I don’t like computer games much…or, more to the point, I stare at the screen enough in my work life and like to stare elsewhere in my free time. But my kid turned me onto this game called Civiballs and it’s so fun and such a healthy mental workout (once you get past the early levels)… Read more