Paul Krugman really doesn’t like the possibility that there is a structural shift in employment, because it weakens the argument for the massive Keynesian spending spree he’d like to see the government initiate.  To that end, he published this piece on his blog February 13th. Before we go on, some readers may wonder what a… Read more

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released their Employment Situation report for January today. The household survey data indicate a fall in the unemployment rate, however, this appears to be as much due to updated population controls as much as any other factor. As well, we have to wonder if declines in labor force indicate that… Read more

The recent GDP release for 2010 quarter 4 got me to thinking about consumption and investment. Consumption growth was very strong, especially considering the still high level of mortgage and revolving credit debt in the United States economy. I show three charts below: real consumption, real business fixed investment, and consumption’s percent share of GDP.… Read more