July 03, 2009
Slipping wealth
As another sign of the economic times, the Federal Reserve recently reported that household wealth fell again in the first three months of 2009. How much wealth have we lost, and what does this mean? Listen
Continue reading "Slipping wealth"
July 02, 2009
Creating jobs by cutting hours
There's a proposal to create jobs without spending any more money. The idea is to reduce the work week, say, from 40 hours to 35 hours. Then, the thinking goes, companies will have to hire more workers. Is this a viable suggestion? Listen
Continue reading "Creating jobs by cutting hours"
July 01, 2009
The 'Great Recession'
There's a new term going around to describe the economic situation we've been in now for over a year, and it's the "Great Recession." Is this characterization of our economic situation just hype, or is there a real reason to call this economic downturn the Great Recession. Listen
Continue reading "The 'Great Recession'"
June 30, 2009
Professional jobs take a hit
Professional jobs have been the fastest growing part of the job market in recent years. Even during some earlier recessions, professional jobs continued to expand, but not so in the current recession. Professional job losses have been among the heaviest. What's different today? Listen
Continue reading "Professional jobs take a hit"
June 29, 2009
New industries in reserve
The North Carolina economy has gone through a tremendous transformation over the past 30 years. Industries like finance, technology and vehicle parts have replaced tobacco, textiles and furniture as the state's leading economic sectors. Does this mean North Carolina can rest, knowing this change has occurred? Listen
Continue reading "New industries in reserve"
June 26, 2009
Economic predictions
Economists are frequently called upon to make forecasts about the path of the economy. Can you briefly tell us how such projections are made and whether there are any inherent problems in the forecasting methods? Listen
Continue reading "Economic predictions"
June 25, 2009
Crowding out
The federal government is borrowing record amounts of money to fund the stimulus plan for the economy. Is there any downside in the financial markets from this borrowing? Listen
Continue reading "Crowding out"
June 24, 2009
Loss leaders
As consumers, sometimes we encounter prices that seem too good to be true. We may ask ourselves, How can a store make any money selling at that price? Is the store simply making a mistake? Listen
Continue reading "Loss leaders"
June 23, 2009
Making economic comparisons
Economic indicators are in the news almost every day, and comparisons using these indicators are made to try to predict where the economy is headed. But what factors must be considered to make sure these comparisons are accurate? Listen
Continue reading "Making economic comparisons"
June 22, 2009
The shadow banking system
Banks have been at the center of this recession, and the federal government has allotted billions of dollars to help rescue the banking system. But we keep hearing the term "the shadow banking system" in reference to the problems in our financial system. What exactly is this other banking system? Listen
Continue reading "The shadow banking system"
June 19, 2009
Losing the AAA bond rating
A bond rating service recently sounded an alarm about government bonds from the United Kingdom and implied they may eventually do the same about U.S. government bonds. Why is this important, especially to you and me? Listen
Continue reading "Losing the AAA bond rating"
June 18, 2009
Pulling back the money
The Federal Reserve has pumped a tremendous amount of money into the economy in an effort to curtail the recession; however, is there a plan to pull this money back once the recession is over? And if so, how does it happen? Listen
Continue reading "Pulling back the money"
June 17, 2009
Is there inherent financial instability?
There are many questions being raised about the causes and implications of the current recession. One focus is on our financial system, and whether there are natural forces within that system that will lead to periodic problems in our economy. Please explain this. Listen
Continue reading "Is there inherent financial instability?"
June 16, 2009
The meaning of tax rates
There are proposals to change some of the tax rates in the federal income tax. When we hear, for example, that a particular tax rate might be changed from 25 to 33 percent, does this mean the person paying the higher rate would see their taxes paid rise from 25 percent of their income to 33 percent of their income? Listen
Continue reading "The meaning of tax rates"
June 15, 2009
Deficits and debt
In discussions about the borrowing done by the federal government, we often hear the terms "deficit" and "debt." Is there a distinction between the two, and if so, what is it? Listen
Continue reading "Deficits and debt"
June 12, 2009
Social Security's future
Each year the Social Security trustees report on the future of this program, and that affects virtually every person in the country, either through paying Social Security taxes or receiving benefits. The 2009 report was just released. What did it say? Listen
Continue reading "Social Security's future"
June 11, 2009
The worst budget gap
Legislators in North Carolina are grappling with the state budget now. Of course, their biggest problem is that revenues are coming in way below projections, creating a budget gap that must be closed. How bad is the gap? Listen
Continue reading "The worst budget gap"
June 10, 2009
Why didn't we save?
It's well known that until recently American households were among the least thrifty in the whole world, in some years saving absolutely nothing out of their paychecks. Now, recently the saving rate has moved into positive territory at 4 percent. Just what's caused the change? Listen
Continue reading "Why didn't we save?"
June 09, 2009
The main reason for the recession
You've been giving many talks around the state about the recession and economic outlook. You have been asked many times to give the single factor causing the recession. What's your answer? Listen
Continue reading "The main reason for the recession"
June 08, 2009
Why are oil prices rising?
We're in the middle of a very bad recession. People have cut back on their driving, and domestic inventories of oil are at their highest level in years. Yet the price of oil has been creeping up, and you know what that means, higher gas prices are coming. Why? Listen
Continue reading "Why are oil prices rising?"
June 05, 2009
Are there any jobs available?
Unemployment always increases during a recession, and during this recession, the jobless rate has soared to 30-year highs. But is there any good news about jobs amidst all this bad news? Listen
Continue reading "Are there any jobs available?"
June 04, 2009
The kind of rebound
With there finally being some positive news about the economy recently, economists are now beginning to look ahead to the kind of economic rebound we might experience. What are the options? Listen
Continue reading "The kind of rebound"
