Robert Oak's blog

Productivity, GDP, jobs and outsourcing

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You see the headlines, you see the cheers. Don't you know the recession is over! Graphs, statistics, tables abound. People argue over margin of error, data points, and debate the great mystery of increased unemployment statistics, then quickly dismiss them as a lagging economic indicator.

But you, down on the ground with the rest of us, say hell no, all of my friends are broke, I can't find a job, I'm in debt, this talk of recovery is bullshit!

You might very well be right and the problem is current statistics appear not to be capturing the true state of GDP, Productivity and thus jobs (in the United States).

Have a Say on Say on Pay

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Have your say on Say on Pay. Executives now get over a third of all income in the United States. We saw outrageous bonuses to the very people who put the entire globe on the brink of financial Armageddon with us footing the bill for their folly.

The debate is over on the need of corporate executive compensation reform. We must have reforms on how the top brass are paid in this country. Else we risk commissioning the very same captains for yet another economic ship of fools joy ride similar to the one which just brought this nation to the brink of doom.

Now the question is which reforms? Will they actually work as intended?

Friday Movie Night - The Greed Game & America's Bubble Addiction

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It's Friday Night! Party Time!   Time to relax, put your feet up on the couch, lay back, and watch some detailed videos on economic policy!

 

This weeks videos are an economics lecture on America's Bubble Economy and a BBC documentary on how the super rich use other people's money to ....create bubbles. (Scroll down to see both videos.)

Too Big To Fail - Today's Financial Services Committee Hearings

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Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke testified and then stonewalled another Q&A today in the House Financial Services Committee.

First to Fed. economic forecasts, otherwise known as gardening:

Job insecurity, together with declines in home values and tight credit, is likely to limit gains in consumer spending. The possibility that the recent stabilization in household spending will prove transient is an important downside risk to the outlook.

Hank Paulson & The Committee

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The House Oversight Committee held part III of their hearing Bank of America and Merrill Lynch: How Did a Private Deal Turn Into a Federal Bailout? This time the key witness was former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson.

Frankly, Stonewall Hank just let Ben Bernanke off the hook, with claims of Fed Privilege and confusion to deny the Federal Reserve threatened BoA, as well as it's clear Hank Paulson threatened BoA CEO with losing his job if he didn't go through with the Merrill Lynch merger, but the issue is what isn't being answered.

Let's Discuss Religion otherwise known as Comparative Advantage & Trade

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Ralph Gomory gave a talk today at the New America Foundation, a think tank who also gets it with online media!

As I listen to President Obama's speech acknowledging structural problems with the U.S. economy, yet do not see policies that will actually do what is needed and never mentions manufacturing or trade, one person I find quite insightful is mathematician Ralph Gomory.

Ralph Gomory - Does America Need Manufacturing?

 

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