AFAIK, the reason that higher rates help keep inflation in check is because companies facing higher borrowing costs start firing their workers.With less people employed, their is less demand for stuff, & prices decline.That always struck me as an extremely brutal way to fight inflation. Low paid workers pay a terrible cost for something they did little to cause.I would think there is better policies than just blindly raising rates. For instance a tax surcharge on $1M + incomes, a bigger one on $10M + incomes, etc..Since rich people love tax cuts more than life itself, rich CEOs will hesitate to have their companies raise prices.
"first 3 years of Trump in his first term until COVID hit, workers adjusted inflation earnings went up more than 10% first time in several decades."Uh, no: Per that 1st link - Employed full time: Median usual weekly real earnings Q4 '16: $349
Q1 '20: $367 + $18 = 5% Q4 '12: $323
Q1 '16: $346 + $23 = 7% The big spike you see in chart is from
Q2 '20 - AFTER Covid
Mind expanding on the gig at the Potomac Almanac where Jonathan ended up as the education reporter, the sports reporter, the police reporter and the business reporter?Did anyone else work there? :-)
To waste food is catastrophic for the environment. All the pesticides, water, oil, resources and more put toxic waste into our air and water. And for what? Absolutely nothing!
Do I think athletes are overpaid? Yes. But does it really hurt anything compared to a
Criminal Evil Overpaid CEO? No. Scummy CEOs murder their workers with impunity, run brutal sweatshops, fire massive amounts of workers even when their companies are massively profitable just to grab even more $billions -- and then when they do a lousy job walk off with a massive Golden Parachute. It would be comical if CEOs weren't so immoral that people whine so much about athletes' salaries, while ignore CEOs much large looting.
"Investors worldwide have collectively decided that foreign stocks should account for 40% of the global stock market’s value. "To be an obnoxious nitpicker, that is probably incorrect. If a stock holder in say Germany has 40% in foreign stocks,"foreign" includes US stocks. So they would have 60% in German stocks, and 40% in all other countries,including the US. Add up all the 95% non US people in the world, and I doubt if there would be 60% in US stocks. :-)
My community saw a wildfire in the middle of winter that destroyed 1,000+ homes. Toxic smoke from massive fires far away hurts the lungs. This never happened before the climate crisis! Just imagine how much more $ could go to retirement or investing if people didn't have to replace houses or spend so much on their health because of toxic smoke!
Better than switching car tech is no car at all. I realize for a lot of people this is unrealistic. But policies can change. It is absolutely absurd that the work week hasn't gotten shorter with the same pay, even thru Americans are much more productive than decades earlier. A shorter work week would mean people are more willing to use longer public transit commutes, and get in shape to walk / bike more. Another policy change would be zoning changes. Many places a living quarter above a store is illegal. If that changed, a store owner could get rid of the car they needed to commute from home to work.
Saying China are up substantially along other 3rd world countries is rather misleading. A lot of their Greenhouse Gases is caused by manufacturing stuff for US & other 1st world countries.Corporations love manufacturing in brutal dictatorships because it allows them to treat their workers like dirt, spew toxic waste & more. That makes them huge amounts of money.
Something like 1/2 the wealth in America is inherited. Just imagine
the risks those trustafarians took finding the right parents! Ask a soldier, a fire fighter, or a worker in a dangerous job about
those risks. Meanwhile a risk free billionaire CEO does a lousy job and walks off with
a multi-million dollar golden parachute.
Comments
AFAIK, the reason that higher rates help keep inflation in check is because companies facing higher borrowing costs start firing their workers. With less people employed, their is less demand for stuff, & prices decline. That always struck me as an extremely brutal way to fight inflation. Low paid workers pay a terrible cost for something they did little to cause. I would think there is better policies than just blindly raising rates. For instance a tax surcharge on $1M + incomes, a bigger one on $10M + incomes, etc.. Since rich people love tax cuts more than life itself, rich CEOs will hesitate to have their companies raise prices.
Post: Interest Rates Battle
Link to comment from December 15, 2025
"first 3 years of Trump in his first term until COVID hit, workers adjusted inflation earnings went up more than 10% first time in several decades." Uh, no: Per that 1st link - Employed full time: Median usual weekly real earnings Q4 '16: $349 Q1 '20: $367 + $18 = 5% Q4 '12: $323 Q1 '16: $346 + $23 = 7% The big spike you see in chart is from Q2 '20 - AFTER Covid
Post: Feeling Moody
Link to comment from May 27, 2025
Mind expanding on the gig at the Potomac Almanac where Jonathan ended up as the education reporter, the sports reporter, the police reporter and the business reporter? Did anyone else work there? :-)
Post: Asking the Editor
Link to comment from March 11, 2025
To waste food is catastrophic for the environment. All the pesticides, water, oil, resources and more put toxic waste into our air and water. And for what? Absolutely nothing!
Post: A matter of significant financial concern – want fries with that?
Link to comment from February 23, 2025
Do I think athletes are overpaid? Yes. But does it really hurt anything compared to a Criminal Evil Overpaid CEO? No. Scummy CEOs murder their workers with impunity, run brutal sweatshops, fire massive amounts of workers even when their companies are massively profitable just to grab even more $billions -- and then when they do a lousy job walk off with a massive Golden Parachute. It would be comical if CEOs weren't so immoral that people whine so much about athletes' salaries, while ignore CEOs much large looting.
Post: Sports Fan by Scott Martin
Link to comment from February 15, 2025
"Investors worldwide have collectively decided that foreign stocks should account for 40% of the global stock market’s value. " To be an obnoxious nitpicker, that is probably incorrect. If a stock holder in say Germany has 40% in foreign stocks, "foreign" includes US stocks. So they would have 60% in German stocks, and 40% in all other countries, including the US. Add up all the 95% non US people in the world, and I doubt if there would be 60% in US stocks. :-)
Post: Stuck at Home
Link to comment from November 30, 2024
My community saw a wildfire in the middle of winter that destroyed 1,000+ homes. Toxic smoke from massive fires far away hurts the lungs. This never happened before the climate crisis! Just imagine how much more $ could go to retirement or investing if people didn't have to replace houses or spend so much on their health because of toxic smoke!
Post: What You Can Do
Link to comment from November 18, 2024
Better than switching car tech is no car at all. I realize for a lot of people this is unrealistic. But policies can change. It is absolutely absurd that the work week hasn't gotten shorter with the same pay, even thru Americans are much more productive than decades earlier. A shorter work week would mean people are more willing to use longer public transit commutes, and get in shape to walk / bike more. Another policy change would be zoning changes. Many places a living quarter above a store is illegal. If that changed, a store owner could get rid of the car they needed to commute from home to work.
Post: What You Can Do
Link to comment from November 17, 2024
Saying China are up substantially along other 3rd world countries is rather misleading. A lot of their Greenhouse Gases is caused by manufacturing stuff for US & other 1st world countries. Corporations love manufacturing in brutal dictatorships because it allows them to treat their workers like dirt, spew toxic waste & more. That makes them huge amounts of money.
Post: What You Can Do
Link to comment from November 17, 2024
Something like 1/2 the wealth in America is inherited. Just imagine the risks those trustafarians took finding the right parents! Ask a soldier, a fire fighter, or a worker in a dangerous job about those risks. Meanwhile a risk free billionaire CEO does a lousy job and walks off with a multi-million dollar golden parachute.
Post: In defense of billionaires
Link to comment from October 14, 2024