I’m here today:
A Feasible Measure for Mitigating Income Inequality
Raise the Minimum Wage!
In the wake of New Jersey’s raise in the minimum wage,[0] it seems like a good time to re-assess the case for a nationwide increase. Back in the February State of the Union message, President Obama proposed an increase to $9.00 by the end of 2015. Figure 1 places in historical context the proposal.
Great Expectations, Deferred
Still waiting for large, economy-wide job increases from the “shale revolution”
Changing plans
Found this in my inbox this week:
UC has changed the menu of the health care plans
that will be offered in 2014. Most notably, the three currently available PPO
plans (Anthem Blue Cross PPO, Anthem Plus, and Anthem Lumenos) are being
discontinued. They are replaced by Blue Shield Health Savings Plan and UC
Care.
Who Supports SNAP Cuts?
From reader Hans, commenting on the advisability of the reductions in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) expenditures, effective today:
You ax nothing from the recipient and everything from the tax slave…
SNAP Expenditure Reductions
(Updated with thoughts on “The Food Stamp President”)
From CBPP (10/24):
The 2009 Recovery Act’s temporary boost in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits ends on November 1, 2013, which will mean a benefit cut for each of the nearly 48 million SNAP recipients — 87 percent of whom live in households with children, seniors, or people with disabilities.
What Currencies Are Foreign Exchange Reserves Held In?
Following up on the dollar’s status as an international currency (and how threats of default are not helpful), here is what we know about the dollar’s role as a reserve currency.
Why isn’t inflation lower?
With so much slack in the economy and so many Americans still looking for jobs, why hasn’t inflation been falling further? University of Texas Professor Olivier Coibion and Berkeley Professor Yuriy Gorodnichenko propose an answer in an interesting new research paper.
Data Paranoia Watch
Reader Anonymous (Oct 25, 7:34AM) cites approvingly a ZeroHedge “analysis” that asserts the BLS tweaked the data to make it look like there was a big shift in employment from part time to full time. Here’s the ZeroHedge graph:
Better to Light a Candle…
Against a backdrop of people who are dismissive of data and expertise, it is refreshing to see analysts rise to the challenge of tracking the economy while the government shutdown delayed the release of critical macroeconomic data. From Jim Stock of the CEA, “Economic Activity during the Government Shutdown and Debt Brinksmanship”: