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The Great Depression, Part 3

In Part I of this series, Bonddad and I looked at the years 1929 - 1933. These years saw a decline of 25% in the chained GDP figures; a failure of 20% of commercial banks, a drop in personal income from $90 billion to $50 billion and a drop in the level of industrial production from 60 to 30. In
part II we looked at the years 1934 - 1940, where we saw that growth returned to 1929 levels in 1937, although this was lowered by the recession of 1938. By 1939 GDP was again increasing. In this article, we will look at what happened statistically and practically during the years of 1934 - 1938.

The Great Depression, Part 2

In Part I of this series, Bonddad and I looked at the years 1929 - 1933. These years saw a decline of 25% in the chained GDP figures; a failure of 20% of commercial banks, a drop in personal income from $90 billion to $50 billion and a drop in the level of industrial production from 60 to 30. The contraction was the most severe of the last 100 years. Let's take a look at years 1934 - 1940 to see how the economy performed.

''At the end of February, we were a con-geries of disorderly panicstricken mobs and factions. In the hundred days from March to June we became again an organized nation confident of our power to provide for our own security and to control our own destiny.'' - Walter Lippmann, 1933

The Hundred Days were only the start of a process that ended by transforming American society.

Manufacturing Tuesday: Week of 01.05.2009

It's the start of the new calendar year, the start of a new Presidential administration (well on the 20th actually), and of course the start of the first business quarter. We got in some disturbing, ok that's putting it mildly, some crappy manufacturing news from the gang at ISM. The steel industry, in hopes of restoring some business, initiates a new campaign. Arizona & Michigan are starting a green jobs plans. All this, but first...

The Numbers!

This week's Numbers section actually will also be one our leader story. The latest from the Institute of Supply Management's Manufacturing Survey came in at below what folks were figuring. Now to those new to all this, the ISM Manufacturing Survey is a study of 300 manufacturing firms; the numbers are registered as an index, anything above 50 means expansion in manufacturing, below 50 the opposite.

The Great Depression, Part 1

This article is the first in a series on the Great Depression. I am collaborating on this series with Bonddad. The purpose of this series is simply to talk about the Great Depression. The reason for writing this article is the emergence of the "FDR made the Depression worse" talking point from the Right Wing Noise Machine -- econ division. While none of the stories using this line have an facts to back them up -- no charts, no graphs no data -- they continue to spew this talking point. So, let's get some data -- as in facts -- to see that actually happened.

Sunday Morning Comics - It's a New Year Edition

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Sponsored by Your Local Public Relations Messaging Team - Just remember, when unemployment goes up that means the economy is recovering!
Cup O' Joe

 

Good Morning! Rise and Shine! Get that Cup O' Joe...
break out the O.J....hang out with the pooch...time to check out the Funnies!

 

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The next bubble to burst

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"Find the trend whose premise is false, and bet against it."
- George Soros

It didn't used to be this way. Back in the days of Bretton Woods, and a gold-backed currency, the financial markets were relatively stable. If you wanted to make money you had to do it over a long period of time.
In the post-Bretton Woods era, and especially in the last decade, market bubbles and crashes happen every few years. An investor with a keen eye and an open mind can spot golden investment opportunities, or at least avoid the fallout from the bubble bust.

We are about to see the bursting of the next bubble...and its going to be a doozy.

Welcome Huffington Post Readers

I'd like to thank my buddy Bonddad, with whom I am collaborating on "The Great Depression" series, for giving you a link over here, where I typically post.

At the moment I am absorbed with finishing that series, but I wanted to give you a flavor for the type of analysis you can expect from me. My nom de blog was actually inspired by the Schlesinger history quoted extensively in part 1 of the "Great Depression" series, and at the time I was very much surprised to find that it was still availalble (which is sad, no?).

Offshoring and Outsourcing Commentary for the New Year

It is clear to me that the root cause of many of the economic ills of 2008 was the "government subsidy" of immigration levels about ten times greater than our nation's immigration tradition. See Roy Beck's short YouTube video here: Our Immigration Tradition

When labor markets are glutted by an alphabet soup of work visa programs and the costs of the necessaries of life are bid upwards by the tidal wave of immigration, the "banker class" are the most significant beneficiaries. The U.S. middle class and lower class are the losers in this zero-sum game

Here is a collection of some of my published writings on these topics. I'm anticipating that there will be a big push for increased immigration in 2009, since both McCain and Obama's campaigns called for increased H-1B visas, for example. I wonder out loud if the voice of the middle class will be heard over the "soft rustle of lobbying dollars."

How do we prevent another Bust-out?

http://www.correntewire.com/bust_out_the_republican_approach_to_governance

http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/episode/season2/episode23.shtml

Herewith from the Encyclopedia of Credit:

Bustout
The intentional act of driving a company into insolvency in order to extract as much of the assets as possible form the company for the use of the operators.

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