Times are a changin’
In 1964 Bob Dylan wrote a song “The Times Are a Changin.” It was an anthem for frustrated youth and summed up the anti-establishment feelings of people who wanted America to embrace Civil Rights legislation. [...]
American economy contracted at record rate
The Commerce Department last week reported the steepest-ever decline in the U.S. gross domestic product. The value of goods and services fell at an annual 32.9% in the second quarter, wiping out nearly five years [...]
Challenge of higher education
A study by EY-Parthenon, a consultant to the education industry, indicated that some 800 of America’s 2,000 colleges could close. Twenty percent of colleges run deficits because of inadequate endowments, less than optimal enrollment and/or [...]
A Weekend of Urban Anarchy Wall Street Journal Editorial
Introduction An editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal described their response too the violence and vandalism that impact many urban areas this weekend. Despite extensive newspaper and television coverage, I remain in a quandary whether [...]
Record-low mortgage rates launch boom in home sales
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes rose 20.7% in June over May. This is the biggest increase on record going back to 1968. The surge in existing-home sales follows [...]
The Virus Turns New York City Into a Ghost Town
The Time Life Building Only Has 500 workers showing up in comparison to Pre-Pandemic 8,000 The Rockefeller Center Ecosystem of Restaurants and Shops, created to serve Midtown workers and tourists, has gone dark Introduction: [...]
In Atlanta, Violent Crime Surges Amid Rising Unemployment, by Sabrina Simmons, Wall Street Journal
A recent wave of violent crime has roiled the city of Atlanta, amplifying tensions in a community still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and a debate over policing and race. Atlanta’s problems highlight the [...]
Skepticism mitigates confidence following retail sales increase of 7.5%
In June, retail sales increased by 7.5%. Retail sales account for about a quarter of all consumer spending. The reopening of malls, restaurants, and other service industry positions allowed millions of people to return to [...]
Pandemic brings significant challenges to airline industry
On Wednesday, United Airlines said that it is expecting to lay off close to 50% of its U.S. domestic workforce. United is not alone. American Airlines may have to cut 20,000 jobs, and Delta has [...]
Despite surge in coronavirus cases, U.S. enjoys a precarious job recovery
On Thursday the Labor Department reported that we added 4.8 million jobs in June, reducing our unemployment rate slightly to 11.1%. This is our second month of job growth after losing 20 million jobs earlier [...]
U.S economic outlook remains mixed despite estimates that 20 million Americans may have contracted the coronavirus
As we approach the midyear, the future direction of our economy remains mixed. The renewed national upsurge in COVID-19 cases has forced some states and cities that have reopened to reverse course. President Donald Trump [...]
Coronavirus Uptick Raises Alarms
The reclosing of eleven Apple stores in four states on Friday highlighted the growing concerns that the coronavirus is gaining ground. Scientists have expressed anxieties that the U.S. has replaced Italy and China as [...]
Fed Outlook Dim into Next Year
Last Wednesday Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said: “This (COVID-19) is the biggest shock in the U.S. and in the world in living memory. We went from the lowest level of unemployment in 50 [...]
Federal Reserve forecasts negative outlook for U.S. economy beyond 2020
Last Wednesday Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said: “This (COVID-19) is the biggest shock in the U.S. and in the world in living memory. We went from the lowest level of unemployment in 50 years [...]
David Rubinstein Interview with David McCullough about John Adams
Introduction Since 1986 I have been able to listen to books. For me, this has been immensely satisfying. I initially received books on tape and then returned the books to Books on Tape and [...]
China’s grip on Hong Kong has financial and political ramifications
China’s legislature has taken preliminary steps to impose greater national security control over Hong Kong. These efforts would override the territory’s partial autonomy in order to crush anti-Beijing protests. For several years, the tensions between [...]
Economic numbers remain in doldrums
Over the past few days, economic releases have highlighted the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, we learned that consumer spending dropped a record 16.4%. On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that 36.5 [...]
How Washington Learned to Embrace the Budget Deficit
Introduction Today’s New York Times highlighted the canonization of federal deficits. For the first 75 years of my life, I learned repeatedly that government deficits should be a source of fiscal concern. Today there [...]
Europe Faces Worst Recession Since World War II
On Wednesday, the European Commission projected that Europe’s economy will decline by 7.4% this year. Unfortunately, this downturn far exceeds the financial crisis of 2008, when the Eurozone’s economy shrank by 4.5%. Currently, economists expect [...]
America needs to establish a national holiday to commemorate the devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic
Before we address our dire economic status we need to mourn the terrible toll caused by the coronavirus pandemic. More than 1 million Americans have tested positive and 60,000 have died. During the Civil War, [...]
World Oil Demand Forecast to See Largest-Ever Decline
The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast that the global demand for oil would decline more this year than ever. Faith Birol, head of the Paris-based IEA, said: “We may see it was the worst [...]
Robert Caro: Understanding the Use of Power in our Democracy
Introduction For all of us, these are challenging times. Each one of us spends our times differently as we try to cope with COVID-19, a pandemic that has devastated our globe. (As of this [...]
Federal Reserve Launches $2.3 Trillion Program to Support U.S. Economy
On Thursday, the Federal Reserve announced a monumental $2.3 trillion program to provide funds for businesses and municipal governments. To underscore its efforts, Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, issued a statement: [...]
Protocols of Zion and Me
Introduction At some level I have been aware of the Protocols of Zion as early as my teenage years. That is, I knew that this fabricated text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for [...]
Rising Expectations for Serious Economic Crisis in the U.S.
U.S. policymakers now anticipate that our country will experience the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The U.S. is at the center of the global pandemic. According to data compiled by John Hopkins [...]
How Will We Know When It’s Time to Reopen the Nation
How Will We Know When It’s Time to Reopen the Nation By Aaron Carroll, New York Times and professor of Pediatrics at Indiana University. Carroll made the following points: To date we can only [...]
Putting the $2 Trillion Coronavirus Aid Package into Perspective
President Trump signed a $2.2 trillion bill — the largest relief package in history — that hopefully will stabilize our coronavirus-battered economy. However, despite the enormous efforts on both the fiscal and monetary side, [...]
New York Outbreaks Worse than Wuhan’s – New York Times
Today’s New York Times reported that if the rate of growth in coronavirus cases in the New York metro area continues, it will suffer a more severe outbreak than those experienced in Wuhan, China [...]
The United States Braces for a Drastic Economic Slowdown
We now have a consensus that the United States, along with the world economy, will enter into a severe recession, surpassing the 2007-2008 slumps. Forecasting when the recession will begin is notoriously difficult; however, [...]
Corporate Bond Debt is a Ticking Time Bomb, and Coronavirus has Lit the Fuse
Borrowing by businesses is historically high relative to gross domestic product (GDP), with the most rapid increases in debt concentrated among the riskiest firms amid weak credit standards. Coronavirus represents a threat that has [...]
Coronavirus Raises Risks for Global Recession in 2020
The likelihood of a global recession has risen dramatically in recent weeks. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently reported that COVID-19 has infected more than 100,000 people across 92 nations and territories. It has [...]
Role of Business in the American Economy
During this election cycle, presidential candidates have been critical of American businesses and their influence over the legislative process. I would like to provide an alternative view from an economic perspective. As long as [...]
Amazon CEO: ‘Climate Change is the Biggest Threat to Our Planet’
Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, announced recently that he was committing $10 billion to combat climate change through a global initiative, called the Bezos Earth Fund. Bezos said: “The fund will support scientists, [...]
An Affordable House Challenge – One Local Developer Strives to Find the Solution
Across Sarasota and Manatee counties, we face an affordable housing crisis. A recent report examining affordable housing revealed around 42% of households in Sarasota County and 38% of households in Manatee County spend more [...]
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas (1954)
"We conclude that the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." —Chief Justice Earl Warren Introduction Over the past twenty-five years I have read on three occasions [...]
Global Impact of Coronavirus
Chinese authorities failed on a timely basis to warn about the coronavirus epidemic, endangering the world. The Wall Street Journal reported that the World Health Organization, bending to Chinese pressure, failed to declare it [...]