US economy

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Osama bin Laden Made Real Progress on His Real Goal of Bankrupting the US: Ezra Klein
 Bin Laden’s Real Goal: 
 Bankrupt US 
Ezra Klein
May 3, 2011 1:15 PM CDT

Bin Laden’s Real Goal: Bankrupt US

He didn't succeed, but he did some serious damage: Ezra Klein

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden wasn't foolish enough to think he could defeat the US militarily. His real goal, one that America never quite grasped, was to bring down the US by bankrupting it, writes Ezra Klein in the Washington Post . Remember, he had helped bring that fate upon the Soviet...

American Pessimism Hits 2-Year High
American Pessimism
Hits 2-Year High
poll numbers
Apr 22, 2011 6:19 AM CDT

American Pessimism Hits 2-Year High

70% feel country headed down wrong path

(Newser) - It's springtime—and despair is in the air, according to the latest New York Times /CBS poll. Americans are more pessimistic about the economy and the direction the nation is headed than at any time since the start of the Obama administration, when the country was deep in recession,...

Why Obama Gets No Credit for Success

His presidency's been about 'preventing disaster,' writes Michael Grunwald

(Newser) - President Obama “prevented an atrocity” in Libya, but no one’s giving him credit. Why? “Because he prevented an atrocity,” writes Michael Grunwald in Time . It’s called the “counterfactual problem:” “It's hard to get credit for avoiding a disaster when it's impossible to...

Unemployment Falls to 2-Year Low: 8.8%

It's fallen full point over past four months, the sharpest drop since 1983

(Newser) - The unemployment rate fell to a two-year low of 8.8% in March and companies added workers at the fastest two-month pace since before the recession began. The Labor Department says the economy added 216,000 new jobs last month, offsetting layoffs at local governments. Factories, retailers, education, health care,...

Welcome to Our Post-Materialist World
Welcome to Our
Post-Materialist World
David Brooks
Feb 15, 2011 1:41 PM CST

Welcome to Our Post-Materialist World

David Brooks: We're getting happier, but not wealthier

(Newser) - America is rapidly transforming into a post-materialist world—and that’s put a screeching halt to our economic growth, argues David Brooks of the New York Times . To prove the point, he imagines two men. The first lived from 1900 to 1974, watching the world move from horse-drawn buggies to...

Unemployment High, but Layoffs Rarer

Those with jobs have good odds of keeping them

(Newser) - The US labor force has been split into two groups: the relieved and the desperate. Those who have a job are less likely to lose it than at any point in at least 14 years, while those who are unemployed are in trouble: The jobless are staying so for longer...

Economy Grew at 3.2% Rate in Q4

Consumer spending grew at fastest pace in 5 years

(Newser) - Spurred by consumer spending and a shrinking trade deficit, the economy grew at a 3.2% annual rate in the fourth quarter. That beats the previous quarter's 2.6% but falls short of analysts' expectations of 3.5%. Still, "a number above 3% should drive a stake through the...

Recession Over for US Firms, Not Workers

US jobless rate higher than competitors despite soaring profits

(Newser) - The US recession is over—at least, for businesses. US workers are still mired in it. Unlike its economic competitors, America's profits have bounced back to above 2007 levels, but the unemployment rate is higher than in Britain or Russia and much higher than in Germany, Japan, or China, notes...

Chance of Double-Dip Recession in 2011 Falls to 15%
Chance of Double-Dip Recession in 2011 Falls to 15%
economists predict
Dec 13, 2010 8:25 AM CST

Chance of Double-Dip Recession in 2011 Falls to 15%

GDP will grow 3%, they estimate

(Newser) - The Bush tax cut deal has some economists walking on sunshine. Experts are getting more upbeat in their forecasts for next year, predicting accelerating growth, finds the Wall Street Journal in its latest forecasting survey. The 55 experts who weighed in expect GDP to grow in “nearly every period,...

Grocer A&amp;P Files for Chapter 11
Grocer A&P Files for
Chapter 11
Dec 13, 2010 6:34 AM CST

Grocer A&P Files for Chapter 11

Move widely expected from 151-year-old firm

(Newser) - The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., once the nation's largest grocer, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it struggles with enormous debt and increased competition from low-priced peers. The 151-year-old company operates 395 stores around the Northeast under the A&P, Waldbaum's, The Food Emporium, Super Fresh,...

'Exhausted' Obama Defender Loses Job

Velma Hart laid off 2 months after telling prez she worried about family's future

(Newser) - The woman who became a symbol of voter dissatisfaction after telling President Obama she was "exhausted" from defending his policies has now got even more reason to be dissatisfied. Velma Hart, who told the president she was worried about her financial future, has lost her job as chief financial...

We Must Return to the Gold Standard
 We Must Return 
 to the Gold Standard 
OPINION
Nov 14, 2010 4:44 PM CST

We Must Return to the Gold Standard

Our sagging economy proves that it's time to stop conjuring dollars

(Newser) - There was a time when money meant something, but now—as evidenced by the Federal Reserve’s “ plan to conjure $600 billion to support the sagging economy”—“dollars can be conjured.” In fact, writes James Grant in the New York Times , “in the digital age,...

Palin to Bernanke: Cease and Desist!

Alaskan slams 'quantitative easing' policy

(Newser) - Chinese and German finance chiefs enraged by Fed chief Ben Bernanke's plans to inject $600 billion into the economy by buying Treasury bonds have found a somewhat unlikely ally: Sarah Palin. The Alaskan slammed the "quantitative easing" policy in a speech to a trade group yesterday, using terminology foreign...

It Was the Economy, Stupid
 It Was the Economy, Stupid 
EXIT POLLS
Nov 3, 2010 2:50 AM CDT

It Was the Economy, Stupid

Voters didn't trust Democrats to turn fortunes around

(Newser) - Those who went to the polls cared about the economy and President Obama's handling of it, not witchcraft, masturbation, or college pranks, exit polls show. More than 60% of voters polled said the economy was the country's top problem and more than 90% said they were worried about its condition...

Obama Pushes $50B Infrastructure Plan

Prez seeks GOP support for 'roads, railways, runways' spending

(Newser) - President Obama has made a fresh call for bipartisan support for his $50 billion "roads, railways and runways" plan to upgrade the nation's infrastructure. Obama warned that a failure to invest in infrastructure is eroding America's competitive edge and called for lawmakers to choose between "decline and prosperity,...

Why America Is So Angry and Miserable
Why America Is So Angry and Miserable
OPINION
Sep 23, 2010 8:53 AM CDT

Why America Is So Angry and Miserable

Blame our culture of entitlement, victimhood, and greed

(Newser) - These days, America seems defined by a near-ubiquitous “simmering resentment, frustration, and anger,” writes Charles Hugh Smith on his Of Two Minds blog. Why is that? Smith blames:
  • A culture of entitlement: From Social Security recipients to Wall Street welfare queens, “most of us have to elbow
...

The Stimulus May Have Worked
The Stimulus May Have Worked
Sep 23, 2010 8:21 AM CDT

The Stimulus May Have Worked

(Newser) - Jim Surowiecki, writing for the New Yorker, says that the Obama stimulus package worked surprisingly well. Yet, Surowiecki notes, Obama gets little credit for it because he did the economically, rather than politically, expedient thing. Rather than lump-sum tax rebates, which consumers tend to horde, he gave taxpayers a small...

Stewart Mocks Biden's 'Summer of Recovery'

'Summer of bedbugs' might have been more accurate

(Newser) - America had a summer of bedbugs and mosque controversy instead of the "summer of recovery" Joe Biden promised, complains Jon Stewart. The Daily Show host, pointing to dismal jobs numbers and the sagging stock market, says "summer of recovery" is about as accurate as calling last summer the...

Tax Cuts: Good for Politicians, Not Economy

There are better ways to go, but no one wants another stimulus

(Newser) - “Tax cuts” is a phrase politicians love, especially in election season—but they may not do the economy much good at all. Those in favor of extending the Bush tax cuts (Republicans and a few Democrats) argue that ending the tax cuts, thus increasing taxes, for anyone—even the...

When It Comes to Global Competitiveness, US Is ... 4th

Large deficits, bleak economic outlook to blame

(Newser) - Today is not a great day for US dominance : For the second year in a row we've taken a hit in the global competitiveness rankings, this time falling from second to fourth due largely to our government debt and weak economic outlook. In first place until two years ago, we've...

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