Really interesting interview this morning on Marketplace on NPR with Michigan’s governor Rick Snyder (a Republican, btw): From the transcript: Hobson: As the rest of the country looks at that and what’s happening in Michigan, I think the general sense…
HOPE isn’t going under this year, but the long term funding picture is grim, as has been widely reported. Lottery sales seems to have plateaued, while the number of students hoping to go to college in Georgia is increasing along…
I’ve been following the trend of Americans driving less. Click here for a post from just a month ago. Normally, if there is a decline in driving in a recession, there’s a fairly quick rebound once the economy starts to…
We’ve seen a small uptick in residential construction of late, and it’s virtually assured that residential investment will contribute positively to GDP this year. But we’re talking about a very low level — 2012 will still be one of the…
I recently devoted a column to the strong likelihood that the Backus Cadillac property is being redeveloped for a Whole Foods Market. That idea had been rumored for a couple of years, but for a long time it didn’t make much sense. I routinely tried to dispel the prospect when rumors resurfaced.
Much of what you’ve been reading about the Obama budget proposal is dead wrong. I’ve already noted in a post that next year’s outlays for defense, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will outpace total tax receipts. In a great column…
The $25 billion foreclosure settlement between the states and five major banks, which will actually come closer to $32 billion in total aid, will have significant impacts. It’s by no means a gamechanger for the housing market, but it’s hardly…
I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot about the $900 billion deficit in President Obama’s 2013 budget proposal (a political document as much as an economic one), but keep in mind that the path to balanced budgets is going to…
From the NYT’s Even Critics of Safety Net Increasingly Depend on It: Ki Gulbranson owns a logo apparel shop, deals in jewelry on the side and referees youth soccer games. He makes about $39,000 a year and wants you to…
Please note that this title and post are not about municipal budgets, but about the financial security of individuals and households. From the AJC’s Georgia is dead last in financial security: The study by the Washington-based Corporation for Enterprise Development…
In a recent post, I mentioned that Calculated Risk has plausibly argued that we’ve seen the bottom for new home sales, new home starts, and residential investment. CR predicted that home prices would bottom later this spring, although the data…
Today, the Savannah Morning News published the second column by Nicholas Mangee, a new assistant professor of economics at Armstrong Atlantic State University: How the U.S. is not Greece I’m a fan of good information and reasonable discussion, so I’m…
From Bank of America Plaza to be auctioned Tuesday in the AJC: The 55-story, 1,023-foot building will be sold on the steps of the Fulton County Courthouse after landlord BentleyForbes missed mortgage payments. The California-based commercial real estate investment firm…
Regular readers know that I closely follow the blog Calculated Risk. Bill McBride does an amazing job of presenting the latest economic data and releases with no spin. When he takes the time to analyze the data he is presenting,…
