A couple of days ago in a post about the debt ceiling debate, I pointed out that federal revenues as a percent of GDP are at their lowest level since 1950. Check out this interesting graph from this post at…
There’s a lot of economic data that I follow that rarely makes it into my columns in the Savannah Morning News. That’s certainly true for the Chicago Fed National Activity Index, which I check monthly but rarely mention in print.…
I’ve been writing a lot lately about transportation issues. In today’s column, I follow up to last week’s column about the proposed new regional sales taxes to fund transportation infrastructure projects. That proposed 1% regional sales tax, which will is…
President Obama – and presumably the Congressional Democrats that he thought he had on board – offered some big concessions last week in terms of the debt and deficits. No matter where they come from, $3 trillion in cuts including…
I’ve been increasingly frustrated by the spin promoted by the Georgia Department of Labor under new Commissioner Mark Butler. In the spring, he cited weak job growth numbers as a sign of improvement in Georgia’s employment picture, but did not…
Gas prices retreated rather dramatically from their most recent peak, but lately they’ve been on the rise and have retraced much of that recent decline. According to Gasbuddy.com, Savannah area gas prices are averaging $3.68 per gallon and are on…
People make mistakes — they make horrible investment decisions that sometimes go bust. That’s been especially true during the housing crisis since the groupthink of the boom era made dicey deals seem like sure bets. So I guess it should…
In my City Talk column today — “Leaks, mold and questions about infrastructure spending” — I recap some of the key details regarding the current 2008-2014 round of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), a 1% sales tax…
As I write this, the so-called Gang of Six in the U.S. Senate appears to be getting good response to a long-term debt reduction plan. From the Washington Post: “We’ve gone from a Gang of Six to a mob of…
A few days ago on the Newshour, in response to a question from Ray Suarez about the debt and deficit, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said: Well, my hope is, if we pursue that, we ultimately have some long-term structural changes,…
In my City Talk column today, I focused on two issues: the shaky status of the I-16 flyover removal, which didn’t quite make the cut for funding via the proposed sales tax for transportation that is part of the state’s…
Back in 2008, I wrote a column about Green Bridge Farm, a small sustainable development in Effingham County about a 30-minute drive from downtown Savannah. Michael Maddox’s family has owned the property since the 18th century, and he’s now crafting…
Savannah River Landing — the big empty spot at the east end of River Street next to the Marriott — is by far the most visible sign of the real estate bust in the Savannah area. It’s also an area…
Consumer sentiment nationwide declined sharply in July. If the reactions I’ve heard from friends are any indication, a trio of factors is certainly depressing sentiment here in southeast Georgia: a run of hot weather that — together with steep Georgia…
