Update from the
Heartland
No.646
28.4.14 – 4.5.14
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
I
am officially retired. Free at
last! More books from my little
pea brain are on the way. Consult
your favorite book retailer at your convenience.
Unfortunately, I do not have anything to
add on world or national events, and no one wanted to stir the pot. So, this week’s Update is rather thin.
News from the economic front:
-- The Commerce Department reported the U.S. Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), as a measure of national economic activity. slid back to a
paltry, seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.1% in 1Q2014. The weakest first quarter in the
five-year recovery from the Great Recession has been attributed to weakness in
overseas exports and the frigid winter curtailing business investment.
-- In interesting contrast, the Federal Reserve announced
they would reduce their bond-buying stimulus program to US$45B per month, despite
the meager GDP growth in 1Q2014.
The central bankers pointed to the effect of the rough winter on
business growth and maintained their forecast for continued growth and economic
recovery from the Great Recession.
-- The Labor Department reported non-farm employment grew a
seasonally adjusted 288,000 in April, which marked the best month of employment
growth since January 2012 and the second-best month since the economy emerged
from the Great Recession in mid-2009. The unemployment rate fell to 6.3% from
6.7%, hitting the lowest level since September 2008. Several economists urge caution with these results since the
labor force participation rate surprisingly declined by 0.4% to 62.8%, the
lowest since last December.
Comments
and contributions from Update no.645:
Comment to the Blog:
“Your notion that those of Russian ethnicity or sympathies
should move to Russia is akin to the notion that Americans of Latino descent
should “go back to Mexico.” The fact that the Latinos' ancestors may have
arrived in what is now the USA long before the Anglos did makes no impact on
those who are simply expressing their prejudice. In a similar vein, Russian
ethnicity does not imply Russian territorial citizenship in recent times.
Borders have shifted. These are people whose lives are located in what today is
Ukraine. They would be that many more displaced people should they move to what
is currently Russian soil.
“I continue to agree with your analysis of the
election-financing mess. I still focus on the erroneous notion that a
corporation is or ever could be a citizen. Corporations have no emotions, raise
no children, love nobody, and have only such ethics as are imposed upon them by
the human beings operating them. The transparency in your proposal might
possibly engender some change, but I doubt it would do enough. Even knowing
that a Citigroup or BP has bought an election probably would not overcome the
effects of expertly crafted advertising that permeates TV, radio, and the
Internet. Some form of either public financing or dramatically limited
contributions seems a better answer to me.”
My response to the
Blog:
My
apologies, I should have been a sliver more expansive on my statement. I should had added the qualifier “if
they are dissatisfied” to my statement.
I do believe, many Americans of Latino descent want to be Americans, not
Mexicans. My point was, separatism
in this instance must not be used as a rationale for violence and an enticement
for Russian intervention as it was in Sudetenland and Danzig 75 years ago.
Re:
public financing. Given the recent
pronouncements of the Supremes, I suspect public financing is a dream, without
a constitutional amendment. At
least getting the money out in the open in a user friendly database would give
us a fighting chance. As long as
that money remains hidden or virtually hidden, we stand no chance until the
Press decides to use their resources to ferret out the connections.
Re:
corporate citizenship. We use the
phrase a lot, especially in the reading of Citizens United; however, a
corporation cannot be a citizen – it cannot vote. That said, your point is well taken. Citizens United was wrong. Unfortunately, we will have to wait a
long time for a future Supreme Court to overturn it, and return us to a more
reasonable and constitutionally sound state.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
2 comments:
Let's see, how can I stir something up? I wonder what's behind the landslides and sinkholes lately. Could that be a more-or-less direct result of changing rainfall patterns as the climate changes? Is Latvia the next target for the Russians? Have you noticed people talking more often and less kindly about the Koch brothers? I have seen TV reports of various views on domestic commercial drones. What do you think?
Have you heard the prediction that China's economy will grow to be larger than ours this year? In the long term that may be more important than those other items above. Also in reference to China, do you think they will do something to keep the peace in their region while their economy flourishes? Both Russia and North Korea are among China's neighbors.
The Fed has decided to cut back on bond buying despite the continuing confusion among economic indicators. At this point, I guess one move has as much chance as another. Until someone important either comes to understand whatever is going on or decides to impart such knowledge to the rest of us, action is pointless. For my own viewpoint, the thirty years since Reagan began to get his owners' ideas implemented have convinced me that John Maynard Keynes came far closer to sound ideas than the distorted version of Adam Smith's notions that currently passes for economics. Are you (or is any non-economist?) aware that Adam Smith completely opposed the idea of limited liability? Limited liability is the foundational concept underlying corporations.
Calvin,
I always appreciate a good stir. Thank you for that.
Landslides and sinkholes have been happening since forever. They are microscopic events in the macroclimate dynamic, i.e., spot extremes, hazards, or other calamities will always occur regardless of the climate; thus, I do not think the recent catastrophes are due to climate change.
Re: Latvia. The Baltic States would be easy pickings compared to the Ukraine, except for one small detail – the European Union, and consequently NATO of which the United States is a part. Latvia is farther along in the EU membership process than the Ukraine. That said, Latvia and the Baltics are highly unlikely targets short of general warfare.
Re: Koch Brothers. Nope, not seen that as yet . . . still very much the villainous portrayal, it seems to me.
Re: domestic drones. The use of domestic drone aircraft of various sizes is inevitable, in my humble opinion – endurance, size, repetition, risk, cost, among other reasons. The potential for chaos is real. It does not take much imagination to see that potential without regulation, control and structure. The FAA has several initiatives in play to get a handle on safe use of unmanned aircraft in U.S. airspace.
Re: PRC. Yes; in fact, by the latest estimates, the PRC economy may overtake the U.S. economy as the world’s largest earlier than expected, prior to 2020 by one estimate. The consequences to the world economy are certainly less clear.
Re: PRC regional aggression. This is a tough one in my mind. I do not know why the PRC is taking progressively more aggressive action against its territorial neighbors . . . could be a sense of remedy to enduring grievances, or simply the schoolyard bully syndrome.
Re: Fed action. That was precisely my point. The economic signs are not all positive or consistent, which suggests to me that the nation’s recovery from the Great Recession is more mushy and unsteady.
Re: limited liability. Yes, I think most folks can see the consequences of limited liability for corporations. Perhaps less can see the benefit. As with most things, the key is balance. Given the uncharted ramifications of Citizens United, the pendulum appears to have swung too far toward the benefit of corporations. Adam Smith’s premise was cause and effect, i.e., consequences for decisions taken. The market cannot be a reliable broker in the arbitration of wrongdoing or the public good in contemporary society, as modern technology enables dramatic market manipulation by forces with the means to do so, i.e., the wealthy bending the market to their will . . . kinda like royalty of a bygone era.
“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”
Thank you for stirring the pot a little. Keep up the great work. Take care and enjoy.
Cheers,
Cap
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