December 2015

Happy Holidays From The Economic Populist

It's that time of year to ring in the joy and revel in festivities.  Yet another year has passed and economic injustice, inequality and the great financial crisis taxpayer ripoff is further in the historical dust heap and buried under the corporate propaganda political rug.  It's also time to view funny economic cartoons.

Q3 GDP 2.0% as Investment in Inventories Declined

Q3 GDP has been revised to 2.0%.  This is a smidgen, a 0.1 percentage point lowering than the last estimate.  Most factors which make up GDP did not change much from the primarily estimate.  Changes in private inventories was where the revision occurred as they were revised from -0.59 to -0.71 percentage points of GDP.  Consumer spending and domestic demand are still muddling along with moderate growth.

Is Donald Trump a Conservative?

One of the raps against Donald Trump frequently trotted out by some of his conservative critics, often supporters of one of the more traditional conservative candidates, is that he is not really a conservative. Some even call him a liberal. Yet despite this charge, Trump continues to gain the support of prominent conservatives whose conservative credentials it is difficult to impugn.

Don't Expect Increase in Corporate Tax Rates ... Ever

No matter what party controls Congress, or who is President, corporate taxes will never increase as a share of GDP or as a share of corporate profits.  If anything, the rate will only go lower, more deductions will be added, and the same tax breaks they already have will be extended (making some permanent) — just like they did in the last spending bill.

CPI Flat in November; Real Retail Sales up 0.5% in Boost to Q4 GDP

The consumer price index was flat in November as lower prices for food, energy and core goods offset higher prices for services. The Consumer Price Index Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that seasonally adjusted prices were unchanged in November after rising 0.2% in October and falling 0.2% in September.

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