After four quarters of decline, the U.S. Gross Domestic Product finally saw a quarter of growth. The upswing from negative 6.4 percent to positive 3.5 (that’s a change of 9.9 percentage points for you non-mathematicians) since Barack Obama took office is the largest rate of increase over two-quarters since 1980.

Like Megan McArdle, I’ve always been a little skeptical of looking at GDP growth as the be-all end-all barometer of our national health. Then again, Andrew Sullivan…

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Rich kids tend to score higher on the SAT.

Original article: SAT Scores And Family Income

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The U.S. Federal Reserve is going to buy about $1.2 trillion (yes, trillion) of government debt to help boost the economy. On the surface, this looks like a great move to add liquidity to the market and get things moving again. How can $1.2 trillion of cash not make money easier to get? The U.S. Federal..
Read & Discuss

Normal 0 Tables and racks full of clothing. This picture is an emblem to me of what we are facing today. The floundering economy is leaving families scrambling for basic necessities like food and shelter. In my town when we were left with a few handfuls of people in dire need, that picture..
Read & Discuss

  Listening to MSNBC and CNBC yesterday a commentator said to cut back on unnecessary spending, save, as things will get worse. I noticed with all the talk the last few months art sales have tumbled to about 40% of what they were last year this time. I am sure things are bad as we read about GM..
Read & Discuss

While most of the developed world is freaking out about the ongoing economic fallout—The Great Recession if you will (something I heard Kurt Andersen say last night)—China is fighting to hang on to growth. So, earlier this morning, way across the world from here, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao delivered..
Read & Discuss

This Robert Shiller chart, which appeared in the New York Times, well displays the enormity of our current housing crisis. These numbers leave you wondering if any of the plans proposed by congress and the White House will be able to help as much as we would hope them to.James Quinn, having posted the..
Read & Discuss

Obama’s speech tonight really energized me. If you have not already, set aside an hour and watch. If you did watch, what do you think?

Read & Discuss

In an era of unprecedented government spending and economic instability, it would seem that the idea of an increase in the federally mandated gas tax would be less than popular.  According to many economists and this article from BusinessWeek, the only way to get the American people on board with fuel..
Read & Discuss

Earlier today I posted a PDF of the full Economic Stimulus Bill the House was voting on today (and asked for some help reading through it). Well, H.R. 1 just passed 244-188. (This includes not a single Republic vote in its favor.) The economic merits and meaning of this 647-page, $825 billion bill aside,..
Read & Discuss

After four quarters of decline, the U.S. Gross Domestic Product finally saw a quarter of growth. The upswing from negative 6.4 percent to positive 3.5 (that’s a change of 9.9 percentage points for you non-mathematicians) since Barack Obama took office is the largest rate of increase over two-quarters since 1980.

Like Megan McArdle, I’ve always been a little skeptical of looking at GDP growth as the be-all end-all barometer of our national health. Then again, Andrew Sullivan…

Read & Discuss

Rich kids tend to score higher on the SAT.

Original article: SAT Scores And Family Income

Read & Discuss

The U.S. Federal Reserve is going to buy about $1.2 trillion (yes, trillion) of government debt to help boost the economy. On the surface, this looks like a great move to add liquidity to the market and get things moving again. How can $1.2 trillion of cash not make money easier to get? The U.S. Federal..
Read & Discuss

Normal 0 Tables and racks full of clothing. This picture is an emblem to me of what we are facing today. The floundering economy is leaving families scrambling for basic necessities like food and shelter. In my town when we were left with a few handfuls of people in dire need, that picture..
Read & Discuss

  Listening to MSNBC and CNBC yesterday a commentator said to cut back on unnecessary spending, save, as things will get worse. I noticed with all the talk the last few months art sales have tumbled to about 40% of what they were last year this time. I am sure things are bad as we read about GM..
Read & Discuss

While most of the developed world is freaking out about the ongoing economic fallout—The Great Recession if you will (something I heard Kurt Andersen say last night)—China is fighting to hang on to growth. So, earlier this morning, way across the world from here, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao delivered..
Read & Discuss

This Robert Shiller chart, which appeared in the New York Times, well displays the enormity of our current housing crisis. These numbers leave you wondering if any of the plans proposed by congress and the White House will be able to help as much as we would hope them to.James Quinn, having posted the..
Read & Discuss

Obama’s speech tonight really energized me. If you have not already, set aside an hour and watch. If you did watch, what do you think?

Read & Discuss

In an era of unprecedented government spending and economic instability, it would seem that the idea of an increase in the federally mandated gas tax would be less than popular.  According to many economists and this article from BusinessWeek, the only way to get the American people on board with fuel..
Read & Discuss

Earlier today I posted a PDF of the full Economic Stimulus Bill the House was voting on today (and asked for some help reading through it). Well, H.R. 1 just passed 244-188. (This includes not a single Republic vote in its favor.) The economic merits and meaning of this 647-page, $825 billion bill aside,..
Read & Discuss

What could be more important than the upcoming election? What the next president actually does once elected. While a feverish media dissects Palin’s wardrobe and plumbs "Joe’s" biography, real challenges for America are piling up. Domestic struggles over marriage and abortion rights will define who we..
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Lugging huge bags of coffee through the unpaved hills of Rwanda to a processing plant was back-breaking work for the Karaba coffee co-op. In this original GOOD video see how a collaboration between Karaba and a Portland, Oregon, coffee roaster has solved that problem, boosted production, and given birth..
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