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Posts Tagged ‘economics’

Still Confused about the Economy?

3:38 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · business · Comments Off

9 Oct 2008

Never you fear, La Macha has been sitting through hours and hours of television, radio shows and reading newspapers to try to figure it all out for you!

The latest greatest explanation comes from This American Life from NPR Radio in Chicago. In a show aptly entitled, “Another Frightening Show About the Economy,” Ira Glass and guests explain the latest Wall Street Freak Out (in the form of the commercial paper market) in easy to understand terminology that gets to the core of how economics in the U.S. work and why said economics in the U.S. is collapsing into hell.

I haven’t listened to the entire thing yet–the part I’m looking forward to hearing:

Act Four. What’s Next?

Ira and Adam answer the question: Was the $700 billion bailout bill signed into law today a good idea or a bad one? (10 minutes)

Some how, I think I already know the answer to this–and it’s not one I will be happy with.

Obama’s New Ad Explains Keating Economics

1:20 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · US Presidential Race 2008 · Comments Off

7 Oct 2008

I like this latest video put out by Obama not so much because it is anti-McCain, but because I think it explains a lot of what the heck is going on with the latest economic crisis that seems darn near impossible to unravel. I don’t think the U.S.’s current economic problems started recently with predatory lending (although that’s obviously a huge deal), I think it started before that–when John McCain’s hero, Ronald Reagan, began deregulating anything he could get his hands on.

I don’t know though, as I said before, it’s not like I’m some sorta economics wizard. So maybe I’m too easily persuaded by partisan politics.

What do you think? Do you buy the video’s argument?

Forclosures=Tent Cities

5:47 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Labor| US Presidential Race 2008| housing · Comments Off

18 Sep 2008

MSNBC is reporting that with the increase in foreclosures countrywide, there has been an alarming increase in a phenomenon known as tent cities. Tent cities are reminiscent of Hoovervilles of the Great Depression, basically areas where homeless people congregate and live. What makes these areas different than “normal” homelessness is that generally it’s agreed that most of the people are living in these areas for reasons directly related to events connected to the government/free market, such as the Great Depression or the home foreclosure crisis.

The absolutely only good thing about this horrible mess?

Homeless people and their advocates have organized three tent cities at City Hall in recent months to call attention to the homeless and protest the sweeps — acts of militancy, said Harris, “that we really haven’t seen around homeless activism since the early ’90s.“

I just wish that homeless activism wasn’t dependent on people reacting to what is probably the worst times of their lives.

Bush Needs To look Closer to Home

8:00 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Uncategorized · Comments Off

10 Mar 2007

President Bush may be on a Latin American tour to prove he cares about poverty
but recent numbers show that he should have stayed closer to home.

The number of Americans living in severe poverty has
expanded dramatically under the Bush administration,
with nearly 16 million people now living on an
individual income of less than $5,000 (£2,500) a
year or a family income of less than $10,000,
according to an analysis of 2005 official census data.
The analysis, by the McClatchy group of newspapers,
showed that the number of people living in extreme
poverty had grown by 26 per cent since 2000. Poverty
as a whole has worsened, too, but the number of
severe poor is growing 56 per cent faster than the
overall segment of the population characterised as
poor – about 37 million people in all according to
the census data. That represents more than 10 per
cent of the US population, which recently surpassed
the 300 million mark.

U.S. Embargo costs Cuba 4 billion

4:53 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia| Cuba| Money| Politics · 1 Comment

2 Oct 2006

According to AP, Cuba is recognizing that the U.S. embargo of the island has cost the nation over 4 billion dollars over the last year.

Cuba’s losses increased from July 2005 to July of this year because the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has steadily tightened the embargo at the same time Cuba’s economy is growing and spending more money abroad, Vice Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told a news conference.

He cited tougher U.S. scrutiny of Cuban nickel exports and of Cuban use of dollars in international transactions. The government claimed a loss of US$2.8 billion for the mid-2004-2005 period.

The Cuban foreign minister calls the embargo “a policy which causes suffering”.

In addition to lost trade revenue, Cuba is also missing out on the potential boon of U.S. tourism to the island. Visits made by Cuban-Americans also fell this year by half, from 200,000 to roughly 100,000.

According to the Cuban government, the island has lost over 86 billion dollars in trade revenue since the embargo was first imposed in 1960.

Via / International Herald Tribune

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