New Jersey CFO

Does It Make Sense to Resurrect the Glass-Steagall Act?

In the present system, the more unrestricted the banks are, the more money they can generate “out of thin air,” and the more damage they can inflict upon the wealth-generation process. FULL ARTICLE by Frank Shostak

Add comment February 20th, 2010

Fear

“Swine flu is not the only thing we are neurotic wrecks about. Over at the Home Office, ministers warn about the likelihood of an al Qaeda terrorist attack,” says a Daily Mail op-ed on “today’s culture of fear.” As to which, Prison Planet maintains its drum beat of reporting on pandemic-flu-related mass graves being dug and martial law plans being laid here and abroad — while The Pakistan Daily assures readers it’s not the H1N1 virus we should fear but the pending vaccine. Two thirds of New Zealand travelers now view the world as more dangerous than when they first went abroad — with terrorism, crime and disease topping their worries, NZCity has an insurance company survey showing.

Add comment August 3rd, 2009

Women and children first…

Add comment August 1st, 2009

We’ve Wiped Out All The New Jobs Of The 21st Century

What’s the best way to express just how bad the job market is? You could look at the soaring unemployment rate, or perhaps the ever-shortening work week. How about this: Total nonfarm payrolls, notes economist James Hamilton, are now back to where they were in mid 2000, and in a few months they’ll certainly be back to pre-2000 levels. 21st century job creation: gone.

All Jobs Created in the 21st Century Are Now Gone – Clusterstock

Add comment July 10th, 2009

Potential Costs of Next Pandemic

…..beside all the pain and suffering…..

From Reuters’ Tan Ee Lyn this past weekend:

… health experts have long warned that the next flu pandemic was overdue and urged countries around the world to prepare for the dramatic economic impact of such a catastrophe.

Below are estimates of economic costs of such a disaster:

• The World Bank estimated in 2008 that a flu pandemic could cost $3 trillion and result in a nearly 5 percent drop in world gross domestic product. The World Bank has estimated that more than 70 million people could die worldwide in a severe pandemic.
• Australian independent think-tank Lowy Institute for International Policy estimated in 2006 that in the worst-case scenario, a flu pandemic could wipe $4.4 trillion off global economic output.
• Two reports in the United States in 2005 estimated that a flu pandemic could cause a serious recession of the U.S. economy, with immediate costs of between $500 billion and $675 billion.
• One report, from the Congressional Budget Office, said hospitals would have difficulty controlling infection and might become sources for spreading the illness.
• A second report by New Jersey-based WBB Securities LLC predicted a one-year economic loss of $488 billion and a permanent economic loss of $1.4 trillion to the U.S. economy.
• SARS in 2003 disrupted travel, trade and the workplace and cost the Asia Pacific region $40 billion. It lasted for six months, killing 775 of the 8,000 people it infected in 25 countries.

Add comment April 28th, 2009