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Economy Tag

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on March 06, 2017 16 Comments
Having worked their destructive magic in Detroit, the United Auto Workers union (UAW) has set its greedy sights on the South.  Roundly rejected by Tennessee workers at a Volkswagen auto plant in 2014, the UAW picked itself up, dusted itself off, and redoubled its thirteen-year efforts at a Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi. The South has long rejected unions, including the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union who tried and failed to unionize Boeing workers in South Carolina last month.  But the UAW is undeterred, even dragging avowed socialist and failed presidential candidate for the 2016 Democratic nomination down from Vermont to try to convince Mississippians that he—and the UAW—knows what is in their best interests.

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 01, 2017 22 Comments
Fast food giant McDonald's has lost a few customers and wants to win them back. Executives plan to expand the company's "delivery, mobile and kiosk-ordering options as it looks to cut costs." From CNBC:
"Through enhanced technology to elevate and modernize the customer experience, a focus on the quality and value of our food and redefined convenience through delivery, we have a bold vision for the future and the urgency to act on it," said Easterbrook. "We are moving with velocity to drive profitable growth and becoming an even better McDonald's serving more customers delicious food each day around the world."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 25, 2017 10 Comments
President Trump has been meeting with business leaders regularly since his inauguration, including a meeting this week. These sessions cover a wide array of topics and grew out of Trump's December announcement of an advisory panel on manufacturing.
“Today we have 24 CEOs from the largest manufacturing companies in the country and even in the world. They represent--people in this room--nearly $1 trillion of sales and two million employees, large majorities of which are in the United States. They share our commitment to bring manufacturing back and to create jobs in this country,” Trump said.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 21, 2017 41 Comments
With higher construction costs and low revenue from low pump sales, a few states have considered raising the gasoline tax in an effort to raise funds for infrastructure. President Donald Trump has promised to put forth $1 trillion to fix infrastructure across the country, but state officials have realized they need to do something for themselves. Tennesse Governor Bill Haslam (R) believes a higher tax would raise $278 million for his state.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on February 11, 2017 27 Comments
A group of academics has published an article in the socialist publication Jacobin in which they advocate for a "federal job guarantee."  This proposal entails a guaranteed minimal income of $23,000 per year and "rising to a mean of $32,500" to people who do not have jobs.  This money would come, of course, from tax payers who do have jobs, most of whom can ill-afford the tax burden this "spread the wealth" scheme entails. This idea has been batted around by socialists (and communists) for decades and is again rearing its ugly head.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 11, 2017 24 Comments
Colorado and Washington, two states that sell marijuana legally, enjoyed hefty sales on the drug in 2016. Colorado sold more than $1.3 billion worth of marijuana and marijuana products while Washington saw $972 million during its 2016 fiscal year. The legal sales meant more tax revenue for the states, which brought in $200 million for Colorado.

Posted by Mary Chastain on February 08, 2017 30 Comments
The Republicans in the House have suggested to overhaul the tax code with a "border-adjustment" proposal, but it has caused a massive split with companies before anyone has even drafted legislation. I brought up this proposal when President Donald Trump explained that he would make Mexico pay for a border wall by placing a 20% tax on imports because it mirrors the House GOP's plan. I also mentioned how these plans will screw the consumer and businesses have started speaking out against it:
Some retailers and other big importers doubt the dollar would rise that much. They warn of tax bills that would exceed profits, forcing them to pass costs to consumers. Some are in the early stages of working on an alternative plan they can present to lawmakers, says a person familiar with those plans.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 17, 2017 11 Comments
Three more American companies have announced plans to add and keep jobs in America on the heels of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday. Walmart wants to add 10,000 jobs in 2017 across the country while General Motors (GM) will invest $1 billion into several factories to help more than 1,000 jobs. With Walmart, the company will add these new jobs by building new stores, expansion, and adding more e-commerce services. The construction of the new stores will add 24,000 construction jobs:
"Walmart is investing to better serve customers,” said Dan Bartlett, Walmart executive vice president for corporate affairs. “With a presence in thousands of communities and a vast supplier network, we know we play an important role in supporting and creating American jobs. Our 2017 plans to grow our business – and our support for innovation in the textile industry – will have a meaningful impact across the country.”

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on January 08, 2017 60 Comments
Following the news that Ford had cancelled its planned $1.6 billion auto assembly plant in Mexico, Mexican officials are concerned about the impact this will have on their economy. The Wall Street Journal reports:
Ford Motor Co.’s decision to cancel a planned $1.6 billion assembly plant in the Mexican industrial city of San Luis Potosí caught the nation’s elected officials off guard and represents a major blow to one of the main engines of Mexico’s economy.

Posted by Mary Chastain on January 03, 2017 13 Comments
Ford has announced the company will cancel the $1.6 million plant it planned to build in Mexico. Instead, the company will invest $700 million in Michigan:
Ford (F) CEO Mark Fields said the investment is a "vote of confidence" in the pro-business environment president-elect Donald Trump is creating. However, he stressed Ford did not do any sort of special deal with Trump. "We didn't cut a deal with Trump. We did it for our business," Fields told CNN's Poppy Harlow in an exclusive interview Tuesday.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on October 15, 2016 8 Comments
The economic crisis in Venezuela canaptly be described as a centralized control crisis, a crisis socialist and communist states know and for some reason insist on repeating.  Over and over.  We've seen the reports on shortages ranging from toilet paper to food, and rather than risk a revolution that would topple government, the Venezuelan government has decided that it will ease up on price controls on food and other essentials (like toilet paper). NPR, in October of last year, wrote about the problems with Venezuela's price controls and the firm grip the government had its citizens access to food.
For Caracas housewife Anny Valero, today is grocery day — whether she likes it or not. Here's why: It's Monday, and if Valero doesn't go now, she'll have to wait four more days to buy food. In Venezuela, government supermarkets sell price-controlled food, making them far cheaper than private stores. But Valero explains that people are allowed in state-run supermarkets just two days per week, based on their ID card numbers. The system is designed to prevent shoppers from buying more than they need and then reselling goods on the black market at a huge markup.

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 04, 2016 11 Comments
It looks like putting the left wing Syriza Party in control of Greece hasn't changed much. The country is still broke, still struggling to make cuts and there is still unrest. In fact, recent pension cuts nearly led to rioting. The Telegraph UK reports:
Greek police pepper spray protesting pensioners Greek police on Monday fired pepper spray at pensioners protesting against cuts in their state income. Thousands of pensioners responded to a protest call by the communist opposition and tensions increased as their protest march approached the prime minister's residence.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 04, 2016 10 Comments
There is another disturbing report related to the spread of the Zika virus; however, this one doesn't involve birth defects or neurological problems. Millions of honey bees were killed after areas of South Carolina were sprayed to kill the mosquitoes that transmit the pathogen.
"On Saturday, it was total energy, millions of bees foraging, pollinating, making honey for winter," beekeeper Juanita Stanley said. "Today, it stinks of death. Maggots and other insects are feeding on the honey and the baby bees who are still in the hives. It's heartbreaking." Stanley, co-owner of Flowertown Bee Farm and Supply in Summerville, South Carolina, said she lost 46 beehives -- more than 3 million bees -- in mere minutes after the spraying began Sunday morning. "Those that didn't die immediately were poisoned trying to drag out the dead," Stanley said. "Now, I'm going to have to destroy my hives, the honey, all my equipment. It's all contaminated."
Truly, the images of the bee-keepers assessing the loss of both their bees and their livelihoods are heartbreaking:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on September 04, 2016 9 Comments
Brexit has caused quite the kerfuffle among the countries of the European Union (EU), and amid the dire warnings of lasting DOOOM!, the Polish Finance Minister notes that Brexit shows that the EU is not the only option for the nations of Europe. CNBC reports:
The U.K.'s Brexit vote may have changed attitudes to the European Union across the continent, Polish Finance Minister Pawel Szalamacha told CNBC Friday, adding that the decision showed that the EU is "no longer the only choice for the nations of Europe." Szalamacha suggested that more countries could be prompted to leave the 28-nation bloc, such as those "with a strong sense of identity, some of the Nordic countries," or even some countries who may "feel that their destiny … is no longer within their hands." He added, "I don't think it's a sensible policy just to rely on the decisions of the major international players," not least because "some policy mistakes were committed."
Szalamacha goes on to say he supports decentralizing the EU's power base in Brussels so that countries can have more control over their own economies and markets.
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