The Economy Category Archives

Abshopious New Year

Published on 31 Dec 2006 at 3:00 pm. Comments Off.
Filed under Politics, The Economy, Good Manners, Words, Credit Cards.

I’ve coined a new word for the New Year: abshopious. I’m going to try to give up (ab) mindless shopping in 2007. Ab-shop-ious. Derived from one of my favorite words: ab·ste·mi·ous [ab-stee-mee-uhs] adjective sparing or moderate in […]

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Pie in the Sky

Published on 25 Dec 2006 at 7:00 pm. Comments Off.
Filed under Politics, The Economy, About Buff.

A recent report in the New York Times that college-educated women are losing ground in the race for pay equality will come as no surprise to any woman who’s spent time in the working world. As a full professor, I can report that even people who know the law are rarely aware of the discriminatory […]

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“Who Knew?” Economics

Published on 3 Feb 2006 at 3:01 pm. 2 Comments.
Filed under Politics, The Economy.

Salon reported today that the Administration has asked for an additional $120 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan—that’s in addition to the $226 billion already allocated. Maybe I wouldn’t feel so bad if the Administration’s plans for Iraq hadn’t included handing $82 million in cash to a convicted felon who doled it out to his friends. Meanwhile, […]

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Re-solved

Published on 31 Dec 2005 at 7:50 pm. 1 Comment.
Filed under Politics, The Economy, Aging Gracefully.

It’s New Year’s Eve, and I am cooking dinner for a friend while she signs her mother up for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. My friend’s mother is in her late 80’s, is in a nursing home recovering from hip replacement surgery. My friend was glad to take over the task, but was dumbfounded […]

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Willing to Agree

Published on 19 Nov 2005 at 4:00 pm. Comments Off.
Filed under Politics, The Economy.

I hardly know what to think when I agree with George Will. But a recent column is not only cogent but accurate. He says, It does me no injury,” said Thomas Jefferson,for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my […]

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Gushing

Published on 11 Nov 2005 at 12:04 am. Comments Off.
Filed under Politics, The Economy.

I felt sick when I heard the oil company CEOs whining protectively about their profits this week. But if you think that Congress intends to do something about it, read what U.S. News says: But amid the noise, the reality is that Congress will […]

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Interesting Hike

Published on 2 Nov 2005 at 2:30 am. Comments Off.
Filed under The Economy, Credit Cards.

As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee raised interest rates another 1/4 point at their meeting Tuesday. This makes an even 12 straight increases, resulting in a 4% Fed Funds rate. I supported rate increases at the beginning, because the historically low rates were not only overheating the economy, they were overheating debt levels for both […]

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Trouble on Oiled Waters

Published on 26 Oct 2005 at 9:34 am. Comments Off.
Filed under Politics, The Economy.

I went to Satan’s Club yesterday to fill the Buffmobile, and was relieved (relieved!) to pay $2.85 a gallon. I’ve been worried about recent press reports that the credit-sodden consumer was struggling to pay for each tank. Well imagine my surprise at being awakened this morning with the reports of record oil company profits in […]

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The Tanking of the Economy

Published on 25 Oct 2005 at 7:57 am. Comments Off.
Filed under The Economy.

The Conference Board reports that consumer confidence is down. That shows a perceptive public. We’ve just had several body blows to the economy, including Katrina, record gas prices, and a year’s worth of bankruptcies filed in the last three months, to beat the draconian new bankruptcy law. I was afraid yesterday when I heard that […]

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The Housing Bubble

Published on 21 Oct 2005 at 1:23 pm. Comments Off.
Filed under The Economy.

Housing sales have slowed, but the pace was so dramatic and the price inflation so extreme that this slowdown is seen as a good thing. The County Recorder’s Office is weeks behind just recording deeds. All this makes it impossible to get a plumber except at gunpoint! Of course, for the overextended middle class, […]

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