Washington Post (September 11)
“For the Fed itself, however, we can offer no easy answer to the quandary it’s facing.” Their upcoming rate decision is perilous. “It might seem obvious that the Fed should choose employment over inflation, since unemployment is so brutal on the people who suffer it…. But the post-pandemic recovery demonstrated that high inflation also creates a lot of suffering.”
Tags: Brutal, Employment, Fed, High inflation, Perilous, Post-pandemic, Quandary, Rate, Recovery
Bloomberg (April 30)
“Regardless of how pragmatic propping up the yen after such a poor run may sound, the question is whether it would be wise…. With US rate sentiments weighing heavily on the yen, an intervention would be no lasting solution in the event of a hawkish Fed pivot.”
Tags: Fed, Hawkish, Intervention, Lasting, Pragmatic, Propping up, Rate, Sentiments, Solution, U.S., Wise, Yen
USA Today (June 17)
“Falling rate of COVID-19 across the United States mask a harsh reality—the overwhelming majority of those getting sick and being hospitalized today are unvaccinated, while vaccinated people are becoming rare.” The sickest patients are also more likely to be younger “as older people are much more likely to be vaccinated.”
Tags: COVID-19, Falling, Hospitalized, Patients, Rate, Sickest, U.S., Unvaccinated, Vaccinated, Younger
Philadelphia Inquirer (January 12)
“One year into a changed world, the numbers defy comprehension. More than 21 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States—a rate approaching one in 15 people, plus untold millions who had mild or no symptoms and were never identified.” Including them, the U.S. may be “approaching 60 million or 70 million infections—perhaps 20% of the population, though it varies from state to state.”
Tags: Changed world, Confirmed cases, COVID-19, Identified, Infections, Rate, Symptoms, U.S.
USA Today (October 4)
“The unemployment rate fell from 3.7% to 3.5%, the lowest since December 1969…. Average wages, however, fell. Wall Street cheered the mixed report, which … kept in play a possible Fed rate cut this month, which would be the third since July.”
Tags: Fed, Mixed, Rate, Rate cut, Unemployment, Wages, Wall Street
Boston Globe (October 2)
Warren Buffett complained his tax rate was too low. He believes the wealthiest Americans have an obligation to pay more. In his honor, President Obama has proposed a minimum “Buffett tax’’ on the very rich. The Globe salutes Warren Buffet, contrasting him with other CEOs. Buffett is “a walking indictment of the puffed-up CEO who, in bad times, displaces blame in a torrent of MBA-speak – and takes home big bonuses no matter what.”
New York Times (May 4)
Harvard Professor Martin Feldstein writes that raising the income tax rate is unnecessary. Limiting tax deductions, allowances and other credits is, however, essential. Feldstein proposed capping these at 2% of each tax payer’s adjusted gross income. This alone, “would raise tax revenue by $278 billion — nearly 30 percent of total projected income tax revenue for this year.”
Tags: Deductions, Rate, Revenue, Tax, U.S.
