Monthly Archives: January 2012
Fair Play Benefits All of Us
The Popular Economics Weekly The idea of fair play may be the key issue in 2012—both with the Presidential campaign and economic growth. How so? Both political parties are jockeying to portray their message as fair—Democrats want to restore the … Continue reading
Such Pessimism is Unwarranted—Who Should Rescue Housing?
The Popular Economics Weekly Why is it so many pundits—and some economists—continue to be pessimistic about 2012 growth? Business and Wall Street economists in particular are predicting just 2 percent GDP growth for all of 2012, according to a recent … Continue reading
Mortgage Applications-Builder Optimism Rising
The Mortgage Corner Are homebuyers and borrowers finally realizing that mortgage rates might not fall much further? We are seeing a huge jump in both mortgage and builder activity, and much of the most recent interest rate drop has been … Continue reading
Smart Government Creates Better Growth
Financial FAQs It is smart government that creates better economic growth, not smaller government, per se. Smart government means effective government that finances and regulates what the private sector can’t or won’t. So that doesn’t mean downsizing government for its … Continue reading
More Jobs Key to 2012 Growth
Popular Economics Weekly How do we know what to look for in 2012? We should not be looking at the headlines, which tend to trumpet totally conflicting news. But more accurate information is available—usually several months later. For instance, jobs’ … Continue reading
Can the Fed Rescue Real Estate?
The Mortgage Corner How can we thank Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke for keeping our economy afloat? Not only has the Fed kept interest rates low enough to prevent actual deflation, as happened to Japan over the past 20 years and … Continue reading
Government Has to Work—or Else
Financial FAQs We can no longer afford to listen to those conservatives who believe government is the problem, since there is no viable recovery from the worst recession since the Great Depression without government investment in sectors that will grow … Continue reading
Will Real Estate Recover in 2012?
The Mortgage Corner The recovery road may remain bumpy for real estate in 2012 but construction spending continues to increase from low levels of activity, and so housing starts. Much of it is multi-family apartments going to both new households … Continue reading
