You can't be faulted for assuming that an unemployment rate of 9.4% means exactly what it seems to on the surface, that almost ten percent of people in the country who want to work cannot. Well yes and no. As with all government generated statistics, the end result is...
Nook eReader Perfect for Classic Financial Policy Reading
The world of reading is changing in front of our eyes. The long anticipated arrival of the digital revolution for book readers is here in the form of such devices as the Nook from Barnes and Noble, Kindle from Amazon, and a half dozen other devices hoping to score a...
How the US Dollar Came to be a Fiat Currency
Fiat - “An arbitrary order or decree.” Sometimes an organization (AMA is one) that spends its time throwing around lofty phrases like fiat currency should step down off the soapbox for a moment to define exactly what we're talking about. In modern terms, a fiat...
Bono Hasn't Been Minding Ireland's Economy
We can't fault U2 lead singer, Bono, for his relentlessly public mission, over the decades, to improve living conditions in some of Africa's poorest countries. The man wears his heart and politics on his sleeve and there is certainly nothing wrong with that but, as a...
What Exactly is Quantitative Easing 2?
The term Quantitative Easing 2, or QE 2, has been bandied about in financial and investing circles so much lately that we can't pretend it doesn't exist. We were hoping it would disappear from public consciousness, never actually happen, and we wouldn't have to waste...
How Do You Turn High Unemployment into SUPER High Unemployment?
Well the obvious answer to that question is: Hand the reins of power over the world's most famous community organizer. Lest you try to ascertain exactly what high unemployment has to do with our stated mission of providing a sound monetary education to those who may...
Low Job Creation Could Spur More Federal Reserve Bond Buys
The Federal Reserve, a PRIVATE banking interest in the United States has sort of committed to buying as much as $600 billion in US government bonds if the unemployment number stays too high or the economy fails to respond, however one or the other of the entities...
Remember When Only Property Owners Could Vote?
Recent comments by Tea Party founder, Judson Phillips, reminded some of us and educated the rest that, originally, the US Constitution was constructed so as to only allow property owners the right to vote. An interesting idea and how does that translate to today"s...
Greenspan vs. Geithner is Death Match "Weak Dollar" Debate
In this corner we have, Alan Greenspan, ex-Fed chairman and marital playmate of NBC political correspondent, Andrea Mitchell. In that corner, Tim Geithner, current Treasury Secretary and erstwhile employer of illegal aliens. The issue is whether or not the...
The 5 Worst Currencies in the World
With the US dollar being kicked back and forth like a soccer ball, its reputation in tatters, and value sliding steeply against all major world currencies, it might help us feel better about ourselves to know that we're not the worst currency in the world. In fact, we...