Attn Class of 2015: Don’t Be Fooled by Low Unemployment Numbers
America / Economy / Labor Force

Attn Class of 2015: Don’t Be Fooled by Low Unemployment Numbers

It’s graduation season! And according to sources from both the White House and the Fed, the current unemployment rate of only 5.5 percent signals a wealth of opportunity for grads.   Furthermore, the unemployment rate has been consistently declining.  This means that all of us in Class of 2015 should breathe easy; the time has come … Continue reading

The Myth of the Underpaid Minimum Wage Worker
America / Economy / Labor Force / Politics / U.S. Senate

The Myth of the Underpaid Minimum Wage Worker

One of greatest falsehoods that clouds the discussion over whether to raise the minimum wage is that these workers are underpaid compared to the value they provide to their employers.  Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren made the case, “If we started in 1960 and we said that as productivity goes up, that is as workers are … Continue reading

The Problem With Wellness Initiatives
Affordable Care Act / Constitution / Economy / Healthcare / Labor Force / Politics / Regulation

The Problem With Wellness Initiatives

In an attempt to decrease health care costs, wellness initiatives have become increasingly popular programs offered by corporations. Health and wellness is an extremely important issue and when it comes to health care reform there should to be a larger personal responsibility component. Unhealthy lifestyles, such as inactivity, poor nutrition, tobacco use, and excessive alcohol … Continue reading

How Vermont’s Single Payer Proposal Can Backfire
Affordable Care Act / America / Healthcare / Social Insurance Programs

How Vermont’s Single Payer Proposal Can Backfire

American health care reform is a three-headed beast. Attempts at reform typically seek to resolve issues regarding access, quality care, and cost control. The ACA, one of the largest overhauls of American healthcare is aimed at improving access—but the problem becomes what good is increasing access to expensive and low quality care? Vermont’s leaders have … Continue reading

The New Part-Time Economy
Economy

The New Part-Time Economy

The US economy has been showing signs of recovery in the last year, adding 195,000 jobs in June alone, as the labor market advanced despite huge federal spending cuts and tax increases. This may sound nice at first, but the underlying truth to various “recovery” statistics is that the majority of new jobs added are … Continue reading

Natural Resource Potential in North America
America / Energy

Natural Resource Potential in North America

On Tuesday February 5th, the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee began a series of congressional hearings called “American Energy and Security and Innovation.” This particular hearing was a discussion over the natural resources available in North America. There is a wide spread perception that our nation’s resources are scarce to say the least, however technological … Continue reading

America / Economy / Fiscal policy / Politics / Presidency / Regulation

A Comparison: Reagan, Obama & Jobs

A myriad of articles have been written on how the presidential election of 2012 should garner a stringent comparison to that of the 1980 presidential election.  I agree.  During both presidential elections the United States economy was and is hurting.  But, the focus of this article is: how did the presidents perform after they won … Continue reading