The Awl http://www.theawl.com/ Be Less Stupid Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:10:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 Will The Economy Ever Get Better, And What Hole Will You Be Living In If It Does? http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/economy-bad http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/economy-bad#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:10:10 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/economy-bad Here are a few economic things to read about. Which would you rather be today, angry, depressed or frightened? Hahaha, the answer is always "all three!"

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]]> Here are a few economic things to read about. Which would you rather be today, angry, depressed or frightened? Hahaha, the answer is always "all three!"

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/economy-bad/feed 8 On Races To The Bottom http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/on-races-to-the-bottom http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/on-races-to-the-bottom#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:00:06 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/on-races-to-the-bottom Today in Truth: "The problem with a race to the bottom is that everybody wins it."

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]]> Today in Truth: "The problem with a race to the bottom is that everybody wins it."

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/on-races-to-the-bottom/feed 0 "Sorry You Lost Your Job" Cards May Be Just The Thing To Save Our Economy http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/sorry-you-lost-your-job-cards-may-be-just-the-thing-to-save-our-economy http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/sorry-you-lost-your-job-cards-may-be-just-the-thing-to-save-our-economy#comments Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:30:25 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/sorry-you-lost-your-job-cards-may-be-just-the-thing-to-save-our-economy
What will they think of next? Greeting cards for the unemployed! How marvelous! The outsourcing of emotion has never been easier. My only suggestion is that they make the cards much larger, like newspaper size, because pretty soon the recipients are going to need to use them as blankets.

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What will they think of next? Greeting cards for the unemployed! How marvelous! The outsourcing of emotion has never been easier. My only suggestion is that they make the cards much larger, like newspaper size, because pretty soon the recipients are going to need to use them as blankets.

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/sorry-you-lost-your-job-cards-may-be-just-the-thing-to-save-our-economy/feed 6 Who Won The Productivity Revolution? You Can Probably Guess. http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/who-won-the-productivity-revolution-you-can-probably-guess http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/who-won-the-productivity-revolution-you-can-probably-guess#comments Wed, 21 Sep 2011 09:40:51 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/who-won-the-productivity-revolution-you-can-probably-guess "If workers were paid better, there wouldn’t be so much of a demand problem, would there? But then we stumble upon a contradiction: the entire recovery in corporate profitability that began in 1982 came from squeezing wages and workers. The trajectory of profit expansion is very uplifting—returns are roughly double what they were in the early 1980s... So here’s the demand problem: there’s no longer an endless supply of easy credit to make up what’s not in the paycheck. The greatest product of the productivity revolution is the production of profits, which has enabled a vast upward distribution of income and wealth."

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]]> "If workers were paid better, there wouldn’t be so much of a demand problem, would there? But then we stumble upon a contradiction: the entire recovery in corporate profitability that began in 1982 came from squeezing wages and workers. The trajectory of profit expansion is very uplifting—returns are roughly double what they were in the early 1980s... So here’s the demand problem: there’s no longer an endless supply of easy credit to make up what’s not in the paycheck. The greatest product of the productivity revolution is the production of profits, which has enabled a vast upward distribution of income and wealth."

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/who-won-the-productivity-revolution-you-can-probably-guess/feed 13 Game Rigged http://www.theawl.com/2011/08/game-rigged http://www.theawl.com/2011/08/game-rigged#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:50:23 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2011/08/game-rigged "Of last year's 100 highest-paid chief execs, 25 took home more in CEO pay than their company paid in 2010 federal income taxes."

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]]> "Of last year's 100 highest-paid chief execs, 25 took home more in CEO pay than their company paid in 2010 federal income taxes."

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/08/game-rigged/feed 6 Oil Price Rap http://www.theawl.com/2011/05/oil-price-rap http://www.theawl.com/2011/05/oil-price-rap#comments Thu, 19 May 2011 09:40:52 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2011/05/oil-price-rap
It's been a while since we checked in with the folks at Taiwan's Next Media Animation, but here they are explaining the current situation regarding oil prices in an easy-to-follow (if difficult-to-listen-to) rap! Stick with it, you'll learn something. For more information on economist Arthur Cecil Pigou's concept of negative externalities, head here.

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It's been a while since we checked in with the folks at Taiwan's Next Media Animation, but here they are explaining the current situation regarding oil prices in an easy-to-follow (if difficult-to-listen-to) rap! Stick with it, you'll learn something. For more information on economist Arthur Cecil Pigou's concept of negative externalities, head here.

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/05/oil-price-rap/feed 1 Rich People Will Save The Economy From High Gas Prices http://www.theawl.com/2011/05/rich-people-will-save-the-economy-from-high-gas-prices http://www.theawl.com/2011/05/rich-people-will-save-the-economy-from-high-gas-prices#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 14:10:09 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2011/05/rich-people-will-save-the-economy-from-high-gas-prices “For the poorest in society, high gas and petrol prices are a problem. But while they are many in number, they are few in spending power, and their economic influence is just not important enough to offset the economic confidence, well-being and spending of the rich.”
—Good news! Even though gas prices are high, the damage to the economy may be limited, because rich people, the only people who can buy things anymore, just don't care.

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]]> “For the poorest in society, high gas and petrol prices are a problem. But while they are many in number, they are few in spending power, and their economic influence is just not important enough to offset the economic confidence, well-being and spending of the rich.”
—Good news! Even though gas prices are high, the damage to the economy may be limited, because rich people, the only people who can buy things anymore, just don't care.

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/05/rich-people-will-save-the-economy-from-high-gas-prices/feed 7 McDonald's Improves Job Picture, Future Sales of Insulin http://www.theawl.com/2011/04/mcdonalds-improves-job-picture-future-sales-of-insulin http://www.theawl.com/2011/04/mcdonalds-improves-job-picture-future-sales-of-insulin#comments Tue, 19 Apr 2011 11:10:30 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2011/04/mcdonalds-improves-job-picture-future-sales-of-insulin Perhaps hoping to disprove the economic axiom that we cannot make a living by selling each other hamburgers, McDonald's will today add fuel to the nascent recovery by hiring 50,000 new workers nationwide. How is that possible? Maybe because the chain is the only place people can afford to eat at anymore. In any event, "The new openings are available across 14,000 restaurants and include crew and management positions, part-time and full-time jobs. The average starting wage is $8 an hour, a McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) spokeswoman said." Welcome to the new McConomy!

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]]> Perhaps hoping to disprove the economic axiom that we cannot make a living by selling each other hamburgers, McDonald's will today add fuel to the nascent recovery by hiring 50,000 new workers nationwide. How is that possible? Maybe because the chain is the only place people can afford to eat at anymore. In any event, "The new openings are available across 14,000 restaurants and include crew and management positions, part-time and full-time jobs. The average starting wage is $8 an hour, a McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) spokeswoman said." Welcome to the new McConomy!

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/04/mcdonalds-improves-job-picture-future-sales-of-insulin/feed 0 Great News About The Economy! People Are Divorcing Again! http://www.theawl.com/2011/02/great-news-about-the-economy-people-are-divorcing-again http://www.theawl.com/2011/02/great-news-about-the-economy-people-are-divorcing-again#comments Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:40:18 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2011/02/great-news-about-the-economy-people-are-divorcing-again "In a grim sign of the economic recovery, the divorce rate, which dipped during the recession, appears to be on the rebound."

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]]> "In a grim sign of the economic recovery, the divorce rate, which dipped during the recession, appears to be on the rebound."

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]]> http://www.theawl.com/2011/02/great-news-about-the-economy-people-are-divorcing-again/feed 7 Cheery News For American Business! http://www.theawl.com/2011/02/cheery-news-for-american-business http://www.theawl.com/2011/02/cheery-news-for-american-business#comments Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:10:40 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2011/02/cheery-news-for-american-business "THE first time the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 12,000, in October 2006, presenters on CNBC, a business channel, almost caught fire with excitement. When it reached that milestone again on February 1st the reaction was more muted, though the recovery from a low of 6,547 less than two years ago is remarkable, and soaring share prices reflect a corporate America that is leaner and stronger than it was back in 2006. The current profit-reporting season is shaping up to be one of the best ever. For non-financial firms in the S&P 500, earnings per share are now higher than they have been for at least a decade. With over half of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported, profits in 2010 were up by 17% compared with 2009. (The year-on-year increase is far greater if financial firms are included, since they plunged in 2009 and then rebounded spectacularly.)"

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]]> "THE first time the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 12,000, in October 2006, presenters on CNBC, a business channel, almost caught fire with excitement. When it reached that milestone again on February 1st the reaction was more muted, though the recovery from a low of 6,547 less than two years ago is remarkable, and soaring share prices reflect a corporate America that is leaner and stronger than it was back in 2006. The current profit-reporting season is shaping up to be one of the best ever. For non-financial firms in the S&P 500, earnings per share are now higher than they have been for at least a decade. With over half of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported, profits in 2010 were up by 17% compared with 2009. (The year-on-year increase is far greater if financial firms are included, since they plunged in 2009 and then rebounded spectacularly.)"

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