The Politicized Fed and Other Central Banks

                       

Central banks are supposed to be completely independent, The European Central Bank or ECB took this position until recent years.

                       

Thanks to the Greece, Irish, and related European Union bailouts, the central bank no longer is an independent vehicle.

                   

                       

In Great Britain, the Bank of England is a centuries older counterpart. The BOE, too, was always an independent, non-political, overseer of the British pound. But the BOE now is also in the management game.

                       

Americans are no better off. The Federal Reserve slowly but surely lost its independence as well, as I have commented over recent years. (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

College's Extravagance

                       

                       

I suggest reading "Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs Too Much," by Richard Vedder and "Faculty Lounges and Other Reasons and also Why You Won't Get the College Education You Paid For." by Naomi Schafer Riley,

                       

In the Vedder book, for instance, you learn that two out of five students entering four-year study programs don't achieve a bachelor's degree after the sixth year. And that colleges accept these students because of the money they bring, usually government-guaranteed loans.

                       

Comments are quite instructive; you will learn why it appears so many of our Ivy-League graduates appear to be far dumber than ordinary plain-vanilla grads of the not-so-distant past.

                       

Another example of college being useless: Vedder states there are 80,000 bartenders in the U. S. with bachelor's degrees, and17% of baggage porters and bellhops with college degrees, along with 15% of taxi/ limo drivers. (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Misleading Unemployment Statistics

                   

We keep getting unemployment reports that have little to do with true unemployment. It’s yet another case of the administration getting away with chicanery for which the executives of a private enterprise would be arrested. Right now the unemployment rate is supposedly a bit over 6%. The media tells us so, and they are out to report on all the dirt they can find, or so they say.

                   

But if you look even deeper in the monthly U-6 unemployment rate, which

includes folks who are underemployed and seeking full-time jobs that they can't find, that rate is much higher.

                       

By the way, the U-6 number doesn't include those who have given up seeking work.

                       

I would suggest viewers look up the Bureau of Labor Statistics site at bls.gov for details on the different facets of unemployment the media forgets about. (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Government Spenders Win The Negotiations All The Time

                   

Two political sides attempt to negotiate a budget deficit. The question is to cut spending and size of the budget.

                   

When one side says it will severely cut spending a few years in the future but in the meantime takes current funds from taxes or keeps on spending, you just know that one of the two bargainers has just gotten ripped off.

                   

Why? No politician has ever followed through on promises made years earlier to cut budgets.

                   

So all negotiated deals of this kind have always been decided in favor of the big government spenders and taxers. (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Create Results With Your Own Polls

              

                   

Before you believe a political, business or scientific poll, ask yourself: Who pays or sponsors it? That can affect the results.

                   

The samples can be selected to give different results. Questions can be posed to produce preferred answers. Demographics can be altered to assure outcomes. And of course, interpretations can be subjective.

                   

Sponsorship, for that matter, can also influence the results of research.  (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Why Do We Need Inept Dodd-Frank?

                       

I keep writing about our poor federal regulators, about their actions and how they do everything but regulate what they set out to do.

                   

           

I have taken particular aim at the Dodd-Frank Act with its countless unforeseen negative effects.

           

Such as forcing the banks “too big to fail” to keep adding to capital. This makes them less profitable, when they must be able to attract necessary capital for a thriving economy.

           

Moreover, this is foolish when capital cushions can be wiped out overnight whenever you mark-to-market the bank’s assets in poor markets, as in 2008. (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Your Job Resume

                       

Job resume suggestions generally involve what to mention. So many job applicants, however, add superfluous information which helps impede the essential message, It’s of course important that everything, particularly your educational background, be truthful.

                       

Topics such as the salary you’re seeking ought to be left off the resume. That question should come up only if the interviewer decides to ask about the subject during the first interview.

                       

Your hobbies can be listed only if they specifically apply to the work you’re to do.

                       

Your photo is not required and is generally left out unless your appearance is a prime aspect of the job. (See the Earl J Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)