Mark Vargus

California's budget woes loom again

Shortly before the end of the year, California Governor Schwarzenegger began asking for the Federal Government to help close an estimated $20 billion budget deficit the state faces for next year. At this time there has been no response from...

Media's take on December unemployment numbers pessimistic

On Friday I reported on the December unemployment report compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the time, I expected most of the media to attempt to present the fact that the official percentage of unemployed remained at ten...

December unemployment unimproved from previous months

The year end unemployment numbers have been compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and they unsurprisingly showed no real growth in employment for December. The Reuters article on the report (published at Yahoo.com here) starts by claiming:U...

The labor market turns upsidedown as government workers outnumber goods producing workers

There is no question that the economy of 2010 is much different from the economies the US saw throughout the 1950's and 1960's. Obviously technology has advanced from that time. However, the larger change has been in the...

Do rising bankruptcies of 2009 indicate greater problems for the future

Economic news and analysis of 2009 has already started coming in and the first pieces of data only show just how bad a year it was. The first news came via an AP report with a frightening title: AP: 2009...

Another government program's effects questioned by economists

In late November, the administration with little fanfare announced a new program intended to encourage banks and other mortgage holders to offer reduced payment terms to borrower who were struggling to keep up with their payments and in danger of...

2010 not looking like a year of economy wonder.

On the first business day of 2010 its time to consider what the year might be like. 2009 was one of the most depressing economic years in a lifetime and many people are confused as to what the future might...

2009 - a year of economic distress

So far this week I've taken quick looks at the basic economic conditions that reigned over the last decade as well as the last five years. At a glance its clear that there is really no historical economic situation...

A look at 2005-2009, the housing bubble burst, but what did it teach us?

Yesterday, my article talked about the last decade and how little economic progress we saw over that period. The period overall has been rocky but a better picture of the problems can be found when you shorten the window from...

2000-2009: An economic decade that saw little growth

Looking back over the last economic decade is disheartening for anyone who cares about people. Although some might try to spin it, saying that at least the average person did not lose ground, for once I have to agree with...

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