National Retail Sales figures were released today and the government tells us that they are doing very well, and have been for quite some time.

But are they, really?

For example, how much of this rise has been nothing more and nothing less than a statistical mirage created by the increased cost of fuel?

Has  the recent run-up in commodities, ( Read more... )

 "Our estimates suggest that home equity based borrowing is equal to 2.3% of GDP every year from 2002 to 2006".

I completely agree with this and quite a few have been pointing out that our growth over the past decade or so has been largely an illusion and this is especially the case since 2002.  Housing boomed due to hype and that hype was cashed ( Read more... )

"The Zeros"They sure look like it! With 2009 widely expected to end up producing, at best, flat growth for the year as a whole, the entire decade of 2000-2009 may very well go down as this nation's worst since the decade of 1930-1939 ( Read more... )

Some of the discussions have brought up need for more clarifications, and/or further research.

For example, it is now clear that pretty much all of us, even the very best economists in the world, are flying blind when it comes down to what is and is not a "Depression."

Help us answer this question, at least for ourselves, by reading this post, and ( Read more... )