The Retired Investor: Why Protectionism Is a Close Cousin to PopulismBy Bill Schmick,
04:43PM / Thursday, June 13, 2024 | |
The number one issue on voter's minds in this election year is immigration. That may come as a surprise to some, but it makes a lot of sense if one believes that we have entered a period of populism.
Sixty-two percent of registered voters nationwide support a program to "deport all undocumented immigrants," according to a CBS News poll over the weekend. On June 3, 2024, President Biden signed an executive order that would ban migrants who cross the southern border illegally from claiming asylum to defuse this election issue. Faith-based charities, like Catholic Charities, which have a long history of providing shelter, food, and clothing to migrant families 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: How Top-Down Economic Policies Pushed Country Over the EdgeBy Bill Schmick,
04:33PM / Thursday, June 06, 2024 | |
The Federal Reserve Bank's smoothing of the business cycle, which started in the 1990s, was meant to ensure price stability and the health of the labor market. It's top-down policies of reducing interest rates through the banking system and into the hands of the largest corporations was meant to benefit the whole economy.
The problem is that corporations and the minority of Americans that control them are not the whole economy. What did that matter, argued supply-side economists. This group, who championed Reaganomics in the 1980s and beyond, assured us that the benefits of the Federal Reserve Bank's policies would ‘trickle-down' throughout the 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Federal Reserve's Role in Today's PopulismBy Bill Schmick,
04:51PM / Thursday, May 30, 2024 | |
The Federal Reserve Bank is the most powerful central bank in the world. It has a long history of successes and at times, failures in steering the U.S. economy through ups and downs. This is a story of how a well-intentioned policy has resulted in one of the worst disasters in American history.
After the stock market crash on Oct. 19, 1987, just two months after Alan Greenspan assumed the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve bank, he fired off a one-sentence statement before the start of trading on Oct. 20, "The Federal Reserve, consistent with its responsibilities as the nation's central bank, affirmed today its readiness to serve as a source of liquidity to 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: How Populism Will Impact Economy & SocietyBy Bill Schmick,
04:26PM / Thursday, May 23, 2024 | |
"Income Inequality: The Trend is Not Your Friend," Bill Schmick, Oct. 26, 2012
The country is divided. Immigration and the economy are leading election issues. Inflation has soured attitudes. Labor unions are on the rise. Students are demonstrating and demanding we divest U.S. holdings in Israel. If I said that all the above issues are related and have a common economic cause, would you believe me?
We have seen all of this before. Maybe not in the exact same way but in the 1930s and 1960s dissatisfaction, unrest, what's fair and what's not led to conflict, assassinations, changes in economic and social policies and 0 Comments
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The Retired Investor: Tariffs Rarely Work, So Why Use Them?By Bill Schmick,
04:41PM / Wednesday, May 15, 2024 | |
Tariffs are a form of tax applied on imports from other countries. The costs of these tariffs are mostly passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices for the targeted goods. In an inflationary environment, tariffs simply make things worse. Tell that to the candidates.
Historically, tariffs have been used to protect domestic industries like steel or aluminum manufacturers. They can and have often been used to strike back against other countries' unfair trade practices. They often lead to reduced trade, retaliation, and higher prices.
In today's political landscape, those economic findings have fallen on deaf ears. Both candidates for president 0 Comments
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