Topic: Economic Policy

Another Stimulus Package? Give Me a Break

Democrats, now backed by Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, are calling for a second stimulus package which could cost as much as $300 billion. To clarify, that’s $300 billion on top of the $168 billion stimulus passed last ...READ»

Bad Banks? Bad Idea?

30 January 2009 Jose D. Roncal www.financialspeculation.com Lawmakers are looking for a quick fix for the banking and credit markets. No fix will be clean or easy. Every option comes with big hits to taxpayers, partisan bickering ...READ»

How the Stimulus Package will help Small, Green Businesses Help us All

What's small and green and will get the economy moving again?READ»

Hennion and Walsh News: Treasuries - Bonds Fall As Bailout Hopes Pare Safety Bids

"A lot will hinge on the passage of a rescue plan, the sooner the better. It remains an uncertainty in the market," said Kevin Mahn, chief investment officer at Hennion & Walsh Inc. in Parsippany, New Jersey.READ»

What the Foreign Web Says about Our Economy

Read The New York Times, The Washington Post, or the domestic cable news websites, and you'd think the American economy was combusting before our eyes. Foreign newspapers, however, are much more sanguine on their English-language ...READ»

Help for First-Time Homebuyers

First-time homebuyers can now take advantage of a tax credit thanks to the new Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The credit is available for homes purchased between April 9, 2008 and July 1, 2009. The maximum amount allowed ...READ»

Another Pillar of the Economy

Today marks 100 days of the Obama administration, so I’m going to join the media pack and make a few comments on what we can learn, specifically about careers, from what has happened so far. You might think that the most ...READ»

By Any Other Name, it's Still the Same

Jose D. Roncalwww.financialspeculation.comNationalization. The word makes one shudder!  It might even drudge up old images of the hammer and sickle or Mao's men marching in khaki uniforms!  We've already mentioned the ...READ»

Why Congress Should Craft an Innovation-Based Economic Stimulus Package

As talk of a possible recession grows, so too does consideration of a second economic fiscal stimulus package. Indeed, House Speaker Pelosi has spoken of the need for a stimulus package potentially as high as $300 billion in order ...READ»

The Big Bank Balancing Act

16 January 2009 Jose D. Roncal www.financialspeculation.com I remember the good old days when banks used to lend money to “we the people.” Now we’re being forced to lend money to them. Not so long ago, banks were eager to get ...READ»

The Status of the Stimulus Plan

I was supposed to be a guest on the Today Show earlier this week to speak about job-hunting, specifically the effects on jobs of the stimulus package--the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. But I had to bow out because ...READ»

Optimism and Hope

27 January 2009 Jose D. Roncal www.financialspeculation.com  We're now in the second week of the new Obama administration and his approval ratings are still hovering at a high 68%.  In spite of facing enormous challenges, or more ...READ»

Everything You Need to Know About the Stimulus Is Online

If you listen to the news, you'd think that President Obama's $819 billion stimulus package was drawn up in watercolor. What will get funded? Which states will get money? What are the parameters? A new website launched this week ...READ»

The Status of the Stimulus Plan (2)

In mid-June, I posted a blog entry about the status of the stimulus plan, which I have been following closely ever since writing a book about it (Great Jobs in the President’s Stimulus Plan). I rushed out this book before the ...READ»

Obama's Stimulus Package May Lead to a Medical Records Bonanza

A two-year window spurred by the new Administration's providing economic stimulus funding for purchasing EMR software could lead to a veritable "bonanza" as clinicians rush to take advantage prior to January 1, 2011, when the money kicks in.READ»

Which Senators Are Fighting Broadband Funding?

As the President's stimulus package approaches $1 trillion, the Senate is looking to cut the fat. In the senators' sights: about $6 billion in funding for expanded broadband access, much of it for wireless access in rural areas, among ...READ»

Job Fields That Could Benefit from the Stimulus Plan

The U.S. stimulus plan means good news for six broad categories of jobs.READ»

Welfare-to-Work and the Stimulus

I have been paying more attention to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 than to most legislation, largely because it is the focus of my latest book, Great Jobs in the President’s Stimulus Plan. As the title ...READ»

Breaking Down the "Energy" Projects in the Stimulus

Most of the projects in the the President's $900 billion stimulus package are the kind of public works the government has executed for decades: trains, bridges, and so on. But the "Energy" projects that will be eligible for funding ...READ»

Bailouts and Stimulus Packages: Missing the Mark

22 December 2008 Jose D. Roncal www.financialspeculation.com What exactly was all this U.S. Federal bailout money—the Temporary Asset Relief Program (TARP)—supposed to relieve?   Let’s review the highlights First of all, ...READ»

Watch Out Nike Swoosh, Obama's Got a New Logo!

Forget the Nike Swoosh or the Starbucks Mermaid. Get ready for the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) circle! Master brander President Obama once again proves he gets the importance that design and imagery play in ...READ»

Why The $900 Billion Stimulus Won't Help Design

Lots of people will probably get some nice, salty pork with the coming economic stimulus plan, but designers and arts institutions will likely get shafted if Tom Coburn, the Republican senator from Oklahoma, has any say in the ...READ»

Are Those Rebate Checks Helping?

How one website tracks the impact of George Bush's stimulus package.READ»

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Are Those Rebate Checks Helping?

How one website tracks the impact of George Bush's stimulus package.READ»

Cash for Clunkers Might Siphon Money from Renewable Energy Loans

In theory, Cash for Clunkers is a great program.  Want to get rid of your old, polluting car? The U.S. government will give you up to $4,500 to replace it with a fuel-efficient one. Cash for Clunkers has been so popular that ...READ»