Consumer confidence continued to slowly sink in December, with most of the decline among lower income households, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. The extent of the decline was minor, with the December figure just below the average for 2017 (95.9 versus 96.8), said U-M economist Richard […] Read more »
Only the Economy Could Change the Political Atmosphere
There is no shortage of numbers and developments that should be worrisome to Republicans as they approach the 2018 midterm elections. Democrats swept both of the 2017 gubernatorial races, in New Jersey and Virginia, captured a U.S. Senate seat in ruby-red Alabama, and scored strong state legislative gains across the […] Read more »
Why is the GOP Tax Bill So Unpopular? Maybe It’s All Relative.
Congressional Republicans have succeeded in passing a signature $1.5 trillion rewrite of the tax code, which now awaits President Donald Trump’s signature. Yet the prospect of lower taxes has not sold the public at large on the bill. Surveys find that the bill is relatively unpopular, with more people disapproving […] Read more »
Republicans Are Taking Voter Concerns About The Tax Bill Too Literally
In reading coverage of the Republican tax bill, which passed the House on Wednesday and is ready for President Trump’s signature, I was reminded of this famous clip of the 1992 “town hall” presidential debate between Bill Clinton and George W. Bush,1 in which a voter asked the candidates a […] Read more »
CNBC survey: Holiday spending on track to be highest in at least 12 years
Buoyant American attitudes on the economy look set to show up in plentiful, record-setting holiday spending this season. The CNBC All-America Survey found that average holiday spending intentions will top $900 for the first time in the 12-year history of the poll, eclipsing last year’s estimate of $702 by a […] Read more »
America’s chaotic, crazy, challenging, great, tumultuous, horrible, disappointing year
Would you say this was a good year for the United States? For decades, Americans’ sense of how their nation was doing was closely linked to the economy. Through Democratic and Republican presidencies, through divided and unified sessions of Congress, Americans were consistent. When they saw jobs and GDP growing, […] Read more »