Apr 30 Restaurant owners caught between their morals and the market By John Platt John Platt quit his job as a school principal to work as waiter, then opened his own restaurant where he feeds the homeless every month. He fancies himself a liberal. But a $15 minimum wage? He's having none of it. Continue reading
Apr 30 Fed reduces monetary stimulus for fifth month in a row By Simone Pathe At the end of their two-day policy meeting, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee decided Wednesday to reduce monthly asset purchases by $10 billion to $45 billion beginning in May. Despite disappointing growth figures out Wednesday, the committee… Continue reading
Apr 30 U.S. economic growth stalls in first quarter of 2014 By Simone Pathe The U.S. economy grew by a disappointing 0.1 percent in the first three months of 2014, the slowest pace of expansion since late 2012. Continue reading
Apr 29 From machines to manicures, what goes into the GDP these days? By Steve Landefeld Its critics call the GDP an outdated metric that's ill-suited to assessing America's economic health. But it's a constantly evolving measurement, says Steve Landefeld, head of the agency that calculates it, that now includes the value of long-running American TV… Continue reading
Apr 28 GDP rules the world, but should it? By Zachary Karabell Gross Domestic Product is the king of all statistics, across the world, says author Zachary Karabell. But what was a good metric for 1950s economies, he says, is ill suited to measuring economic health in 2014. Continue reading
Apr 25 How nonprofit workers get squeezed when minimum wages increase By Paul Tipps, Jesse Inman Nonprofit workers like those at Seattle’s Downtown Emergency Service Center don’t want to be left out of the fight for a higher minimum wage but also realize that higher wages could come at the expense of some of their jobs… Continue reading
Apr 25 The missing piece of the minimum wage and inequality debate By Bill Hobson Nonprofit leader Bill Hobson is personally supportive of a $15 an hour minimum wage. But he knows his human services agency doesn't have the resources to pay their employees more without trimming staff and ultimately, cutting services Seattle's homeless depend… Continue reading
Apr 24 Why this ‘gender-crossing’ economist prefers ‘motherly libertarianism’ to government paternalism By Deirdre McCloskey Economist Deirdre McCloskey wants to be taxed to finance a minimum income, not a minimum wage. People couldn't persuasively beg with the former, she says, and the government would get out of the business of treating adults like children. Continue reading
Apr 23 Seattle’s Socialist councilwoman on why capitalism offers nothing for young people By Kshama Sawant Seattle councilwoman Kshama Sawant is a leader in Seattle's movement to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. But even that, she says, won't be enough to overcome an economic system that's not working for America. Continue reading
Apr 22 Will your college degree pay for itself in 20 years? By Simone Pathe The return on investment of a college degree varies by the type and cost of institution, with tech and engineering schools generally landing near the top of the list. See how much return a degree from your Alma mater will… Continue reading