Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis |
- Chicago Teachers Vote to Strike; 350,000 Kids Affected; 16% Raise Over 4 Years Not Good Enough; Strike of Choice; Roadblock to Reform
- Japan's Revised GDP Growth Cut in Half; Current Account Surplus Down 41% to $8 Billion; Mathematical Impossibilities
- Plenty of Jobs if You are "King of the Road"
Posted: 09 Sep 2012 09:58 PM PDT The average teacher in Chicago makes $76,000 a year for nine months of work. They were offered 16% salary increase spread over four years. Given the system has a $665 million deficit this year and a bigger one next year, I am wondering why there should be a raise at all. Nonetheless, the New York Times reports With No Contract Deal by Deadline in Chicago, Teachers Will Strike. "We do not want a strike," David J. Vitale, president of the Chicago Board of Education, said late Sunday as he left the negotiations, which he described as extraordinarily difficult and "perhaps the most unbelievable process that I've ever been through."Strike of Choice Every strike is a strike of choice. Moreover, given projected budget deficits and with pension plans even deeper in the hole, the 16% raise offer was actually far too generous. The ideal approach by mayor Rahm Emanuel would look something like this.
It is time to break the back of the insidious grip public unions have on the state of Illinois. There is no better place than Chicago to start. Illinois Policy Center Response After writing the above, I received this email alert from John Tillman at the Illinois Policy center. Dear Mike,Roadblock to Reform Addendum: Note to All Facebook Users: If you have not yet voted for your favorite charity (it costs nothing to vote), please do so. Chase is giving away $5 million to charity, and I have a cause that I support. Please click on this this link: Facebook Users, I Have a Favor to Ask, then follow the instructions. Please Vote! Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List |
Posted: 09 Sep 2012 06:32 PM PDT Revised estimates of Japan's growth have been cut in half, from 1.4% to .7%. More importantly, Japan has a small but shrinking current account surplus (in spite of running a trade deficit for some time). Once the current account surplus vanishes, and I believe it will, Japan will become somewhat dependent on foreigners to handle its budget deficit. Good luck with that at 0% interest rates. Please consider Japan Halves Growth Estimate for Past Quarter to Annual 0.7%. Japan's economy expanded in the second quarter at half the pace the government initially estimated, underscoring the risk of a contraction as Europe's debt crisis caps exports.Case For Stimulus? I am amused by a Reuters report that says Japan Q2 GDP revised down, builds case for stimulus In a sign of slackening foreign demand for Japanese goods caused by the euro zone debt crisis and China's slowdown, the July current account surplus came 40.6 percent below year-ago levels, reflecting a drop in exports.Mathematical Impossibilities Notice the absurd reliance on stimulus, in spite of a shocking amount of debt, exceeding 200% of GDP. Moreover, the idea of fiscal stimulus is actually preposterous given the government wants to hike taxes to do something about the deficit and mammoth amount of debt. Japan wants to do two things at once and it is mathematically impossible. Tax hikes are certainly not going to stimulate a thing, and on August 10, Japan Parliament Passed Sales-Tax Increase doubling the nation's sales tax by 2015 as a step toward fiscal reconstruction. Addendum: Note to All Facebook Users: If you have not yet voted for your favorite charity (it costs nothing to vote), please do so. Chase is giving away $5 million to charity, and I have a cause that I support. Please click on this this link: Facebook Users, I Have a Favor to Ask, then follow the instructions. Please Vote! Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List |
Plenty of Jobs if You are "King of the Road" Posted: 09 Sep 2012 09:45 AM PDT This post is about "Bobo". I wrote about Bobo before. He is in his early 50s, highly skilled, and willing to travel. In his latest email, he says "I'm down to one bag, one laptop, and one phone." When he loses his job, he gets another within a few days. King of the Road My previous post was Bobo's Travels - Plenty of Job Offers for Skilled Engineers IF You Can be Like Bobo, written on December 2, 2011. Here is an update from "Bobo" on what the last year was like. Hello MishIn honor of Bobo I present "King of the Road" by Roger Miller Addendum: Note to All Facebook Users: If you have not yet voted for your favorite charity (it costs nothing to vote), please do so. Chase is giving away $5 million to charity, and I have a cause that I support. Please click on this this link: Facebook Users, I Have a Favor to Ask, then follow the instructions. Please Vote! Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List |
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