South By North Strategies, Ltd.

Around The Dial – October 10, 2011

Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:

• Martin Wolf writes about “how to keep the euro on the road.”
• Fed Watch explains “how the fed drops the ball.”
• Robert Reich sees the coming of another round of bank bailouts.
• Paul Krugman calls for “confronting the malefactors.”

Rising Long-Term Unemployment

Off the Charts graphs the steady increase in the share of unemployed individuals who have been out of work for at least six months. In September 44.6 percent of the unemployed were long-term unemployed.

Raising The Social Security Cap

A recent study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research asked how many individuals would be affected if Congress were to raise the cap on Social Security taxes. Altogether, 5.8 percent of workers have wages in excess of the current cap of $106,800, while just 1.2 earn annual wages in excess of $250,000, a level to which some policymakers would like to raise the current cap.

The table below breaks down the numbers by state.

Around The Dial – October 7, 2011

Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:

• Credit Slips asks what the rise in debit card fees  means.
• Jeffrey Sachs think about “American values and corporatocracy.” 
• Dean Baker doesn’t want to hear Bill Clinton’s economic advice.
• Naked Capitalism noted that 1/3 of Americans are a paycheck from homelessness.
• Mat Stoller argues that the Democratic Party consensus on big finance is buckling.

To Be Young, College Educated, and Jobless

Rortybomb points out the toll that the ongoing recession has taken on young workers with college degrees. Despite their relatively high level of education, the proportion of such workers that is employed is falling (graph, below). And, many of those who are employed have jobs that don’t require college degrees.  This dynamic is making it increasingly difficult for many young workers to pay down their student loan debts.

Around The Dial – October 6, 2011

Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:

• The New Yorker wonders if Germany is making the Eurozone crisis worse.
• Economix joins the debate over regulations and jobs.
• Free Exchange describes “a self-induced recession.”
• Joseph Stiglitz lays out steps “to cure the economy.”
• Off the Charts summarizes recent TANF cuts.