Archive for the ‘Economy’ Category

Inflation is to cart as COLA is to horse

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

I suppose in some ways it might look like zero inflation is bad for you.  After all: Social Security checks don't go up. Marginal tax bracket cutoffs don't go up. The standard federal income tax deduction doesn't go up. Interest rates on savings accounts are in the basement. Etc., etc., etc. These bad things are all ...

Where is that extra French hen?

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

(If you have a true love, then you have thirty of them from last Christmas! Most people really only need twenty-nine French hens.) Regifting this year is up.  Way up. A Consumer Reports survey found that a little over a third (36%) of American adults said they'd recycle a gift this ...

Here’s the one thing you can absolutely count on in this economy

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

This economic downturn hasn't been kind to a lot of people.  Jobs that haven't been taken away from people have had their hours cut, their workload increased, or their cost of living allowances taken away.  Jobs that people used to be able to count on are on very fragile ground. If ...

Extended yard sales: sign of the times?

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

In better times, a yard sale is a good way to clear the junk out of the closets and make a little bit of extra money.  And what doesn't sell will find a good hope at the Salvation Army thrift store or something similar. This past weekend there was a yard ...