It’s no surprise that the financial reform bill passed today, but it is interesting that 19 of the senators from the ten wealthiest states voted “Yea” on a bill intended to impose 533 new rules on the financial services industry.
It’s a complicated topic, which is why the Main Street vs. Wall Street rhetoric might be [...]
Writing Archive
Wealthiest States are Backbone Of Financial Reform “Yea” Vote
Power to the People
On a sweltering afternoon in August, 2003, a blackout in Ohio cascaded across the northeast and knocked out power for 50 million people. Official inquiries blamed it on “overgrown trees,” but a National Journal cover story suspected that hackers “working on behalf of the Chinese government and military” could have been responsible.
Whatever the cause, it [...]
Jobs Report is Mixed, but Future Looks Brighter Nationwide
Another mixed jobs report for Obama. The unemployment rate dropped to 9.5% even though the economy lost 125,000 jobs last month, mainly because 225,000 Census jobs were eliminated. But if it’s any comfort to the White House, Moody’s is predicting a bullish jobs market for 2011.
The map below, produced by USA Today and based on [...]
Why Financial Reform Passed
Financial reform was much a easier win for Obama than health care (Forbes called it a “rather painless” process), and I think the map below explains why. The image was supposed to be on the Fortune 500 cover, but the mag rejected it, perhaps because the gloomy picture it casts of the American economy.
The map, [...]
America’s Next Oil Boom State Will Be…
North Dakota.
The USGS recently upgraded its estimates of recoverable oil in the Bakken Formatoin in North Dakota (and northern Montana and Saskatchewan) to 4.3 billion barrels. To put that in perspective, the entire United States, including Alaska and the Gulf, produced 1.7 billion barrels in 2005.
Oil companies have reportedly known about the formation since the [...]
Where is the Jobs Forecast the Sunniest?
You’ve probably seen a lot of numbers and maps today with the jobs report. But here’s a different way to look at it. This map doesn’t show raw unemployment percentage, but median length of unemployment. In other words, it measures how long people have gone without a job.
Why is this important? The longer people are [...]
Map of the Day: Mitt Romney (R-Detroit)
The Wall Street Journal’s most p0pular story today was about how Mitt Romney’s childhood home at 1860 Balmoral Dr., Detroit, Michigan is one of 10,000 houses that Mayor Dave Bing has pledged to knock down. Romney called it “sad” and blamed it on “liberal social policies” that have forced jobs out of the Motor [...]
Map of the Day: Houston Oilers
“Houston, right on the edge of the pines, and only inches above sea level, is a swamp of heat and humidity only an air-conditioner repairman or an oil engineer could love,” wrote Joel Garreau in his 1981 landmark book The Nine Nations of North America.
In other words, Houston wouldn’t be what it is without the [...]
Map of the Day: The Cradle of Democracy, the Mother of Debt
Yikes. Thanks for the wild ride, Greece.
It’s amazing that a Mediterranean nation with a GDP smaller than that of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex can cause Wall Street to collectively panic and give everyone flashbacks of September, 2008.
Of course, Greece’s financial situation is real, and is really, really bad. The NYT maps below show that the [...]
Map of the Day: What Would Willie Talos Do?
The seed money for Bubba Gump Shrimp Company came from $25,000 in profits from ping-pong paddle sales. But many other small business that rely on the Gulf’s natural resources don’t have this kind cash flow and are going to take a huge hit from the BP oil spill.
In a gloomy report called “Oil Slickonomics,” David [...]
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