Stephen Metzger

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    • Sat Nov 8th 08:19 AM
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      The Real Unemployment Numbers
      When you start adding the discouraged, no longer looking to the unemployment numbers, that is when I bow out of the article. Impossible to measure accurately and even if such numbers were, they largely affect transient workers (i.e., in and out of the workforce as a work pattern), and so it would be entirely inappropriate to report these in the base unemployment figures. The whole tone of your article seems to be trying to set the stage for some great uprising by the angry masses. Hopefully, your critical perspective remains intact when the messiah ascends his throne.
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    • Thu Oct 30th 10:42 AM
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      Signs of an Economic Bottoming Process
      The only thing you don't discuss--and it is pretty critical--are the new taxes which the Dems will impose. Imposing higher taxes on upper incomes, on dividends, on corporations, and on capital gains translates into no growth and no rise off the bottom once the bottom (wherever that is) is reached.
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    • Wed Oct 22nd 11:19 AM
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      CRA and Fannie & Freddie: Betes Noires
      Citing the best efforts of economists known for liberal tendancies, especially Janet Yellen, does not give me a comfort feeling for a white wash of F&F, but otherwise an interesting article.
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    • Sat Sep 27th 14:51 PM
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      I'm Speechless: Palin on the Bailout
      Katie Couric's question was, to begin with, totally absurd: "Isn't it better to spend $700 billion on health care than bailing out the financial system?"--or words to that effect. Talk about apples and oranges! What good is a health care system if money is only a medium of exchange, if that? How do you answer moronic questions like this. It ain't easy. Palin was trying to bring some sense to Ms. Couric's stupidity, by bringing two completely different issues together with some sort of synthesis. Quite frankly, she should not have tried, thus giving ammunition to Mr. Jelveh and his likes. Her answer, in fact, does make sense, but is very poorly communicated. Her critics are certainly right in one regard: You do need to be able to handle fools in Washington, otherwise the fools will take over (if they haven't already; e.g., Reid, Pelosi, Dodd, etc.)
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    • Fri Sep 26th 08:55 AM
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      Government Approves $25B Low Cost Loan Package for Auto Industry
      Another, perhaps obvious point to be made is that the loan with its attendant regulations is very likely to "steer" the auto industry in whatever direction Congress wishes to serve political rather than economic purposes. The toxic influence will not be confined to loan in question. Nothing justifies this loan.
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    • Thu Sep 11th 09:19 AM
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      Cashing In on the Electric Transport Boom
      I find it interesting that almost all the comments churn around the past history of the electric car and few, if any, have to do with the future. I agree with Mr. Gleeson that electric power, pure or hybrid, will drive the future...the near future.
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    • Mon Jul 28th 09:32 AM
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      The Housing Bill: Uncle Sam Is Moving Into the Spare Bedroom
      It would be nice, for once, to read an article on economic policy that did not blame the Bush administration. It seems to me that Congress gave Mr. Bush little choice but to go along with the bailout. Look at the final vote, Mr. Horowitz! What we have on the financial side is a systemic issue, the fallout of far too much liquidity in the economy from 2003 on. I challenge anyone, faced with the need to soak up that liquidity, to do other than what people did--desperately look for someone to borrow. Did they go overboard? Sure, but it would be great not to sound so high-minded in cleaning up the mess. Where we go from here with monetary policy should be the focus. It seems to me that Milton Friedman's advice is right to the point--focus on the money supply and not interest rates. Instead, controls, regulations, and more controls is the path being taken. Back to the good old days of FDR.
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    • Fri Jul 4th 12:31 PM
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      Challenge for Ford and GM: To Stay in Business
      Many commercial fleets could be operated on pure electric vehicles, powered by conventional lead acid batteries. Fleets of forklifts do this and the trend to electric forklifts is proceeding apace. Sure, these vehicles would be slower and would have to be recharged on a routine basis that would involve a learning curve and adaptation--but certainly doable. The Big Three should look into this possibility. The fact is that many ICE commercial fleets are used in daily operations well within the range of current battery technology, and when lithium ion batteries become commercially available, there will be very little difference in work capabilities.
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    • Thu Jun 26th 08:24 AM
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      The Future of Ford’s Mid Sized Car Business
      "Down-styling&quo... the American model is a bit of a tradition. I remember years ago traveling to Europe, seeing a sporty looking car, and to my amazement finding out it was Europe's version of the Escort, the American version of which could only be viewed as pedestrian. Automobiles, by the way, are not the only big ticket items that are biased against the U.S. market. Try kitchen appliances.
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    • Wed Jun 11th 08:48 AM
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      Inflation With No Growth in M1 For 3 Years in a Row?
      Price increases occur for two reasons: 1) Excessive money creation, a la the Quantity Theory of Money; or, 2) A reduction in the economy's capacity to expand. In the latter situation, the economy will exhibit low or negative growth and rising prices (stagflation). If we experiencing this, which seems likely, then no growth in M1 is probably a good thing.
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    • Thu May 29th 09:40 AM
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      Oil Manipulations Exposed
      There is nothing, I repeat, nothing wrong with speculation. Somehow the word, like the phrase, "weak dollar" automatically connotes something negative, if not downright evil. Speculation is simply the attempt to guess the effect of future events on a given market. Every investor does it! Can speculation feed upon itself? Of course, but much like a derivative, when circumstances in the underlying market change, the bubble, large or small, deflates rapidly. What could change the oil commodity market and cause such a deflation in the speculative bubble? Two things:
      1. Beef up the dollar--Nothing inherently wrong with a weak dollar, but now it's costing us more than it's helping;
      2. Most importantly, as noted by other commentators, open up ANWR and offshore drilling. This will have an immediate effect on the speculative bubble before one drop of oil comes out of these reservoirs. Reason? Future supplies are likely to be significantly affected and speculators will see the writing on the wall (unlike politicians).
      I do object to this writer's political agenda, which is all too clear. When politics become more important than economics, the King Canutes of the world lead us all (willingly or unwillingly) into a drowning pool.
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    • Thu May 29th 09:38 AM
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      Ford’s 'Surprise' Announcement
      The comment concerning dependency on the "tried and true" when the circumstances have radically changed is certainly on the mark. As a market researcher covering the small utility/leisure vehicle market (from golf cars to LSVs to small utility vehicles), I can testify to this psychological barrier. Company management stays wedged in traditional forms of doing business, even when much wider opportunities are very clear. This says much for keeping entrepreneurial incentives (the ability to make and keep profits) alive throughout the economy.
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