Women in the Labor Force

After decades of gains in women's labor force participation in the United States, it seems like a peak has been reached. Unemployed women are not finding employment again as quickly as men are. There is postulation that it is due to the rising cost of health care and high layoffs in government, where women are prevalent. Have the gains to women in the workplace due to education and family planning truly peaked? What more can women do to make themselves equally represented in the job market?

Willingness to Pay for Water

In 1931, Los Angeles was willing to pay $8.70 per acre foot of water, about $114.00 in 2011 dollars. Though this was more than the going price for water at the time, households now are willing to pay an average of $40 dollars per month and that number is only rising, particularly as people's standard of living rises and the population increases. As southern Californians continue to thrive in arid conditions, how high will their willingness to pay for water go?

“The Dash for Cash”

This article talks about the problem of European banks running out of money. Many large European banks are currently being forced to stop lending and sell everything they can. This problem may cause a credit crunch in the future or even bank runs and failures. Investors are starting to lose confidence in buying unsecured bonds, so the banks are running out of money. The effects of these problems are discussed in the article, and the potential consequences seem quite disastrous.

http://www.economist.com/node/21541019

“Obama takes populist economic message to the heartland”

This article describes President Obama’s current campaigning efforts to talk about his plans to fix America’s major problem with income inequality. Obama says that the average income of the top 1% of the population has grown by 250% over the last couple decades while the income of most other Americans has stayed pretty much the same. This kind of inequality has not been seen since the Great Depression and Obama claims that economic inequality is “the defining issue of our time” He says that the Republican belief in “trickle-down economics” has never worked. The article says that while many voters agree that economic inequality is a significant problem, a lot of voters lack the confidence that either the Republicans or Democrats know how to deal with it.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama-kansas-20111207,0,7888559.story

“The Magic of Diasporas”

This article discusses the benefits of rich countries opening their doors to immigrants. The author argues that immigrant diasporas can provide a spark to the economy for several reasons. Having immigrants in your country can make it easier to do business in foreign countries because of establishing contacts, fostering trust, providing a knowledge of local culture, and speeding up the flow of information. Diasporas also are positive because they spread ideas across countries and often these immigrants send money back to their home country, benefiting both the country they moved to and the country they came from. The author also argues that the claim that immigrants are a drain on the welfare system is usually untrue and other arguments against immigration lack evidence.

http://www.economist.com/node/21538742

Central banks may need to burst bubbles: Bernanke

Is monetary policy an effective way to maintain the healthy of the U.S economic system? There is always a hot debate among economists. Recently, the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke emphasis the importance of monetary policy during a conference at the Boston Federal Reserve Bank on October 18th, saying that "the possibility that monetary policy could be used directly to supported financial sustainable goals, at least on margin, should not be ruled out," Matter fact, monetary policy is a tool for the government to adjust the interest rate in order to maintain the stability of the economic system. By conducting either the expansionary monetary policy or contractionary monetary policy, the Fed is able to monitor the interest rate in the market and make an adjustment if they think that the interest rate is at an abnormal level.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/18/us-usa-fed-bernanke-idUSTRE79H5IR20111018

Obama promises he'll fight to help the middle class

President Barack Obama has positioned himself as the champion of the middle class. In an attempt to align himself with Roosevelt, who 101 years go, had outline his agenda of "new nationalism," calling for progressive reforms and an active federal government committed to reining in the power of concentrated wealth. Obama acknowledged the hardship many Americans face and called this a "make or break moment for the middle class."

source: http://www.freep.com/article/20111207/NEWS07/112070328/Obama-promises-he-ll-fight-to-help-the-middle-class