As part of my series analyzing the article suggesting that Obama has changed the economy for the worse, let’s now move on to the third claim: the labor participation rate is near a 40-year low (with the implication that this is an indicator of an unhealthy labor market). Indeed, according to the Bureau of LaborContinue reading “Has the Labor Market Tanked Under Obama?”
Category Archives: Policy
Has Obama Implemented A High Number of Major Regulations?
As part of my series analyzing the article suggesting that Obama has changed the economy for the worse, let’s now move on to the second claim: Obama has implemented 600 major regulations (regulations expected to have an impact of $100M or more), many more than W’s 426, and is on track to implement 641 inContinue reading “Has Obama Implemented A High Number of Major Regulations?”
Is the US Economy Becoming Less Free?
In our evaluation of whether the Obama administration has been terrible for the economy, the first claim we will investigate is that US’s Index of Economic Freedom is ranked #11, its lowest ever, and its 7th decline in 8 years, dropping it into the second tier of world economies. I was unfamiliar with the IndexContinue reading “Is the US Economy Becoming Less Free?”
Has Obama Changed the Economy for the Worse?
A friend of mine posted an article that presents many arguments for the complete failure of the Obama administration’s economy. Some of the claims seemed pretty hyperbolic and much of the “evidence” seemed dubious but I thought they were worth reviewing anyway. Over the next several posts I will investigate the following claims made inContinue reading “Has Obama Changed the Economy for the Worse?”
No Proof That Hillary Clinton Took Bribes as Secretary of State
While I have never intended for this blog to be political in nature, I am still very much interested in critical thinking, challenging unsubstantiated claims, and questioning data that may be misrepresented to manipulate opinion – and these days that pretty much means talking politics! Recently I’ve heard several attacks on Democratic presidential nominee, HillaryContinue reading “No Proof That Hillary Clinton Took Bribes as Secretary of State”
Lies in Politics
Some version or another of this chart has been making the rounds on Facebook: It is a summary from Politifact of the truthfulness of statements made by several prominent US politicians leading into the 2016 presidential election. Each of the politicians has made at least 50 statements rated by Politifact but, to be clear, thisContinue reading “Lies in Politics”
4th of July
This year’s 4th of July was one of the best in recent memory. We spent it with family up on Lake St. Clair, so it was filled with boating, kayaking, and eating freshly caught fish. More than just a good, relaxing time, this year’s 4th was especially significant given the recent landmark Supreme Court decisionContinue reading “4th of July”
On the Importance of Critical Thinking
This morning I saw a post claiming that, “Over half of all mobile searches lead to a purchase.” I found this claim to be bold beyond the point of believability. Taking myself as a single data point, I do many searches on my mobile phone each day and rarely – almost never – do theyContinue reading “On the Importance of Critical Thinking”
Economic Inequality in America
Recently I’ve been seeing many facebook posts about a video describing the very lopsided distribution of wealth and income in the United States. The video is actually a year old but it has been given a new lease on life by upworthy and, at the time of this post, has more than 10,000,000 views. TheContinue reading “Economic Inequality in America”