This chart shows when the cost of the average stock (the S&P 500) exceeds its underlying value (corporate profits after taxes).
Category: Economics
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Long-Term Trends in Human Well-Being
For millennia, everything sucked. Then something magical happened!
0% of economists expressed support for tariffs in a recent poll.
The financial sector receives more of the average paycheck than any other sector of the economy. Its share of the economy totals $2 trillion dollars. In 1985, the financial sector earned less than 16% of domestic corporate profits. Today, it’s over 40%. In the 1960s, finance and insurance accounted for only 4% of GDP, whereas in 2007 […]
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The mythology of effective Keynesian centralized economic planning is born of the same mother as the mythology of creationist intelligent design. Both of these fantasies arise as a result of the human mind’s inability to deal with complex systems.
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GDP and You!
Gross domestic product (GDP) is the value of all final goods and services produced within a country. The reason GDP matters is that it is directly correlated to a reduction in human suffering. Economic growth is the primary differentiating factor between a life lived in the US and a life lived in North Korea. Economic growth is the […]
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Wealth Inequality in America
Infographics on the distribution of wealth in America, highlighting both the inequality and the difference between our perception of inequality and the actual numbers. The reality is often not what we think it is.
It is commonly claimed that government spending is good for the economy, but the statistics show the opposite.  Most recent studies find a negative correlation between total government size and economic growth. Why is economic growth important?  Because wealthier societies are generally happier societies. No matter how good things get for us, we always want more. Human beings want […]
Empty houses in the US = 14 million. Median Home Price = $160,000. Money Wasted on Building Unneeded Homes = $2 trillion. Why would Americans be so dumb as to build 14 million houses they didn’t need?  The two primary reasons we built too many houses are: The United States spends more than $100 billion annually to subsidize homeownership.  The mortgage […]
We’re taxing successful, competently run businesses to subsidize irresponsible, poorly run businesses. Until we realize this simple fact, the previous trend of increased productivity and standards of living will only be a memory.
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Those who say “These are extraordinary times. We can’t afford to worry about the national debt now. We’ll be in a better position to deal with that later.” should check out these projections.
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