Bureau of Labor Statistics

July 10, Michael Davis, economics professor at the Cox School of Business, SMU Dallas, for an op-ed analyzing the latest economic indicators and concluding that this is no time for Americans to get comfortable. Published in the Orange County Register under the heading When the economy satisfies like comfort food, could be time to exit your comfort zone: https://tinyurl.com/4pf2473v

The latest numbers on unemployment remind me of our family’s normal dinner routine.

That’s because we don’t have a normal dinner routine. Our daughter does four sports, one of them year-round. There is dance, homework and — sacred of sacreds — Family Movie Night. Sure, some nights end in a delicious pot roast served the minute the soccer cleats come off. We’d like to think that’s normal. But what about the other nights (OK, many other nights) that end with peanut butter and banana sandwiches eaten in the car?

The employment numbers feel like that pot roast dinner — an economic comfort food moment in a time where the political news is going from weird to weirder.

Continue reading “When the economy satisfies like comfort food, could be time to exit your comfort zone”

April 16, Michael L. Davis, economics professor at the Cox School of Business, SMU Dallas, for a piece calling out the Biden Administration for denying the presence and negative impacts of inflation. Published in FoxBusiness under the heading Biden must stop inflation denial and quit doing dumb things: https://tinyurl.com/bdz6ftkb

So, these three middle-aged guys go in for their annual checkup. They get terrible news. They’ve got high blood pressure, bad cholesterol and if they gain another two pounds, they’ll be officially classified as “severely obese.” The doctor says that even though they feel fine now, the future is not bright.

The first guy convinces himself it’s not so bad. He tells himself it’s just a temporary thing — probably too much time at the all-you-can-eat on that last trip to Vegas — and that once things get back to normal, he’ll be fine.

The second guy goes home and tells his wife she needs to help make things right — maybe save the bacon and eggs for weekends. But then, of course, he sits down in his recliner with a bag of chips, grabs the remote and asks her to bring him a beer.

The third guy pulls out a picture of his 2-month-old granddaughter and promises himself to change. Six months later, he’s at the gym swapping salmon recipes with his workout buddies.

Continue reading “Biden must stop inflation denial and quit doing dumb things”