“We’re in a world of hurt,” said Daniel Sumner, an agricultural economist, forecasting a fallowing of up to 1 million acres of irrigated farmland this year, twice as much as last year.
The value of the production of goods and services in the United States, adjusted for price changes — increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 5.0 percent.
Profits at U.S. corporations in late 2014 posted their largest drop in four years, a reflection of an economy weighed down by a strong dollar and weak global demand. . . . GDP, the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, expanded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.2% in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said. That was unchanged from its previous estimate last month. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected an upward revision to 2.4% growth.
Average state personal income growth accelerated to 3.9 percent in 2014 from 2.0 percent in 2013, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Growth of state personal income–the sum of net earnings by place of residence, property income, and personal current transfer receipts–ranged from 0.5 percent in Nebraska to 5.7 percent in Alaska and Oregon, with 45 states growing faster in 2014 than in 2013. Inflation, as measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditures, was 1.3 percent in 2014 and 1.2 percent in 2013.
The weak performance suggests U.S. companies remain cautious about spending amid weak global demand and a strengthening dollar. Severe winter weather has also likely played a role in recent economic softness, as home builders pulled back on new construction and consumers spent less at retailers and restaurants.
There is now widespread agreement across the political spectrum that wage stagnation is the country’s key economic challenge. As EPI has documented for nearly three decades, wages for the vast majority of American workers have stagnated or declined since 1979 (Bivens et al. 2014). This is despite real GDP growth of 149 percent and net productivity growth of 64 percent over this period. In short, the potential has existed for adequate, widespread wage growth over the last three-and-a-half decades, but these economic gains have not trickled down to the vast majority.
Despite the large increases in economic inequality since 1970, American survey respondents exhibit no increase in support for redistribution, in contrast to the predictions from standard theories of redistributive preferences. . . In particular, the two groups who have most moved against income redistribution are the elderly and African-Americans, two groups relatively more reliant on it.
In the postwar era, developed economies have experienced two substantial trends in the net capital share of aggregate income: a rise during the last several decades, which is well-known, and a fall of comparable magnitude that continued until the 1970s, which is less well-known. Overall, the net capital share has increased since 1948, but when disaggregated this increase comes entirely from the housing sector: the contribution to net capital income from all other sectors has been zero or slightly negative, as the fall and rise have offset each other.
One new paper, being presented this week as part of the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, suggests the rising share of capital income can be explained entirely by housing. The second paper, presented at the same event, shows that political support for redistribution is not increasing in the U.S., even as inequality rises.
During the third quarter that ended in September, average weekly wages in Santa Clara County hit $2,012 — more than double the national average of $949 a week, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports in a newly released study.
What do families in the middle of the income distribution actually make in cities around the United States?
Workers who benefit from Oakland’s minimum wage hike might soon lose a service that enables them to work in the first place. It turns out the well-intentioned law is putting a financial squeeze on Oakland’s child care industry, leading some providers to panic. . . Asked if Lift Up Oakland anticipated problems for the city’s child care sector, spokeswoman Beth Trimarco said the campaign “did not specifically analyze impacts on all industries.”
It’s unclear whether the decline in manufacturing is temporary linked to cold weather or if it’s a sign of underlying economic weakness that could persist, economists said.
“Poverty is a very difficult issue, but as yet, the Capitol is just talking about applying bandages. It will be overcome only if California attracts private investment that creates real middle-class jobs and prepares potential workers for those jobs. “
“Although the council expects California’s economy to continue to grow, the state is not without its challenges. Growth has moderated recently, and the tremendous surge in tech-related hiring and associated construction projects is unlikely to be sustained longer term. Retailers and financial services firms are still posting only modest gains. Labor disputes at West Coast ports could push importers to make more permanent adjustments to their supply chains away from Los Angeles and Long Beach. Lower oil prices are weighing on the energy producers in Kern County, and a lack of water remains a challenge for farmers and residents alike. In addition, the state’s high costs of living, combined with sluggish wage and salary growth for middle-income households, has exacerbated the outmigration of residents. Few of these problems are truly new, however, and California seems to continuously prove that none of them are insurmountable.”