A few months short of its 42nd birthday, the California-based sundries-and-more chain 99 Cents Only is going to die. An Orange County columnist for the Los Angeles Times delivers this fond obituary while visiting a store in Santa Ana that I used to patronize, and captures much of the appeal. He doesn’t mention the long-running,Continue reading “A Dollar Store with a Difference”
Tag Archives: inflation
Come 2024, the Kitchen Table Issues Reemerge
When wide attention refocuses on the economy, the political importance of GDP, inflation, income stress and grievous inequality will return to the fore. It won’t be any clearer which way all the data are cutting. There’s no question that “Bidenomics” made many people better off, at least until price increases worked through the system. TheContinue reading “Come 2024, the Kitchen Table Issues Reemerge”
A Dry-Witted History of Dismally Easy Money
We’re never long or far from a reminder that interest rates have a powerful effect on the human economy. Nearly $700 billion has flowed into money-market mutual funds this year because they offer a decent yield–4+%–when many bank savings accounts pay next to nothing. In this inflationary period, that’s a financial no-brainer, as well asContinue reading “A Dry-Witted History of Dismally Easy Money”
Fed’s Mary Daly Misses a Labor Component in Price Rises
It fell to me to ask the obligatory question about the strong dollar at this appearance of San Francisco Federal Reserve president Mary C. Daly at the Council on Foreign Relations today, and she gave the obligatory response that the currency’s forex value is not one of the Fed’s mandates. She elaborated a bit inContinue reading “Fed’s Mary Daly Misses a Labor Component in Price Rises”
Argentines Live Off of Mattress Money
Hyperinflation caused by venal government is a commonplace in backward nations, especially those terrorized by war or ruthless rulers. When the affliction approaches in established or “civilized” countries, it can be of special significance to those of us blessed with better experiences. This weekend’s New York Times story from Buenos Aires describes how ordinary businesspeopleContinue reading “Argentines Live Off of Mattress Money”
Tim W. Ferguson 