Breaking Down Election Statistics

Since the surprising Presidential Election results became official a myriad of theories have come to light trying to explain how or why Donald Trump was victorious. They range from believes that Hillary Clinton never really had a chance to win because a third straight Democratic term was historically unlikely to suggestions that white coastal elites shamed Midwesterners so much (through social media particularly) that it turned them against Democrats – in Congressional and Senate elections as well as the Presidential one. Other theories include 1. America is racist (Obama winning twice, not once, but twice!! makes this one far-fetched in Continue reading Breaking Down Election Statistics

An Unexpected Alignment

Since the night Donald Trump was elected on the 9th, much of the country has been wondering what the future holds. A wall? A Muslim registry? But for Janet Yellen the question may be, “a job?” The native New Yorker and Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System was cast in a negative light throughout Trump’s campaign. Trump and his advisers criticized Yellen for playing the “political” game when implementing monetary policies.  This criticism makes sense for Trump as his campaign was based around the idea that growth will come from fiscal policies rather than monetary. Now Continue reading An Unexpected Alignment

Silent Majorities Aren’t Silent Forever

Yes, this is an Economics blog. But even an econ enthusiast like myself can recognize when to put economics in the backseat for a moment in the face of something much more important. And what can I say, the surprising election seems to be a bit more important. To seemingly all (though in reality only most) pollsters and experts this election was headed in one direction – a clear cut victory for Hillary Clinton. As late as Tuesday morning Nate Silver of Five Thirty Eight gave Clinton a 71.4% chance to win the election. He also gave Clinton an 83.5% Continue reading Silent Majorities Aren’t Silent Forever

The Economics of Our Candidates, Part 3

Welcome to part three of my three part series on our presidential candidates’ stances on economic issues. In case you missed it, here’s the first on taxation and the second on financial reform. Again, we lost some candidates since last I posted. Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina will be sorely missed, as well as Jim Gilmore, I guess. For this final week, the issue is the Fed! First, a woefully short description of the Federal Reserve (aka the Fed). They deal with monetary policy, playing some role in deciding the value of the dollar by controlling the federal funds rate. Banks and Continue reading The Economics of Our Candidates, Part 3

The Economics of Our Candidates, Part 2

Welcome to part two of a three part series on our presidential candidates’ stances on economic issues. Take a look at last weeks post on taxation, it’s exciting stuff. There are now fewer candidates, thanks to the Iowa Caucus smashing the hopes and dreams of a few contenders. So goodbye Martin O’Malley, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, and, the only person I actually included in last week’s post who’s quitting, Rand Paul. This week I’ll also not look at Ben Carson, because I’d prefer to give more time to fewer candidates. This week, the issue is regulation! An enormous part of Continue reading The Economics of Our Candidates, Part 2