Shipping Containers and Trade Increases

The invention of shipping containers had an enormous effect on international trade, apparently much larger than trade agreements. A team of European researchers discovered that adoption of shipping containers resulted in a 320% increase in trade over five years compared to a 45% increase over twenty years resulting from a free trade agreement. In addition to the monetary gains, containers radically reduced theft rates and time required to unpack and pack ships, thus reducing time in port.

–from The Economist

AOL Subscriptions and Netflix Subscriptions

As this graph elegantly displays, the past decade had increasing rates of Dot Com success Netflix while increasingly abandoning dial-up internet. Netflix began streaming services in January 2007, right where the curves intersect.

–from Splat F

 

Delinquent Mortgages at Lowest Level in Five Years

Delinquent mortgages are at their lowest level since 2008. Fewer than 5,000,000 loans are between 30 days past due and foreclosure.

–from Calculated Risk

American Spending Habits

From the New York Times

Wealth Gap Between White, Black, and Hispanic Americans has Increased

Americans under Twenty-Five Have Lowest Debt Level since 1995

 

Americans are continuing to de-leverage and this trend is very clear in a recent New York Fed study that shows fewer young people are buying houses are cars, although nearly 45% of them are attending college.

–from The Atlantic

American Food Spending 1984-2011

 

The American grocery bill has been steadily shrinking since 1984. Americans now spend less of a percentage of income on food than any other nation (11.2%).

–from Business Week

Mac and iPad sales

From Business Insider. Wow.

Organized Labor Losing Members in US

From WSJ article, union membership declining.

Our Economic Choice: Cut Spending or Grow

Articles from NYT here and here about how we have seen increasing productivity and increasing inequality. Policy-wise, we can cut spending or grow overall…or we can do both. Businesses face the same challenge: grow sales or cut costs. Real wealth is generated by growing sales and, for our country, the greatest improvements will be made by growing GDP.

From the article: “Some people think it’s a law that when productivity goes up, everybody benefits,” says Erik Brynjolfsson, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “There is no economic law that says technological progress has to benefit everybody or even most people. It’s possible that productivity can go up and the economic pie gets bigger, but the majority of people don’t share in that gain.”

Problem is that no one seems to know how to increase productivity so that there are benefits to all, not just corporate America, and we’re stuck in partisan policy arguments and not taking significant action. Strengthening the non-1% involves things like raising minimum wage and strengthening unions and making tax policy even more progressive but the list is thin. Growing the economy involves reducing our debt load, reducing taxes, encouraging investment…what I didn’t hear about what strengthening out educational system. Global companies will want our workers if they are smart. I also didn’t see anything about allowing more high tech workers to immigrate into our country. Smart tech workers from Asia are moving to Vancouver because they can’t get permanent residence in the US; smart tech companies are developing offices in Vancouver because its better and closer than having an office Asia.