A common rebuttal I got was, "How can it only be 2.7% when almost everything in Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT  ) is made in China?" Because Wal-Mart's $260 billion in U.S. revenue isn't exactly reflective of America's $14.5 trillion economy. Wal-Mart might sell a broad range of knickknacks, many of which are made in China, but the vast majority of what Americans spend their money on is not knickknacks.

With studies showing a decline in car use, are we seeing the beginning of the end for the car?

When drastic price cuts weren't enough to entice buyers, he decided to throw in $17,000 cash toward the purchase of a car with every house. (That money can only be spent at the local General Motors dealer, of course -- because, let's go U.S.A.!)

So this is what it has come to. Developers are now giving away vehicles to entice people to live in distant suburbs with life-draining commutes just when gas is hitting $5 a gallon. And a few consumers are biting -- one is quoted as saying, "My money was in the bank, collecting very little interest, so I thought I might as well take a little gamble."

Ah, yes, gambling on real estate. That's the kind of anecdote that makes you feel confident about America's economic future.

The article talks about how builders like Kim Meier, the guy behind the car giveaway, are having trouble moving their newly constructed homes in a market that is already glutted with buildings sitting empty:

Sales of new single-family homes in February were down more than 80 percent from the 2005 peak, far exceeding the 28 percent drop in existing home sales. New single-family sales are now lower than at any point since the data was first collected in 1963, when the nation had 120 million fewer residents.

Skating in California's foreclosed pools

Makes sense to me

well, MAYBE

Rising oil prices could derail economic recovery (again)

Under a new Constitution, government programs must be judged by the happiness they produce, not by the economic benefits.

Reality has a well known liberal bias.

Apparently: yes.

by Nassim Taleb

"Even leaving aside fairness to taxpayers, the government’s velvet-glove approach with the banks is deeply troubling, for one simple reason: it is inadequate to change the behavior of a financial sector accustomed to doing business on its own terms, at a time when that behavior must change."

Spoooooooky.

"The opponents of the measure gloomily predicted that by unshackling banks and enabling them to move more freely into new kinds of financial activities, the new law could lead to an economic crisis down the road when the marketplace is no longer growing briskly."

End times are nigh, indeed: I agree with Friedman...

"In sum, consumer spending may look very like a tide, falling in every category in exact proportion to the loss of disposable income and credit. Or consumers may manage their retreat less evenly, working trade-offs to protect some categories over others. These prospects will become clearer when the ethnographic data is forthcoming. "

"From businesses such as Nutcase Helmets to Bike Friday, Oregon’s bike madness fuels a $150 million industry. Not to mention that there’s an organized bike ride every 27 minutes."

"if the average American goes through what the average Japanese did, it does not have to be a huge setback."
I've been saying: if we're lucky we'll get through this crisis like Japan in the 90s.

The financial crisis' impact on international charitable giving

Old chestnut invalidated: economy performs better under Democratic presidents