Yesterday, the Census Bureau released its measure of homeownership for 2016, and the annual average for 2016 was 63.4 percent. That’s the lowest rate measured since 1965 when the homeownership rate was 63 percent.
2016 was also the twelfth year in a row in which the homeownership rate was lower than the year prior. In other words, the homeownership rate in the US has been falling since 2004.
January’s top ten most-read articles by page views. These do not include hits for mises.org articles reprinted on other high-traffic sites like ZeroHedge and Business Insider:
How do we compare wealth over time? I came across one fun fact recently about the highest-paid athlete of all time. The first names that come to your mind might be Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, or Cam Newton. However, according to this source, the title belongs to Gaius Appuleius Diocles, a chariot racer of ancient Rome.
Now that the Fed has slightly upped its Fed Funds rate target twice, there is talk of a much more ominous issue: shrinking the balance sheet. Late last year, St. Louis Fed president James Bullard affirmed that 2017 “possibly might be a good time to play that card.”
In what may be a constant theme throughout his presidency, protests broke out around the country in response to Donald Trump’s recent executive orders banning travel from certain Middle Eastern countries. While it’s fair to question why similar protests didn’t spring up when the previous administration was bombing the very same people, the order itself is clearly more “security theater” than anything resembling a real solution.
CBS reports that “California may prohibit local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, creating a border-to-border sanctuary in the nation’s largest state as legislative Democrats ramp up their efforts to battle President Donald Trump’s migration policies.”
In this context, of course, California — should the proposed legislation pass — would decline to participate in helping federal agents enforce federal immigration law.
Now that the Fed has slightly upped its Fed Funds rate target twice, there is talk of a much more ominous issue: shrinking the balance sheet. Late last year, St. Louis Fed president James Bullard affirmed that 2017 “possibly might be a good time to play that card.”
As 2017’s first FOMC meeting approaches this Tuesday and Wednesday, we will once again wait on the edge of our seats for the insight of the “Experts.” Last year’s fourth quarter GDP blew a massive hole into the recovery narrative, but with Donald Trump promising a major infrastructure spending package and large tax cuts, there seems to be a renewed push toward raising the Fed Funds rate target to counter rising prices.
Just one week in office, President Trump is already following through on his pledge to address illegal immigration. His January 25th executive order called for the construction of a wall along the entire length of the US-Mexico border. While he is right to focus on the issue, there are several reasons why his proposed solution will unfortunately not lead us anywhere closer to solving the problem.
The legislature of the State of Colorado is considering ending its longtime ban on switchblades. You read that right. In a state where pretty much anyone without a criminal record can purchase a hand gun — and where homicide rates are quite low, mind you — switchblades are verboten.
