As I have discussed here before, I'm a Federal Employee. And I'm not sure how much press this is getting outside of the DC Metro area (the DMV as it is often called, though I believe that acronym is taken by a much more painful entity), but we're looking at a government shutdown. Why? Because Congress can't decide on a budget. That's right, we've been operating without an approved budget for half the year already. In general, Federal employees … [Read more...]
No More Pennies?
Happy Birthday, President Lincoln. To celebrate, stores have decided to stop accepting the penny. That's right, in West Concord, Massachusetts, a number of stores are refusing to accept pennies as of today, calling pennies "wasteful and time consuming." Instead, they will round all purchases down to the nearest nickel. I suppose no one can really complain - after all, they will simply be getting a few cents off of their purchase. Buy a … [Read more...]
The Dollar vs. the Euro
Earlier this week, I read this article about the current state of the American economy. I found the discussion of the dollar versus the Euro to be fascinating. First off, I don't think that I knew that the dollar was considered "the leading international currency." Given the recent American domination in many areas, I suppose it makes sense, but I never thought of it as a leading currency. I knew that the dollar was often accepted in other … [Read more...]
Facing the Storm
So as I'm sure everyone has heard or read, the Federal Reserve Board again cut rates in an attempt to stop the current economic downslide. From what I've read, it sounds like a number of analysts believe that we are officially in a recession. I haven't decided if this means I will be making drastic changes. Of course, I have already noticed the increased price in groceries, so it might mean adjusting my grocery budget or simply working to buy … [Read more...]
Learning about the Federal Reserve
I just returned to the office after a three day training course here in Washington, D.C. As part of the training course, I had the opportunity to meet Kevin Warsh, a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. We had two journalists as part of the training who agreed to not write about the speeches they heard, so I feel that I shouldn't blog too much about what he had to say, but after hearing him speak, I feel absolutely … [Read more...]