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February 4, 2026 

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VALUE-ADDED TAX: A tax on the extra value added during each stage in the production of a good. Most of the stuff our economy produces goes through several "stages," usually with different businesses. In each stage, resources do their thing to the good to make it a little more valuable. For example, an ice cream store can take 50 cents worth of ice cream, fudge, and whipped topping and turn it into a hot fudge sundae that's valued at $1.50. The efforts of the ice cream resources thus add $1 in value. A value-added tax is based on this extra value. While it's been debated off and on in the United States, a value-added tax is commonly used in Europe.

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State of the ECONOMY
Production/Income
Real average weekly earnings November 2016 $367.50 Bureau of Labor Statistics Constant 1982-84 dollars
Median weekly earnings Third Quarter 2016 $827 / week Up $24 from 3rd Qtr. 2015
GDP: Real Third Quarter 2016 $18,675.3 Billion (Annual Rate) Source: BEA Up 5.0%
U.S. Exports November 2016 $185.8 billion Down 0.2% from Oct. 2016: Econ. Stat. Admin.
e-commerce sales 3rd Quarter 2016 $101.3 billion Up 4.0% from 2nd Quarter 2016 US Census Bureau
Personal Income November 2016 $16,233.8 billion Up 0.1% from Oct. 2016
U.S. Imports November 2016 $231.1 billion Up 1.1% from Oct. 2016: Econ. & Stat. Admin.
Private Employer Cost for Employee Compensation September 2016 $32.27 per hour Benefits are $10.73 / hour Source: BLS
Sales of New Single-Family Homes November 2016 592,000 (seasonal adjusted annual rate) Up % from October 2016 Source: Econ Stats Adm.
Productivity 3rd Quarter 2016 Unchanged from a year ago Source: BLS
Real Average Hourly Earnings November 2016 $10.68 Up $.07 from November 2015
Employment
U 3 Unemployment December 2016 4.7% Up from November Bureau of Labor Statistics
U.S. Job Openings October 2016 5.5 million Steady Bureau of Labor Statistics
U 6 Unemployment November 2016 9.3% Down a little Includes those who have given up looking. BLS
Prices
Consumer Price Index W November 2016 235.215 Down slightly from Oct. 2016 Source: B L S
Money/Interest
U.S. National Debt January 3, 2017 $19,951,017,689,395.11 Up over $1 trillion in 2016: U.S. Debt Clock
Federal Discount Rate January 3, 2017 1.25% Up 0.25%
Prime Rate January 3, 2017 3.75% Up .25% from a year ago
Federal Funds Rate January 3, 2017 .75% Up 0.25% from a year ago
Cyclical Indicators
Consumer Price Index Urban November 2016 241.353 Up 0.2% from Oct. 2016 Source: BLS
New Orders for Manufactured Goods November 2016 $458.3 billion Down 2.4% from Nov. 2016 Econ & Statistics Adm
New Orders for Manufactured Durable Goods November 2016 $228.2 billion U.S. Commerce Dept. Down 4.6% from Oct. 2016
Business Inventories October 2016 $1,814.5 billion Up 2% from Oct. 2015: Econ. Stat. Admin.
Retail Sales November 2016 $468.05 billion U.S Census Bureau
Producer Price Index Final Demand November 2016 110.8 Up 0.4% from Oct. 2016 Soure: BLS.gov
Wholesale Inventories November 2016 $594.5 billion U.S. Dept. of Commerce
Housing Starts November 2016 1,090,000 Down 18.7% from Oct. 2016: U.S. Census Bureau
Construction Spending October 2016 $1,172.6.4 billion Up 0.5% from Sept. 2016 Source: Econ Stats Adm.
Building Permits November 2016 1,201,000 Do 4.7% from October 2016: U.S. Census Bureau
Other
World Population January 3, 2017 7,362,851,059 Higher: U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Population January 3, 2017 324,321,654 Up again...U.S. Census Bureau
MARGINAL PROPENSITY TO SAVE

The proportion of each additional dollar of household income that is used for saving. The marginal propensity to save (abbreviated MPS) is another term for the slope of the saving line and is calculated as the change in saving divided by the change in income. The MPS plays a central role in Keynesian economics. It quantifies the saving-income relation, which is the flip side of the consumption-income relation, and thus it reflects the fundamental psychological law. It is also a critical to the multiplier process. A related saving measure is the average propensity to save.

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The Crystal Ball Of ECONOMIC FORECASTING

How often has this happened to you? You've packed a tasty picnic lunch, donned your spiffy-looking swimwear, loaded up the beach blanket and umbrella, then headed for the artificial waves of the local Happy-Time Gala-World Fun-Land Water Park expecting bright sunshine and warm temperatures. However, upon reaching Happy-Time Gala-World Fun-Land Water Park you find that the economy has fallen into a deep recession, with high unemployment rates and sluggish production, and the owners of the Happy-Time Gala-World Fun-Land Water Park have been forced to turn off the artificial wave machine, dismantle the water slides, and drain the pool. (It's also raining and 50 degrees. We will, however, ignore those problems because this isn't A Pedestrian's Guide to Meteorology.)
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GRAY SKITTERY
[What's This?]

Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time at a flea market wanting to buy either a birthday greeting card for your grandfather or a weathervane with a cow on top. Be on the lookout for pencil sharpeners with an attitude.
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A half gallon milk jug holds about $50 in pennies.
"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."

-- Michelangelo Buonarroti, Painter and Sculptor

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