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REALISM OF MONOPOLY: If taken to the extreme, monopoly, like perfect competition is an ideal market structure that does not actually exist in the real world. In the extreme, a "pure" monopoly is a market containing one and only ONE seller of good, a good with absolutely, positively no substitutes. The product is absolutely, certifiably unique. It's not just that it has no CLOSE substitutes, it has NO substitutes. Period. End of story. In the real world, however, every product, no matter how seemingly unique it might appear, has substitutes. The substitutes might not be very close. They might be really, really bad substitutes. But they are substitutes. As such, there are no pure monopolies in the real world.
Visit the GLOSS*arama
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State of the ECONOMY
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| 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 |
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GOVERNMENT CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURES AND GROSS INVESTMENT The official item in the National Income and Product Accounts maintained by the Bureau of Economics Analysis measuring government purchases undertaken by the government sector. Government consumption expenditures and gross investment averages between 15-20 percent of gross domestic product. As might be expected, this percentage tends to be ebb and flow with the political winds. Some political leaders prefer more government activity, others less. However, this percentage is even more dependent on military conflicts and wars that require massive government activity. The other official expenditures included in the National Income and Product Accounts are personal consumption expenditures, gross private domestic investment, and net exports of goods and services.
Complete Entry | Visit the WEB*pedia |
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Shopping Around For RETAIL PRICESIt's time for another one of our frequent stops at Mr. Market Super Food Discount Store, this time to check out the story behind retail prices. As consumers, we spend a large fraction of our nonworking, nonsleeping lives wandering grocery stores aisles, searching clothing store racks, and surveying department store displays for the right product at the right price. How do we know, like the name of the long-running game show, if "The Price is Right?" How are retail prices set and do they really tell us the value of a product?
Tell me more...
Visit the PEDestrian's Guide
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BROWN PRAGMATOX
[What's This?]
Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time at a flea market trying to buy either arch supports for your shoes or an AC adapter that works with your MPG player. Be on the lookout for letters from the Internal Revenue Service.
Your Complete Scope
This isn't me! What am I?
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A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court!
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"Give the American people a good cause, and there's nothing they can't lick. " -- John Wayne, actor
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PIT
Personal Income Tax
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User Feedback
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