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Arthur Laffer, the right-wing economist who is second only to Reagan in right-wing masturbation fantasies for allegedly proving that lowering taxes increases revenue (it doesn't), has been sued for his alleged involvement in a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors of at least $3.1 million. More »
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Don't listen when they tell you Congress can't get anything done: It has finally lifted the five-year ban on slaughtering horses for human consumption in the U.S., creating literally dozens of jobs for people who want to slaughter horses and unshackling the horsemeat-for-human-consumption industry from the heel of government oppression that has kept it down for so long. Let freedom reign. More »
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Europe will apparently not fall apart after German chancellor Angela Merkel shepherded a deal early Thursday morning to write down Greek's debt. It's complicated, but basically she got a bunch of banks to take a 50% haircut on what Greece owes them. Click on the image on the right to see how one of the negotiators diagrammed it in the middle of the night. More »
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We gave you our highly unscientific quiz for figuring out what percent you are. But the eggheaded calculator jockeys at the Wall Street Journal did it for real. Just go here enter in your household income. More »
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Remember Bitcoins, the digital cash useful for buying drugs on a underground website and not much else? Even with a recent New Yorker feature, a Bitcoin is now worth just $2.80—down from a 2011 peak of $33. [via] More »
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For the first time in two years, Americans' income fell last month. The drop was a meager .1%, but it was accompanied by a .2% increase in spending, which means your costs went up by twice the amount your pay was cut. But don't worry, because analysts estimate that corporate earnings of the S&P 500 companies will increase by 13% this quarter, so maybe you can borrow some from them? Just blue-skying here. More »
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The last time the economy collapsed, CNBC money-clown Jim Cramer basically said, "Don't panic! Buy Bear Stearns! What could go wrong?" That advice didn't work out so well for him. So this time, he's modulating. More »
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A Finnish economist took one of those ridiculous worldwide penis studies that are always circulating and charted it against GDPs, to study that critical ratio between penis size and wealth. It's the classic golddigger's dilemma—are any of the rich ones worth fucking?—but on a global scale! More »
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Women: why don't they go out and get a job? In a time when our nation's rents are rising, it might be kind of nice—I'm just saying—it might be kind of nice if someone in this apartment with a vagina started bringing in some income. I'm just saying. More »
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Bank of America feels just awful about it's role in packaging and selling a bunch of junk mortgages and inflating the economy with bad debt until the bottom fell out and more than 5 million people lost their jobs and more than 2.5 million went on food stamps, except for BofA's executives, who still got paid. So it's decided to pay $14 billion to BlackRock, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and a bunch of other extremely wealthy institutions to make up for it. Are we square? More »
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Fameball economist, world-class doomsayer, and long-time Gawker favorite Nouriel Roubini had a 14-hour party on Saturday, beginning with a "noon...dip in the model-packed Jacuzzi" atop his Manhattan triplex and ending when the...caffeine ran out, we're guessing. They probably partied until there was no more caffeine left to keep them going at Nouriel Roubini's 14-hour "Carmens and Matadors"-themed party at his $5.5 million apartment. More »
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White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee will return to his teaching position at the University of Chicago this fall, partly in order to avoid losing tenure. He'll likely be replaced with another boring academic. Our choice: A hand puppet. [Politico] More »
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Above is a chart of the exchange rate, in dollars, of the digital currency Bitcoin. That red arrow shows the price on Wednesday afternoon right after we published a story about Silk Road, a Bitcoin-powered online marketplace where you can easily buy illegal drugs. In the past 48 hours alone, a Bitcoin's worth has jumped from around $9.90 to around $14. More »
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When Armageddon comes and the Antichrist reveals himself — most likely as a cigarette-smoking, cocaine-sniffing, secret Muslim world leader — the only things of value in our Mad Max-like world will be guns, silver and gold. More »
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Virginia restaurateur Henry Allen Fitzsimmons has hit upon a welfare plan the GOP can get behind: He sought out vulnerable young women who needed help and gave them money for education and childcare. All he asked in return was that they submit to being spanked, by him, on demand. More »
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Today is the day that the U.S. meets its debt ceiling, meaning we're not allowed to borrow one more penny on top of the $14,307,799,341,563.81 we already owe to the Chinese. Unless Mommy and Daddy and Eric Cantor agree to co-sign our application for a new credit line, that is. More »
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Congratulations! The economy added 244,000 jobs last month. So how come you don't have one? Because that's not nearly enough. Not even close. More »
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Good news from the world of Economia! Well, not "good," exactly. Bad. Bad news. The glorious economic recovery seems to be in danger of stalling, what with the sluggish growth rate, persistent unemployment, and general malaise among the non-investing class. More »
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The whole nation of America was founded on the premise of being "one big happy family," with equality for all—women and minorities now included by law! Sadly, economists tell us that income inequality may be eroding the trust between the rich and the poor members of the American "family." What's the reason for the treason, distrustful poors? More »
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One portion of the devastating documentary about the global financial collapse, Inside Job (which won an Oscar, so you have to see it), dealt with academic economists—specifically, the ways that they became financially tied to banks and other players in finance, and how that may have compromised the entire practice of economics. It even showed the heads of the economic departments at Harvard (pictured) and Columbia blithely asserting that there was no need to disclose their financial conflicts of interest in academic papers. It was sickening. More »
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All of the best technologies in the world have come from America: The Internet, microwave popcorn… other things. So why isn't America No. 1 when it comes to the digital economy? A new report says we're a measly fifth! More »
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It's prom season, which means it's time for the New York Post to roll out its trend story about how New York City proms are more outrageously expensive than ever. However! Our scientific meta-trend analysis shows isn't quite the case. More »
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Is it possible to assign a dollar value to a specific person? Duh, yes, Rutgers University just did it: Jersey Shore's Snooki is worth $32,000 and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison is worth $30,000. More »
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Liberal gay and very likely socialist New York City is much like a petri dish in which liberals enact their anti-American policies unimpeded, as the rest of American looks on in horrified fascination. The city's latest far-left experiment: giving money directly to poor people so they can run out and buy Cadillacs and crack cocaine, courtesy of hardworking taxpayers. What do the cold, hard statistics say about the failings of this welfare society run amok? More »
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Pop quiz: what's the correct conclusion to draw about our economy from the following news? The NYT reports that 1850s-era gold mines in California—many of which have not been working mines for 40 years or more—are now being reopened for prospecting. "Gold will soon be big business again in California's Mother Lode, in the same area of the Sierras - and occasionally the same mines - where the old-time prospectors once used pick axes, ore carts and burros to chase their riches." More »
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Thanks to the Great Recession's magical cleansing powers, all of the home ownership gains of the past decade's housing boom have already been erased. But there is good news! The affordability of homes has plummeted back down to pre-boom levels in the majority of markets that Moody's surveys. Finally, a home is back in your non-imaginary price range! More »
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Here's depressing news from our nation's most depressing state. Residents of Flagler County, FL are eagerly awaiting the opening of a two-in-one Red Lobster/Olive Garden restaurant, hoping it will provide much needed jobs and revitalize a struggling community. More »
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Nouriel Roubini—the fameball economist and "Joe Francis of Pessimism Porn" who predicted the Great Recession—is putting his TriBeCa party pad on the rental market. Sadly, the walls have been shorn of the plaster vulvas that once adorned them. More »
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How much would you pay for the picture Courtney Love tweeted of her ladyparts? Or Katy Perry sans makeup? Soon, magazines and blogs will probably pay thousands of dollars. A paparazzi photo agency is taking over celebrities' Twitter pictures. More »
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Virginia Del. Bob Marshall has proposed a committee to explore "whether the Commonwealth should adopt a currency to serve as an alternative to the currency distributed by the Federal Reserve System." The Articles of Confederation ruled, didn't they? More »
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Al Qaida in Iraq keeps excellent books, which some Rand Corporation analysts got a hold of and used to conduct a forensic audit to figure out how Al Qaida functions. Very efficiently, it turns out. But the pay's no good. More »
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What did the world care about in 2010? According to Google, which just released its annual Zeitgeist video—highlighting the year's top search terms—we were interested in money, politics, tragedy, war, the dearly departed, and... Antoine Dodson. Watch inside. More »
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The New York Times has created a nifty little online toy that allows you to create a plan to reduce the U.S. budget deficit, and see how much money it'll actually save. So, what's the secret? More »
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Did you get a raise last year? Seventy-four percent of White House staffers did, according a Gawker analysis of the White House's annual salary reports to Congress. Probably for the great job they're doing with the economy. More »
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In a recent discussion about the middle class, author Jacob Hacker explained to Charlie Rose that policy changes over the last half-century—and not technological advances, as many would claim—are responsible for the United States' income disparity. Watch inside. More »
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So hot-shot MIT economist Peter Diamond won a Nobel Prize in Economics today, remember? Good for him. Now can the single senator who's blocked Diamond's confirmation to the Federal Reserve board for months, over a lack of qualifications, maybe reconsider that? More »
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According to an analysis of census data, young Americans are marrying later and less frequently than ever. Not surprising, but some experts say this is in part due to our crappy economy. Young people are too poor to get hitched. More »
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Scottsdale, Arizona's raunchiest porn scribe, Ben Quayle—spawn of America's greatest vice president—has resurfaced with his latest congressional campaign ad. Get your paper and pencil ready now, because young Master Quayle has some important numbers to share. More »
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Yesterday, President Obama held a town hall meeting and was blindsided by an "exhausted" woman. Tonight, Jon Stewart revisited the unexpected smackdown. Then, Stewart gave one of his own when he pointed out all of Obama's failed promises. Video inside. More »
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Tonight, Jon Stewart had some fun with Vice President Joe Biden and the fact that Biden had promised that this would be the "summer of recovery" when it came to America's economy. Well, that didn't quite work out. Video inside. More »
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