Voting Resources
Tom Pauken
March 19th, 2010
A new study from the United States Department of Labor reports that the unemployment rate in 2009 for young returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan rose to 21.9%, far higher than the national unemployment rate for non-...
March 16th, 2010
As investigations unfold on questionable activity conducted by investment banks during the recent Greek debt crisis, certain financial instruments – similar to those that tanked the housing market – are coming under scrutiny...
March 6th, 2010
Recent upward revisions to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product in the fourth quarter of 2009 have drawn skepticism from many who still point to dragging unemployment rates, reduced consumer demand, and still-declining home...
March 4th, 2010
Texas initial jobless claims for the week ending Feb. 20 fell to 16,712 from 17,730 the previous week. This marked the lowest number of first-time unemployment claimants since Jan. 2. Continued claims (those receiving...
February 13th, 2010
In late January, the U.S. Senate voted to raise the United States’ debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion, or $45,000 for every man, woman, and child living in America. Our massive federal deficit levels should send up warning...
February 6th, 2010
I agree with the statement by Paul Volcker, former Fed Chairman, in his testimony before Congress on Tuesday:
January 30th, 2010
Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow had an excellent article on placing greater emphasis on career and technical education instead of pushing every student to attend a four-year university.
January 13th, 2010
I have no more faith in the ability of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to navigate successfully the rough economic waters we are in than I did in the performance of his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, who fueled the bubble economy by...
December 21st, 2009
Last week I discussed the increases in temporary worker hiring. Historically, this trend has signified the first step towards lowering unemployment during recessionary periods. But, this time the temporary hire upsurge may...
November 24th, 2009
Texas initial jobless claims for the week ending Nov. 14 fell by 19 percent to 18,660 from the previous week’s 22,916. This was the largest week-to-week decline since Sept. 12. Continued claims (those receiving benefits for...
March 17th, 2010
Texas initial jobless claims for the week ending March 6 rose to 19,194 from 18,112 the previous week. The four-week moving average for initial claims – a steadier measure of unemployment claim activity – declined for the...
March 12th, 2010
Texas initial jobless claims for the week ending Feb. 27 climbed to 18,112 from 16,712 the previous week. The four-week moving average for initial claims – a steadier measure of unemployment claim activity – declined for the...
March 5th, 2010
Forbes Magazine recently ranked four Texas metropolitan areas in the top ten list of “Cities Where the Recession is Easing". Austin-Round Rock shared the number one spot with Washington D.C.; Dallas-Fort
February 22nd, 2010
Yesterday, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas Hoenig called on leaders in Washington to reverse reckless spending decisions and focus on reducing the growing national debt:
February 11th, 2010
Texas initial jobless claims for the week ending Jan. 30 reached 19,365 from 18,318 the previous week. The four-week moving average for initial claims – a steadier measure of unemployment claim activity – has risen to 22,442...
February 3rd, 2010
Texas initial jobless claims for the week ending Jan. 23 declined to 18,318 – a 16.7 percent drop from the previous week’s figure. Continued claims (those receiving benefits for two weeks or more) also declined by 9,580 to...
January 22nd, 2010
This past week, the Texas Comptroller’s office released the latest sales tax collection figures. December sales tax collections in Texas were down 11.6 percent compared to the same period last year. This follows ten straight...
January 11th, 2010
Texas initial jobless claims for the week ending Jan. 2 increased to 15,287 from the previous week’s 11,733. Continued claims (those receiving benefits for two weeks or more) rose by 23,466 to reach 248,139 – or 34.9 percent...
December 14th, 2009
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), temporary and contract work has increased significantly. That is offsetting to some extent continued job losses in a number of sectors.
November 16th, 2009
Gross Domestic Product in the third quarter showed a 3.5% annual growth rate – the first positive growth experienced in the last five quarters. Although this may come as encouraging news, some are concerned that this...
