“Fed chief Ben Bernanke today told lawmakers the current financial crisis is rippling through the economy. He said it’s harder for businesses to get loans to create jobs, and harder for consumers to get loans to buy cars — hurting automakers and auto workers.” He could have added that “it is harder for consumers to…

Another memorable feat in the annals of Bacondom…. From the Lewiston Tribune: Jolee Bacon really sizzles when it comes to hog-calling. The northern Idaho woman took first place Saturday in the competition at the Nez Perce County Fair. She has raised several champion pigs for 4-H contests. Bacon says she calls pigs every morning and…

Since 9/11, most American Muslims have taken a low profile, understandably afraid of provoking a backlash. But seven years later, Muslims in the Richmond region have decided the time has come to engage with the community — to go mainstream, as it were. To that end, the Virginia Muslim Coalition for Public Affairs hosted a…

The fiscal underpinnings of Virgnia’s road construction and maintenance program continue to deteriorate, John R. Layman, the state Department of Taxation’s chief economist, told the Commonwealth Transportation Board yesterday. “There’s no ‘up’ in this presentation right now,” he said, as reported by Peter Bacque with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The state’s highway maintenance fund will see…

By investing in energy-efficient technologies, the Commonwealth of Virginia can reduce its electricity needs by 20 percent, cut electric bills by $15 billion by 2025, and create 10,000 new jobs — the equivalent of bringing almost 100 new manufacturing facilities to the state — says a new report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient…

The Gipper came to us with his sunny, phony, Hollywood style, pushing the common man but talking of unleashing the wonderful forces of the free market. If only we could get the government off our backs, cut taxes and let the Magic of Capitalism roar about unfettered. And it did. Republicans and Democrats alike joined…

Looks like AIG, like Freddie and Fannie, should have spent some of the money they wasted on advertising to improve corporate management and risk analysis. On 8 Sept we posted a note on this Blog titled “HIGH NOON FOR ENTERPRISE SOCIALISM.” Turns out it was only a little past 8 AM. The lesson from AIG…

While the citizens of Richmond battle red tape and political agendas to create a single charter school (See Norm Leahy’s post, “The Patrick Henry Contract“), thousands of others are dropping out of the public education system. They’re called home schoolers, and their numbers are growing at an explosive rate. At the invitation of Marc Montoni,…

The Bacon’s Rebellion theory of economic development (“Economy 4.0”) is about to undergo an important real-world test in New York. The theory says that financial capital and human capital gravitates to where it generates the highest return on investment. All other things being equal, states and regions with lower taxes, fewer regulations and a less…

Household incomes stagnated in Virginia while the number of uninsured increased during the past economic cycle, contends the Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis in a recent report, “Feeling the Pinch: The State of Working Virginia.” (I came across the report after reading about it in today’s Washington Post.) “Despite seeing incomes rise this year, more…

Jim Bacon has been into the numbers again. See “States, Taxes and Laffer Curve” below. (This is a new post since some may not make it past Anon 5:31’s post.) Good post Jim: Glad you noted the importance of human settlement patterns. That leads to the one concern we have with the post: The problem…

Sheila and Kevin Nelson are obviously good at what they do. Since purchasing Groomingdale’s, an established pet grooming business, in November, they’ve boosted sales six percent, as Joan Tupponce tells the story in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch. I wish the Nelsons all the luck in the world. I like to see small businesses succeed, especially in…

Arthur Laffer, known for the “Laffer Curve,” and Stephen Moore, a Cato Institute scholar, published a study last year, “Rich States, Poor States,” that asks exactly the kinds of questions we explore here on the Bacon’s Rebellion blog. What are the public policy variables that affect states’ long-term economic growth — and how does Virginia…

Virginia Republicans may be losing their grip on power, but they can console themselves that they’re still perceived as “pro business.” That gives them a significant advantage in fund raising. I’m yet to be convinced, however, that the pro-business epithet is terribly beneficial for the rest of us. According to the 2008 report card issued…

Inc. Magazine is known mainly for its prestigious “Inc. 500” list of fastest-growing private companies in the United States. As I reported for R’Biz last month, the Richmond region contributed only one company – Logical Innovations, a software development firm — to that list. But it turns out that Inc. compiles an even bigger list,…