November 11, 2019
There are 600 billionaires in the U.S., with more than 40% of them residing in California and New York. US News and World Report, March 8, 2019
“The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to be governed at all.” G.K. Chesterton
Disney films have accounted for 33.4% of the entire U.S. box office so far this year, raking in $2.7 billion in ticket sales. CNBC, October 17, 2019
For the first time since the government began keeping track in 1978, the U.S. posted an overall petroleum surplus totaling almost $300 million. MarketWatch, November 5, 2019
Manufacturing made up just 11% of gross domestic product this year, its lowest percentage since 1947. The figure compares with 13.4% for real estate and 12.3% for government. Bloomberg, October 29, 2019
Google’s new “quantum machine” needs less than 3½ minutes to perform calculations that would take a traditional computer 10,000 years, making the most powerful supercomputers look like mere toys. The New York Times, October 23, 2019
“The function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” John Kenneth Galbraith
Never miss another Talking Points. Sign up here