Author: Dwight Steward, Ph.D.

Union membership (11.3%) in 2013 about the same as in 2012 BLS reports

Union membership 1930-2012. Source: The Heritage Foundation

U.S. BLS reports that membership in unions was pretty much unchanged from 2012.  In 2013, 11.3% of wage and salary workers, or about 14.5 million workers, were in a union.  Highlights from the BLS data release include:

  • Public sector workers were more than 5 x more likely to be unionized.
  • Within the public sector, education, police, and firefighters had the highest level of unionization at over 35%
  • New York state had the highest level of unionization at over 24%
  • Union workers on average earned about $200 more per week than non-union workers ($950 v. $750)

Economists wrestle with age old question: should the minimum wage be increased?

Against:

Raising the wage will make it more expensive to hire younger and low-skill workers. There are better ways to help the poor. Expanding the earned income tax credit is a much more efficient way to fight poverty than increasing the minimum wage. (Kevin Hasett and Mark Strain)

http://www.aei.org/article/economics/fiscal-policy/labor/why-we-shouldnt-raise-the-minimum-wage/

 

 

 

 

New (to me) STATA tool to use Fed Reserve data online

The FRED repository at http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/ contains over 3,000 U.S. economic time series. Each time series is stored in a separate file that also contains a string-date variable and header with information about the series. freduse imports a list of series into a single Stata dataset. This routine will be documented in an upcoming issue of the Stata Journal.

FREDUSE: Stata module to Import FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Database) data

Banco de Mexico economists examine future Mexico-U.S. immigration patterns

What is that loud sucking sound? 

According to a Banco de Mexico study it is the sound of U.S. employers pulling workers up from Mexico.

Daniel Chiquiar and Alejandrina Salcedo of the Banco de Mexico present a study of the underlying economic factors and future immigration flow scenarios for Mexico to U.S. immigration.   They find evidence that of an across‐the‐board increase in the quantity of Mexican labor demanded in US, especially in construction, is a an important driving factor. Their study looks at the intensity of Mexican labor demand versus U.S. workers, i.e. the employment of Mexican immigrants relative to other U.S. workers in the industry.

They also provide projections of future Mexico-U.S. immigration.  Their work  suggests that for the 2011‐17 period, net inflows of all types of workers (legal and unauthorized) from Mexico to the United States could be on the order of 260,000 persons per year.   Their work suggest that future net inflow will be less than the net inflow of Mexicans during 1990‐2000, which was about 466,000 workers annually. If certain sectors in the U.S. such as construction were to experience large growth the net inflow could reach as much as 330,000 workers per year.

 

 

 

Looking at the inner workings of the 401k

20131112-232846.jpgExcerpted from article by: Clifton Linton, Senior Writer, mPower

So who are the cast of characters associated with a typical 401k Plan?

The cast:

Plan Sponsor: This is the employer.  They establish the plan, set vesting conditions, implement investment limitations, matching contribution percentages etc.

401k Participant: This is the employee.  The maximum amount that the employee can is determined by the IRS.  The investments that the employee can make include mutual funds, individual stocks, and bonds.  The plan sponsor’s recordkeeper will typically have a set of preferred plans.

Recordkeeper: Tracks contribution rates, investment selections, employer matching contributions, provides account statements, and maintains information about 401k loans that may be outstanding.

Trustee: Actually technically holds the assets.  Has the exclusive authority and discretion to manage and control the assets of the plan. The trustee can be subject to the direction of a named fiduciary and the named fiduciary can appoint one or more investment managers for the plan’s assets.

Investment Manager: Offers the funds to the individual; managers the funds.

 

Useful resources for learning about the 401k industry

 (SPARK) is an inter-industry professional association servicing mutual fund companies, banks, insurance companies, investment advisors, third party administration, record keepers and benefit consulting firms in the retirement plan industry

401khelpcenter a knowledge service that curates — finds, reviews, organizes and shares — the best and most relevant information for people who sponsor, advise, design, administer, make policy about, participate, or are otherwise interested in 401k and 403(b) plans.

Deparmtent of Labor Employee Benefits Security Adminstration. The mission of the Employee Benefits Security Administration is to assure the security of the retirement, health and other workplace related benefits of America’s workers and their families. We will accomplish this mission by developing effective regulations; assisting and educating workers, plan sponsors, fiduciaries and service providers; and vigorously enforcing the law.

Some useful tables about defined contribution and defined benefit plans: Here

Description of target date fund:Here

A 401k plan trustee:
http://www.verisightgroup.com/Home/Solutions/TrustServices.aspx

 

How far down do water rights go?

Some say down to the center of the earth.  Other say that it is ok to drill and capture water that spills over to another’s land.

The Texas Supreme Court will hear arguments in Jan 2014.

From The Texas Tribune:

The Texas Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on Jan. 7 in a dispute between a company that operates injection wells in Liberty County and a nearby rice farm that says wastewater from those wells has migrated into a saltwater aquifer below its land. It calls the migration trespassing, for which it should be compensated.

 

Tortious interference and the value of social media ‘likes’

like_us_on_facebookPlaintiff credited with getting The Game back on cable television and helping the program, alleges tortious interference, breach of contract, and copyright infringement by BET.

The damages detailed in the complaint include:

* An economic loss associated with the 5 million likes that the plaintiff had accumulated on he Facebook page dedicated to the show The Game.  Based on a study by Vitrue, the complaint puts the value of the likes at about $1.2 million.  The plaintiff alleges that BET interfered with the operation of her fan Facebook page.

*$2,000 to $3,000 per week income from third party from website traffic generated from her Facebook page dedicated to the show

*$300 to $500 per post (10-20 post per week) income from third party from post about the show and her Facebook page dedicated to the show.

*Google AdSense revenue

*Amazon revenue

The complaint detailing the allegations filed in U.S. District court in the Southern District of Florida, Case No: 0:13-cv-61582 can be accessed here: mattocks v BET

Learn more by clicking on the ABA Journal’s tweet below:

https://twitter.com/ABAJournal/status/401413076685037568