Economics

The Medcalfe family bought their Christmas Tree from Clarks Hill Christmas Tree Farm last weekend. I know this is late by American standards, but the English don’t have the Friday Thanksgiving tradition. We have been cutting down live Christmas trees since our sons were little boys. We have always enjoyed making an afternoon of the activity, taking the dogs, drinking hot chocolate, decorating, and enjoying the scent in the house. The Farm Bureau has just provided some economic data on Christmas tree farming. Over half of all Christmas trees are

Publisher’s Note: Twice a year, Dr. Rick Franza, AU’s Professor, puts our economy into perspective with his predictions. He’s wrapped up his semester and his presents with his bi-annual tradition! A couple of reminders are necessary before I start.  First, please note that my predictions focused on how President Trump might implement some of his campaign promises and what impact those policies might have on our economy. Second, I wrote a column in early July in which I provided a mid-year evaluation of my predictions and also provided a “bonus

Publisher’s Note: In 1994, yours truly left a TV news/weather position in Augusta to earn $10,000 more at a similar job in Spokane, Washington. It was a double-play as there was/is no state income tax. The cost of living was outrageous on rent, food, gas, etc., and it ate up the extra $$$. I returned to Augusta a year later! Our columnist, Dr. Rick Franza, dug into the pros and cons of Georgia mirroring Washington State’s state income tax decisions. GEORGIA LEGISLATIVE PROCESS In the month of November, I had

Yesterday, I gave my economic forecast with the help of two undergraduate economics students, Kacey Axon and Brandon Day. Due to the 40 + day delay caused by the feds shutting down the government, we’ve had an absence of local economic data for several months. This week, Kacey and I concentrate on long-term growth and summarize her research. Next Tuesday, we will cover Brandon’s analysis. In economics, when we talk about growth, we talk about an increase in real GDP. GDP is gross domestic product and is the total market