Robert Inman - Faculty Research in Knowledge@Wharton

Not With the Plan: State Budget Woes Create a Black Hole for U.S. Stimulus Funds

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:41:52 EST

From California to Connecticut, the global recession has squeezed state finances, forcing many state governments to slash services, raise taxes or find unusually creative ways to close the gap. According to experts, the widespread budget shortfalls -- expected to continue through at least 2011 -- threaten to put a drag on the nation's economic recovery and undermine President Obama's stimulus plan. "The states aren't really playing the game like Obama hoped they would," says one Wharton finance professor.

On the Job Training: Can Obama's Huge Infrastructure Program Really Work?

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:53:55 EST

President-elect Barack Obama's infrastructure plan has drawn considerable debate, but mostly over the details -- the size of the stimulus program, how to structure the plan to create the most jobs in the shortest time, and how to administer such a large program to limit corruption and pork-barrel projects. The bigger questions remain unanswered, including to what extent new jobs will actually be created, and how all this spending will affect the government's long-term debt.

What Impact, If Any, Will Higher Minimum Wages Have on Retailers and Low-income Workers?

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 15:05:02 EST

The struggle to raise pay for low-income workers, once fought in agricultural fields and on factory floors, is moving to the aisles of big retailers in Chicago where large national chains like Wal-Mart and Target may be forced to offer higher wages along with every-day low prices. While retailers complain the legislation may lead them to stall plans for new downtown stores, Wharton faculty say Chicago's proposed living wage law is largely symbolic and would have little real impact on large retail chains or their employees. Some argue that it also won't have much impact on poverty.

Fate Worse than Debt: Can the U.S. Deficit Rise to $45.47 Trillion?

Wed, 18 Jun 2003 00:00:00 EST

The U.S. government�s future obligations outweigh its projected revenues so heavily that it would need a permanent income tax increase of 66% or the immediate elimination of all federal discretionary spending to put it on track for balancing its finances. Such is the startling conclusion of a report by Wharton insurance and risk management professor Kent Smetters and Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank economist Jagadeesh Gokhale. The two argue that the government�s accounting system is backward looking and so has failed to properly account for future outlays such as Social Security and Medicare.

Are Government Bailouts Bad Business?

Wed, 10 Oct 2001 00:00:00 EST

Even the most cold-hearted free-marketer would concede the airlines got a tough break in the two-day grounding after the terrorist attacks. No manager could have been expected to anticipate events on the scale of Sept. 11, or to set aside enough money to cover the revenue shortfalls that followed. So a government bailout is a reasonable response, right? Not necessarily, say those who have studied past examples of government bailouts.

The Living-wage Movement: Good Social Policy or Self-defeating?

Wed, 10 Nov 1999 13:08:34 EST

Earlier this fall, the city council in Tucson, Ariz., passed an ordinance requiring any company doing business with the city to pay their workers at least $8 an hour, well above the minimum wage of $5.15 an hour. In taking this action, Tucson became the 39th city in the U.S. to join the living-wage movement, a five-year-old initiative started by a coalition of religious, community and labor groups and based on the idea that anybody who works fulltime should be paid enough to stay above the poverty line. Supporters claim that these ordinances have a limited negative impact on businesses required to pay the higher wage, and that the living wage movement overall will lead to a more equal distribution of income in this country. Detractors respond that requiring businesses to pay more than the minimum wage will drive companies out of urban areas and/or cause layoffs of those same unskilled workers that the higher wages are designed to help. The debate goes on.