2 great references - 1 for the state budget, and 1 for the banks

A couple of large reports dropped last week that feel like great reference points in the coming months.

The first deals with the state budget, as the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau has put out their 748=page summary of Governor Evers' budget. You also can click here to narrow in on specific agencies.

As the issues come up, this is a great spot to see in plain language what Governor Evers wants to do, and how much it will cost. It'll cut through a lot of spin and BS and help you understand the larger picture as well as the specific issues involved.

The other item I want to let you know about is PBS Frontline's documentary titled "The Age of Easy Money." It is a great summary of how the Federal Reserve had near-zero interest rates between 2008-2022 and pumped trillions into the economy to try to keep bamks functioning during and after the Great Recession, and to boost the economic recovery. It also touches on the Fed's recent rate-hiking spree, and how this might lead to some of the bank difficulties that we've seen.

Especially since the near-zero interest rates encouraged a whole lot of speculation and borrowing for a lot of fraud business ideas, and now there isn't money available to pay those loans back or for the low-interest debt that the banks bought last year to be worth anything today. And the Frontline report warns that we may not see near-zero interest rates any time soon, which could be a rough adjustment for the businesses and individuals that have come to depend on those low rates.