Fiscal Intelligence
Fiscal analysis that enables educators, small business owners, and community organizers to make informed decisions.
Month: July, 2015
A Better Path for Puerto Rico
Investment in Inland Transport Infrastructure
Charter Schools vs. Traditional Public Schools
Charter schools housed in private space continue to receive considerably less support per student than traditional public schools, and that gap has also grown to $2,914 for each student, or about 16 percent less than traditional public school funding.
Single Family Rental Out of the Ashes
Even if enough time has passed since a foreclosure, many lenders are loath to make loans to borrowers with any blemish on their credit history. The average credit score on purchase mortgage loans sold to Fannie Mae last year was close to 745. In a more typical housing market, like that prior to the housing bubble, the average score was closer to 715. This 30-point difference represents several million potential homebuyers.
Financial Repression
Clearly, financial market excess (FME) has been building up due to increased risk appetite and low market volatility. The Swiss Re FME index is now close to pre-crisis average levels (see Figure 7). The Fed has warned about these risks on a number of occasions, even though they have largely been engineered by the Fed itself. In a February 2013 speech, former Fed Governor Jeremy Stein highlighted the overheating in credit markets. In her semi-annual testimony, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen later identified small cap, biotech and social media stocks as being highly valued relative to the historical norm.
The Value of Education