Author: Tom Silva

Two significant threats to the economy are receding, although the recovery still has a long way to go. One of the threats was the specter of deflation – which has not occurred since the 1930s – now belied by the 0.3 percent inflation rate reported for August, and driven primarily by rising food and energy […]

Who’s right about the state of the economy and commercial real estate – the bulls or the bears?  Robert Knakal, chairman of New York-based Massey Knakal Realty Services, weighs both sides to help us cut through the mixed messages. In a recent interview for the Alter NOW Podcasts, Knakal noted that the bulls like to […]

Rahm Emanuel’s abrupt departure as White House Chief of Staff to run for mayor of Chicago is no surprise  now that Richard M. Daley has announced his retirement after 21 years in office.  The mercurial Emanuel, who left his Congressional seat and House leadership position to take the White House job, was replaced by the […]

Todd Henderson is a University of Chicago law professor; his wife is a physician at the prestigious university’s hospital.  Although the family earns more than $250,000 a year, lives in a pricey house in the upscale Kenwood neighborhood, employs a nanny and sends their children to private schools, Henderson is upset with President Barack Obama’s […]

As the nation’s roads, railways and sewers crumble, President Barack Obama’s proposal to create a $50 billion infrastructure bank is one way to build on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  According to Margaret Donahoe, Executive Director of the Minnesota Transportation Alliance, “A new multi-year transportation authorization act is almost one year overdue and […]

President Barack Obama’s decision to name Wall Street’s archenemy Elizabeth Warren as his special advisor to direct the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau bypasses the often confrontational Senate confirmation process.  The Harvard law professor is now tasked with building a new government agency that will crack down on abusive financial practices such as […]

One unexpected side effect of economic hard times is a sharp decline in birth rates.  In Illinois, for example, the birth rate has fallen to its lowest level since 1933 – and that was during the darkest days of the Great Depression.  “Many couples are strained and don’t want to take on additional responsibilities,” said […]

The Obama administration – fresh from its financial regulation reform legislative victory – is not resting on its laurels.  Next on the busy agenda is reforming the American housing market, which is viewed by many as the root of the financial crisis. In a response to collapsing housing prices and waves of foreclosures, the administration […]

Richard M. Daley dropped a bombshell on Chicago with his announcement that – after serving as mayor for 21 years, longer than his father Richard J. Daley – he would not seek an unprecedented seventh term.  As citizens and pundits pondered the reasoning behind the decision and political hopefuls immediately started jockeying to be his […]

America’s states are under water in more ways than one.  This writer got a close-up view of how our aging infrastructure is being taxed by the elements.  A summer storm that brought as much as eight inches of rain in just two hours in the wee hours of Saturday, July 24 wreaked havoc in Chicago’s […]