Economy

Analysts say the recent volatility in the stock market can be blamed in part on investors selling stocks because they are nervous about the economy.The Evening Sun wants to know how you feel about the stock market and about the economy. Are you very confident, somewhat confident, or not at all confident about the market and the economy?Call SUNDIAL, The Baltimore Sun's telephone information system, on a Touch-Tone phone. The call is local, and answers will be registered between 10 a.m. and midnight.

Chemical maker W.R. Grace said quarterly earnings increased 6.9 percent as it cut costs and improved profit margins despite operating under bankruptcy in a weak economy. The Columbia-based company, which has about 1,100 workers in the area, posted net income of $46.4 million, or 63 cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31. That was compared to $43.4 million, or 60 cents per share, for the same period a year ago. The company attributed positive earnings to cost cutting and realignment of its product portfolio.

So Andrew Mullin would be happy to cut back four nights out at restaurants in order to send the $400 he would have spent there to the state instead ("O'Malley's proposal to raise taxes on "high earners" draws protests in Annapolis and beyond," Jan. 28). In those few words, he proves the point of those of us who believe that tax increases seriously hurt our local economy. Some 428,000 Marylanders will be paying more if this plan is approved, adding about $185 million to the state coffers and removing that amount from discretionary spending.

I had to read John Culleton's letter "The GOP's 2012 election strategy: Wreck the economy" (June 9) several times to be sure it said what I thought it did. The biased inaccuracies were so overwhelming that the first question in my mind was: How in the world does The Sun chose the letters that appear in the Readers Response section? The thought process used to put that letter together left me in shock. Mr. Culleton's statement that the Bush tax cuts didn't stimulate the economy is just not true.

BILL Clinton will take office with high hopes and good will, but his presidency will stand or fall on whether he fixes the economy. His first task is to sort out the long-term "change" he champions from the short-term economic urgencies.As John Maynard Keynes aptly observed, "In the long run we are all dead." It is the short run where people are losing jobs, homes and hopes. And Mr. Clinton will soon lose his political mandate if recovery is not forthcoming. Mr. Clinton courageously resisted the fashionable (and mistaken)

It is refreshing to see that The Sun editorial board hasn't strayed from the ultra-liberal progressive spin of the Democratic party in dismissing Mitt Romney's economic recovery tax plan as a big lie ("Big lies and Big Bird," Oct. 8). The is just another attempt to excuse the absolutely dismal debate performance of President Barack Obama that clearly showed he has no idea how to turn this economy around over the next four years. Your editorial suggests that "the nation is facing serious economic challenges, and it requires a serious debate over how best to spur growth but also reduce the deficit in the long term.

Dan Reed's argument that job creation requires the government to just get out of the way makes little sense ("Government's job: stay out of the way, Oct. 19). Economists agree that the three most important things the government can do to create long-term jobs and re-energize the economy are to invest in infrastructure, education and scientific research. All three are essentially governmental functions. And our principal global competitors, China, India and Brazil, are investing a far greater share of their wealth in these areas than we. Studies have shown that a dollar invested in road repair and construction will yield a 12 percent return from reduced accidents, fuel consumption and time-killing travel delays.

After reviewing my 2011 real property tax bill, I see an increase in the amount of tax I am being assessed resulting from a reduction in the homestead tax credit by 5 percent. This automatic annual increase will continue each year until my homestead tax credit is eliminated. Why hasn't the Howard County Council addressed this issue and eliminated this automatic annual increase in real property taxes until the economy improves? As a retired senior citizen I haven't seen an increase in income for two years, but I must continue paying more taxes for the same services.