Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Crocodile tears

Here’s Jerome Adams, MD, former Surgeon General, now outraged at the absurdity that is the American “healthcare” system: “Numerous Americans have found themselves ensnared in analogous predicaments while seeking medical attention, as evidenced by the myriad stories shared in response to my tweet. The opacity surrounding healthcare pricing makes it difficult for patients to ascertain […]

US Affordable Rental Housing, Makes Sense? Or Not Working as Intended

This report dropped into my email box a day or so ago. It hits upon a topic which has plagued big cities since before I was a child. Early-on in Chicago, urban renewal was the thought to be the right idea and the wrong concept. Public housing development in Chicago, Illinois. Cabrini-Green was a model of successful public […]

Real wages, payrolls, and consumption vs. employment, and their forecast implications: April update

 – by New Deal democrat With this week’s inflation report for April, we can update several measures of the real economic status of average American workers, as well as their forecast for further job and economic gains. First, here is real average hourly wages for nonsupervisory workers. In April, nominal average wages increased 0.2%. Since […]

Tax the rich!

I was a graduate student in a STEM program when Reagan was elected and the Laffer curve was used to justify tax cuts. The problem that immediately stood out to me at the time was that neither the ordinate nor the abscissa in the Laffer graph had scales, so it was impossible to assess where, […]

April housing: Uh-oh, housing units under construction has stopped levitating

 – by New Deal democrat This morning, I pointed out that manufacturing production is -1.8% below its 2022 high and may be in a slightly declining trend. Which means that added attention has to be paid to whether the other leading production sector, construction, is holding up.  Instead, this morning brought the first sustained evidence […]

Postal Supervisors Struggle using the DeJoy DFA Postal System

Steve Hutkins again addressing the implementation of the DeJoy system in Georgia. Supervisory competency came up in a message to the PRC. There has always been a give and take between management and labor. In this instance, managements probably have the same labor experience as what present labor has. If that is not the issue, […]

Real retail sales back to negative YoY

 – by New Deal democrat The Bonddad Blog Here is today’s update on one of my favorite indicators: retail sales. In April they were unchanged on a nominal basis. Adjusted for inflation they declined -0.3% for the month. They are also down -6.2% from their 2021 peak and -2.9% since January 2023: On a YoY basis, they […]