By now, we all know the Cliff Notes version of American’s founding: Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, the colonists defeated the British at Yorktown and Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Adams and Franklin wrote the Constitution, which the 13 colonies/states ratified enthusiastically. As an antidote to those cliché histories, I read a couple of good books […]

– by New Deal democrat Never look a gift horse in the mouth. June’s CPI was that kind of gift horse, reversing all of the factors that have recently surged during the Iran war. As a bonus, inflation in shelter (1/3rd of the weight of the index) continued to abate. Let’s start with the overall view. […]

Trump’s new policy drew attention to remarks Rubio made just weeks earlier, while on a visit June 23. A visit he paid to the United Arab Emirates. It was then he slammed the prospect of transit fees in the waterway in a caution to Iran. June 23, 2026: Marco Rubio’s warning ‘no country’ can charge […]

Hmmm . . . Before the US conflict with Iran, Iran and Oman did not charge fees for passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This, according to the New York Times. And now? “Iran and U.S.-allied Oman are moving forward with plans to collect payment for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, despite public American […]

It appears (as stated) New Deal is either on the road, taking a train, or flying somewhere to relax, have some fun, or gathering information for a new report. I hope for the earlier two latter as NDd is typically busy reporting on the economy in his fashion. So as a surprise or treat, NDd […]

Trump Rewrites History and Ignores Its Lessons There are two famous quotes about history often attributed to Winston Churchill: In point of fact, Churchill wasn’t the original source of either. But those two sentiments are a useful way to look at the fight over American history currently being waged by the White House against the […]

Reducing Food Insecurity Among Children in the U.S. Econofact Lisa A. Gennetian and Diane Schanzenbach The Issue: Adequate access to healthy nutrition is a key component for children’s development. Children need food to grow and show up to school ready to learn. Yet in 2023 (latest data available) almost one in six children in the United States […]

For the last eight years we lived in St. Louis, we had rooftop solar. Ameren paid half the cost, and we got a 30% tax write-off on the rest. The 22 panels only exceeded consumption for a couple months a year. The total savings didn’t pay off the investment. No matter, we did our part […]

Just a partial of an “Informed Comment‘” commentary by Tom Engelhardt. “A Declining President may take the Planet down with him,” Informed Comment (Tom Engelhardt Substack) – Iran, Iraq, Irate. Honestly, just in case you hadn’t noticed, what a truly strange world we now find ourselves in. I mean, from George Washington to Barack Obama, […]

My “Weekly Indicators” post is up. The high frequency data continues to confirm my Big Picture outlook that after a near-miss or possible “mini-recession” late last year, the economy is rebounding. In particular, the YoY improvements, already Booming, in consumer spending are accelerating even more. Some of this is probably the wealth effect from stock portfolios, […]