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

Eliminating the USMCA with Mexico and Canada

I worked between Mexico and the US for an automotive company that made wire harness and other components for automotive companies. The assemblies would be done in one plant and then shuffled off to another plant in Mexico and then cross over into the United States for final production, packaging, and shipment to one of […]

Some of New Deal Democrat’s Weekly Indicators for June 8 – 12

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. “Consumers Back Off – Slightly” There was little change this week, but restaurant reservations – the first expense I would expect stretched consumers to cut back on – did slacken a little bit. And withholding tax payments over the past four weeks barely […]

Checking up on Trump’s chosen people

“So far, 206 Afrikaners have resettled in Ohio, a state that has struggled with population decline for decades. The Trump administration recently announced it plans to increase by 10,000 the number of refugee resettlement places for South Africans this year. “But since arriving in the US, Afrikaners – largely the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of Dutch settlers […]

The entire US economy is downstream of the AI buildout dam, and that dam is almost certain to fail

– by New Deal democrat I’ve been ambivalent about whether the mania for AI is a Boom or a Bubble. That’s because whether its use is transformative or, like Steve Jobs’ claims that the Segway would revolutionize transportation, not so much.  But what has become increasingly clear is that virtually the entire economy has been […]

Michigan Candidate’s Agenda to Root Out Corruption in Washington

Talking Election Politics Hers . . . It has been five years since we lived in Michigan. Mallory took office in 2019 as a State Senator. She appeared competent and I did support her running for office. Apparently, she has done well enough and is popular enough to run as a Federal Senator. Her opponent’s […]

Mike Johnson touches the third rail

You may have seen that Speaker Mike Johnson wants Social Security to be “fixed” after the midterms. The fact that he wants to wait until after the midterms tells you everything you need to know. He’s using “fixed” in the sense of what you do to your dog if you don’t want puppies. Republicans know […]

Decreased Factory Utilization and Increasing Capacity

Factory construction has trended downward due to economic uncertainty, throughput improvements, material costs increasing, and increasing interest rates. Companies are not willing to risk investment at this time without a sound future forecast to utilize additional factory production. The surge in 2024 was driven by policies such as the CHIPS Act. Demand cooled as companies […]