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

Barkley . . .

Dan Crawford: The passing of Barkley Rosser is terribly sad news. Angry Bear has had connection to Barkley since 2006 at least. He was also instrumental for helping Bruce Webb and the topic of Social Security gain traction nationally. Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution posted a link to his profile “Man in motion,”- JMU at James […]

Giving bread-basket Farmers the Ability to repair their Tractors

‘Right-to-repair’ advocates skeptical of John Deere agreement, NPR, Joe Hernandez Pulling from NPR’s Joe Hernandez’s article and adding some of my automotive background. to explain. Like automobiles, tractors have gone high-tech using on-board computers and semi-conductors to run various systems within cars and also farm tractors. This includes systems such as fuel injection to oxygen […]

The December jobs report: more deceleration

Scenes from the December jobs report: more deceleration  – by New Deal democrat The only significant economic data this week will be released on Thursday, with both CPI and jobless claims. In the meantime, let’s take a closer look at the jobs data we got last Friday. As indicated in the title of this post, […]

The main reason for the decline in inflation since June

In which I quibble with Prof. Alan Blinder about the main reason for the decline in inflation since June  – by New Deal democrat Alan S. Blinder is getting traction for an opinion piece published in the WSJ concerning the big decline in inflation since June. He acknowledges that“ energy inflation played a meaningful role” but […]

Our success or failure in life may be influenced by where we’re born

Economist David Zetland lets us know our place of birth has a much larger impact on our success or failure globally than what we suspect. It is not solely up to us to be successful. The country of our birth has a great impact. Understanding this, exploring books about success can offer valuable insights into […]

Discussion on Solutions to Social Security at Angry Bear

A different viewpoint by myself which is not so new and very workable. Dean Baker at CEPR offers up his viewpoint on saving Social Security. I believe we are in close proximity to a solution except I would suggest a different source of funds. Dale, Bruce, and Arne have talked this simple solution up until […]

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for January 2 – 6, 2023

Weekly Indicators for January 2 – 6 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. No big changes from the past month or so. The overall economic picture continues to be driven by the effects of the price of gas. As usual, clicking over and reading will […]

Kevin McCarthy’s 15th Vote finally wins amongst Republicans

The 15th time and McCarthy’s selling of his soul to legislate in favor of radicalism was the charm. Care to fetch, Kevin? Prof. Heather presents additional history and politics along with Weldon’s commentary, and Peter Dorman piece explaining Republican politics and the actors who display little incentive to compromise. A trifecta of excellent posts. January […]

How do you solve a problem like George Santos?

Can he be recalled? NoCan he be charged with a crime for lying about his bio? NoCan the House of Representatives refuse to seat him? No However: He can face criminal and civil fraud charges for lying on documents submitted to government entities and investors.He could be extradited to Brazil to face criminal charges there.He […]

Herb Gintis, 1940-2023

Herb Gintis, 1940-2023 Peter Dorman @ Econospeak My dissertation chair, Herb Gintis, died yesterday in Northampton, Mass.  We didn’t stay in touch after I graduated—our interests and perspectives diverged—but I will always appreciate what he gave of himself at a difficult time in my life. After my first dissertation went awry (don’t ask!), Herb, who […]