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Open Thread February 21 2024 Is Late Economic Reporting the Cause of Bad Perceptions as New Deal democrat says?

Angry Bear | February 21, 2024 3:39 pm

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Is Late Economic Reporting the Cause of bad perceptions by the population?

Open Thread February 13 2024 Inflation cooled again in January . . . Angry Bear

12 Comments

Fred C. Dobbs says:

February 21, 2024 at 9:26 pm

Are We in a Productivity Boom? For Clues, Look to 1994.

NY Times – February 21

Thirty years ago, the U.S. entered an era of productivity gains that enabled healthy growth. Experts are asking if it could happen again.

… Thirty years ago, officials at the Federal Reserve were hotly debating whether the economy could continue to chug along so vigorously without spurring a pickup in inflation. And back in 1994, it turned out that it could, thanks to one key ingredient: productivity.

Now, official productivity data are showing a big pickup for the first time in years. The data have been volatile since the start of the pandemic, but with the dawn of new technologies like artificial intelligence and the embrace of hybrid work setups, some economists are asking whether the recent gains might be real — and whether they can turn into a lasting boom.

If the answer is yes, it would have huge implications for the U.S. economy. Improved productivity would mean that firms could create more product per worker. And a steady pickup in productivity could allow the economy to take off in a healthy way. More productive companies are able to pay better wages without having to raise prices or sacrifice profits. …
Fred C. Dobbs says:

February 21, 2024 at 9:30 pm

Many Americans Believe the Economy Is Rigged

NY Times – February 21

Katherine J. Cramer and Jonathan D. Cohen

Ms. Cramer is a co-chair of the Commission on Reimagining Our Economy at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Mr. Cohen is a senior program officer at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

When asked what drives the economy, many Americans have a simple, single answer that comes to mind immediately: “greed.” They believe the rich and powerful have designed the economy to benefit themselves and have left others with too little or with nothing at all.

We know Americans feel this way because we asked them. Over the past two years, as part of a project with the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, we and a team of people conducted over 30 small-group conversations with Americans from almost every corner of the country. While national indicators may suggest that the economy is strong, the Americans we listened to are mostly not thriving. They do not see the economy as nourishing or supporting them. Instead, they tend to see it as an obstacle, a set of external forces out of their control that nonetheless seems to hold sway over their lives.

Take the perceived prevalence of greed. This is hardly a new feeling, but it has been exacerbated recently by inflation and higher housing costs. Americans experience these phenomena not as abstract concepts or political talking points but rather as grocery stores and landlords demanding more money.

Income inequality has been in decline over the last few years. But try explaining that to someone struggling to pay the rent. “I just feel like the underdog can’t get ahead, and it’s all about greed and profit,” one Kentucky participant noted. It is not necessarily the actual distribution of wealth that troubles people. It is the feeling that the economy is rigged against them. …
- Fred C. Dobbs says:
  
  February 21, 2024 at 9:39 pm
  
  Over the past two years, as part of a project with the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, we and a team of people conducted over 30 small-group conversations with Americans from almost every corner of the country.
  
  Reimagining the Economy | New Economic Models | AMACAD
  
  The Academy’s Commission on Reimagining Our Economy was convened in recognition that the health of a democracy is inextricably linked to the health of its economy. …
Fred C. Dobbs says:

February 22, 2024 at 8:02 am

Boeing 737 Max Official Is Out as Questions Linger on Mishap

NY Times – yesterday

Boeing said on Wednesday that it was shaking up the leadership in its commercial airplanes unit after a harrowing incident last month during which a piece fell off a 737 Max 9 jet in flight.

Ed Clark, the head of Boeing’s 737 Max program, which includes the Max 9, is leaving immediately, Stan Deal, the chief executive of the commercial airplanes unit, said in a memo to employees. Boeing, which also announced other leadership changes, has been under pressure from regulators, airlines and members of Congress to prove that it is committed to making safe planes.

Boeing said recently that it was overhauling its quality control process, including increased inspections at the factory in Renton, Wash., where Mr. Clark oversaw Max production. The leadership changes are the company’s most prominent attempt to show it is holding itself accountable for the Jan. 5 incident that left a fuselage hole in an Alaska Airlines plane. …
coberly says:

February 23, 2024 at 5:48 pm

well, hell

i thought i wrote someting here about my grocery budget, and whether voters are “misinformed.”

ran across something today or yesterday, forget where but it sounded official, that said food takes a higer percent of your pay now that it has since 1970 [or so]. the people are not misinformed. the economists are uninformed.
- Fred C. Dobbs says:
  
  February 24, 2024 at 10:51 am
  
  Why does food cost so much?
  
  CBS News – three days ago
  
  … Despite inflation slowing down, food prices continue to increase. The Consumer Price Index shows food purchases, including groceries and restaurants, are getting worse for your wallet. Restaurant prices have increased 5.1% on an annual basis, and groceries have increased 1.2% annually, leading to Americans spending the largest percentage of their income on food in the last 30 years. …
  - Fred C. Dobbs says:
    
    February 24, 2024 at 10:53 am
    
    (Found this by googling, so who knows if it’s true?)
    - Joel Eissenberg says:
      
      February 24, 2024 at 11:51 am
      
      @Fred,
      
      Google is easy. Good judgement is hard.
      - coberly says:
        
        February 24, 2024 at 1:09 pm
        
        joel
        
        yes. what exactly is your point?
Fred C. Dobbs says:

February 24, 2024 at 10:47 am

Why isn’t the Supreme Court moving faster on Trump’s immunity challenge?

CNN – February 24, 2024

(Because some conservative judge is writing a dissent?)

When special counsel Jack Smith asked the Supreme Court to reject former President Donald Trump’s immunity claims there was an unmistakable hue of urgency to the request.

At the time, Smith cautioned the court against further “delay” more than a dozen times in his brief.

Now, two weeks after Trump asked the court to step into the charged dispute over whether he may claim immunity from prosecution – and eight days since all the necessary briefs were filed with the justices – court watchers are engaged in a pastime almost as old as the Supreme Court itself: trying to glean meaning from the timing and silence. …

The Supreme Court can move quickly, at least by judicial branch standards. But most of its important cases take months to resolve. Even on the court’s emergency docket, disputes can take weeks to sort out. …

Some experts believe that the longer the high court takes, the more likely it is to reject Trump’s request to block the DC Circuit ruling. That theory rests on the idea that a conservative justice might be writing a lengthy dissent from the decision – and that can take some time. …
coberly says:

February 25, 2024 at 2:13 pm

Dobbs

some suspect that if the court delays long enough Trump will win the election and pardon himself.

I wouldn’t bet against it.

The immunity claim is not a difficult question. Though it might take Alito a while to conjure a colorable dissent. [colorable: stays inside the lines].
- Fred C. Dobbs says:
  
  February 29, 2024 at 10:03 am
  
  Of course, that’s obviously been his strategy all along.
  
  But he may be bankrupt (again?) by then.
  
  However, there are other things to worry about.
  
  Putin Says West Risks Nuclear Conflict if It Intervenes More in Ukraine
  
  NY Times – just in
  
  President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said the West faced the prospect of nuclear conflict if it intervened more directly in the war in Ukraine, using an annual speech to the nation on Thursday to escalate his threats against Europe and the United States.
  
  Mr. Putin said Western countries that were helping Ukraine strike Russian territory “must, in the end, understand” that “all this truly threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, and therefore the destruction of civilization.”
  
  “We also have weapons that can strike targets on their territory,” Mr. Putin said. “Do they not understand this?” …
  
  Pentagon Weighs New Plan to Ship Weapons to Ukraine Quickly
  
  A short-term measure carries political and military risks as the Biden administration considers whether to tap into U.S. stockpiles again.
  
  The Biden administration is considering whether to provide Ukraine with badly needed arms and ammunition from Pentagon stockpiles even though the government has run out of money to replace those munitions, according to two U.S. officials and a senior lawmaker. …