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

Eleven* Years of #ACA Medicaid Expansion in One Image

Eleven* Years of #ACA Medicaid Expansion in One Image, ACA Signups, Charles Gaba I just posted a colorful graph which tracked ACA Qualified Health Plan (QHP) enrollment over eleven years of Open Enrollment Periods. Below I’ve done the same thing for ACA Medicaid Expansion. The data comes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services quarterly Medicaid […]

January 2024 consumer inflation: still a tug of war between gas and housing

January 2024 consumer inflation: still a tug of war between gas and housing  – by New Deal democrat As it has been for going on two years, consumer inflation has boiled down to a contest of strength between energy (mainly gasoline), which peaked in June 2022 and roughed in June 2023, and housing, which peaked […]

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

but came in above Wall Street’s expectations, another sign that the Federal Reserve’s path to interest-rate cuts is far from settled. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that consumer prices rose 3.1% in January from a year earlier, versus a December gain of 3.4%. That marked the lowest reading since June. Inflation at 3.1% Reflects “Stubborn […]

USPS tells regulator, “mind your own regulations”

This has been going on several years now and Angry Bear has been featuring Steve Hutkins from Save The Post Office and also former North Carolina Postmaster Mark Jamison. The battle goes on as big business through Louis DeJoy attempt to bring their vision of how a Post Office should be managed. The USPS is […]

Aggregate payrolls vs. total withholding taxes paid: which one has been telling the truer tale?

Aggregate payrolls vs. total withholding taxes paid: which one has been telling the truer tale?  – by New Deal democrat The drought in new data continues for today. So I wanted to take a further look at the two measures of total payrolls I discussed on Friday, one of which has been of some concern. […]

Review of Beyond the wall: A history of East Germany by Katja Hoyer

I first met my friend Gunter at a scientific meeting on the Greek Island of Crete in 1986. He was from East Germany. I knew his published work at the time, and when I shared my unpublished data, he agreed to send me some Drosophila stocks that would advance my research. At the meeting, he […]

A Longgg Time Series of Safe Real Interest Rates

I learn from Brad DeLong (nickname delong run) that Paul Schmelzing has gone to a truly heroic effort and estimated safe real interest rates since 1310! The main point is the long slow decline (it is ironic that one of the stylized growth “facts” is that there is no clear trend in real interest rates. […]

State Supreme Court takes to Task the U.S. Supreme Court

As you read this Slate article, this is something I was also thinking about. How did SCOTUS arrive at its decision and what was the basis or history supporting its decision? SCOTUS was interpreting what they thought it should be. Thomas was telling judges to study the history of gun control before they arrive at […]