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

Demographic Outlook 2024 to 2054 Part II: Population Used by CBO to Project the Labor Force

I have been shrinking this total report through editing so as to make it easier to read in a shorter amount of time. It is also split into three parts to minimize the size of the read also. To me, it is pretty interesting as there have been discussion about how the CBO and other […]

April JOLTS report: firming in hires, quits, and a (good) decline in layoffs, while “fictitious” job openings continue their slide

 – by New Deal democrat The JOLTS report for April showed most metrics rebounding slightly from March lows, with the exception of the “soft data” job openings. The overall picture is that hiring is weak relative to the past five years, but so are layoffs, and voluntary quits are equally relatively strong, balancing them out. […]

Is 3D printing the answer to the housing crisis?

In a rebuke to the standard economic model that demand drives supply, housing prices in the US these days continue to rise. How much of this is due to local regulation vs cost of new home construction is above my pay grade. But the claim is that 3D printed homes can mitigate shortages in affordable […]

AZ Republicans to add ballot measure allowing warrantless arrests over immigration suspicions

by Camaron Stevenson Copper Courier Arizona Republican legislators trying to look good with passing laws having unconstitutional mandates (2010), do nothing, and/or have minimal impact. ~~~~~~~~ Republicans move to add ballot measure allowing warrantless arrests over immigration suspicions Republicans in the Arizona Legislature have approved a ballot measure supporters claim will address the fentanyl crisis […]

Demographic Outlook 2024 to 2054 Part 1: Factors Contributing to Population Growth

The Demographic Outlook: 2024 to 2054, Congressional Budget Office, January 2024 A difference approach to determining the population, the resulting projections, and outcomes as determined by the Congressional Budget Office. The Congressional Budget Office is describing its population projections, which underlie the agency’s baseline budget projections and economic forecast that have been published in already. […]

The good old days

When I started attending departmental faculty meetings in 1987, there was an emeritus faculty, Harold Katzman, who went to most of the meetings. He rarely said anything, but he did make the effort to show up, perhaps out of personal loyalty. Dr. Katzman was the first graduate student of our department’s founding chair, Dr. Edward […]

May new manufacturing orders slide, truck sales rise, construction spending close to unchanged

 – by New Deal democrat As usual, the month starts out with important data on manufacturing and construction. The news was mixed this month and weighted more to the downside in my opinion. First, the ISM report on manufacturing declined again slightly to 48.7. This is the second month in a row that this index […]

Plug-in hybrids: a reality check

We’re seriously considering a hybrid for our next car. One species of the hybrid genus is the “plug-in hybrid,” which seemed appealing to me, both from the standpoint of gas economy and to reduce our carbon footprint. Caveat emptor: “In one study from the ICCT published in 2022, researchers examined real-world driving habits of people […]

Dr. Richard Bucholz and the origins of modern brain surgery

If you or your loved one had successful brain surgery, you can probably thank my colleague, Dr. Richard Bucholz, Professor of Neurosurgery at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Dr. Bucholz pioneered and invented the image-guided surgery navigational system marketed by Medtronic as the “Stealth Station.” It is standard equipment in nearly every neurosurgical suite […]