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

The Lowest Wages in the United States for Labor

There is more to this report on Labor than what I am presenting here. Consulting to manufacturing gave me an excellent background on the costs of Labor as compared to Overhead and Materials. Whacking Labor does not gain business much in return and will lead to inefficiency in manufacture and delivering a timely product. If […]

“Annual home price growth cooled for the seventh consecutive month”

ICE Mortgage Monitor: “Annual home price growth cooled for the seventh consecutive month” – by Bill McBride Calculated Risk Newsletter Here is the ICE November Mortgage Monitor report (pdf). Press Release: ICE Mortgage Monitor: Record Levels of Tappable Equity, Fed Rate Cuts Could Spur Resurgence in Home Equity Withdrawals Mortgage Delinquencies Increased in September Here is a graph […]

The Media and Trump’s Second Term Agenda

Harris has been criticized for giving vague answers to policy questions, but the fact is we have a reasonably good idea what policies a President Harris would pursue.  If elected, she will behave as we expect a Democratic president to behave. On the other side of the aisle, it is easy to overlook how uncertain […]

E-Verify and undocumented workers in America

When alcoholic beverages were illegal in America, drinking didn’t stop. Alcohol smuggling just became lucrative for criminal gangs. Drugs like cocaine and heroin have been illegal for decades. Consumption of cocaine and heroin didn’t stop; smuggling of these drugs just became lucrative for criminal gangs. Making undocumented migration illegal and militarizing the Mexican border didn’t […]

Four More Items in the Wages Category Outpacing Prices Debate

Angry Bear posted content on the lowest-wage workers or the lowest 10-percentile of labor having the greatest increase in wages. We used EPI charts Maybe the same two charts can show the same impact here on this commentary. These two charts will show the increase in wage for the lowest 10% of wage earners and […]