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

The Trump Administration and semaglutides

Semaglutides are turning out to be transformative for obesity in the way that statins have been transformative for hypercholesterolemia and anti-hypertensives have been transformative for high blood pressure: they’re not only highly effective but have minimal side effects. From a public health standpoint, there’s every reason to allow Medicare and Medicaid coverage for semaglutides. But […]

Industrial Production

Industrial production continues to slide  – by New Deal democrat Industrial production declined for the third month in a row in November, down -0.1%, while October was revised downward another -0.2%. Manufacturing production on the other hand increased 0.2% in November, but September and October were revised downward a combined -0.3%, so on net this was another […]

It pretends to be something other than what it really is

As typical, some will judge by the way they see things and not on the reality of the person. We did stop Repubs from filling some openings only because the sitting judges change their decisions. That was an in your face for Republicans. The politics of the era and one senator who does things to […]

2017 Tax Cuts made Income Inequality Worse and Hurt Black Americans

The author did not include graphs. I added graphs from the sources the author had included in their piece. A picture sometimes says more than words do. This is a well-documented and sourced commentary. It mostly says one thing . . . the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act did little for Black Americans, minorities, […]

Retail Real Sales

Real retail sales on the cusp of breaking out of their multi-year doldrums  – by New Deal democrat Consumption leads employment, and as I reiterated yesterday real per capita retail sales has a history as a long leading indicator. Which means that retail sales for November, which rose 0.7% nominally, continues its recent strong string […]

Planned Tariffs, An Economy Argument with Political Implications

Former Sen. Pat Toomey (R), represented the key state of Pennsylvania for 12 years in the Senate. He said he would not vote for former President Trump or Vice President Harris in the November 2024 election. (Psst, pre-November 2024 election commentary). I do not know if this person actually did not vote for either Trump or Kamala Harris. He […]

Will DOGE be an exercise in futility?

The smirking faces of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have joined the smirking face of Donald Trump in threatening to burn down government in order to save it. What they’re announcing sure sounds bad to me (eliminate a third of federal spending, including cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid). Over at eatingpolicy.com, Jennifer Pahlka […]

The spider’s web called Healthcare Insurance

UnitedHealthcare posted profits of $22 billion in 2023, as many Americans struggle to afford the medical care they need. Witty reportedly took home $23.5 million that same year, while Thompson got over $10 million. Yes, United Healthcare is profitable. At whose expense? Delay, Deny, and Defend is a violation of consumer reliance on their insurance companies as written by […]

Funding Public Goods Problematic??? Blame the Tax-Dodging Billionaire

So, what are nepo babies or nepotism babies? The second name gives the meaning away. A person who gains success or opportunities through familial connections. Especially a child of a famous parent (such as an actor, musician, entrepreneur, or politician), Merriam Webster. Some Examples. There are tax implications benefiting them as explained by Common Dreams author Julia […]

Looking at Five Long Leading Indicators

 – by New Deal democrat I haven’t “officially” updated my take on the long leading indicators – those that forecast a recession at least one year beforehand – in almost two years. That’s because the hurricane force tailwind of the supply-side deflationary unlinking of the global supply chain completely swamped everything else. So if I […]