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

Punishing people for their circumstances, not just their actions . . . “Chicago’s Million Dollar Blocks”

I changed the order of this article so as to attribute the authors and others in the beginning rather than near the end of this piece. I am reposting this article to Angry Bear Blog and attributing the authors, others, and any organizations which may have played a part in writing this piece. The why […]

Structural Racism and Disparities in Youth Exposed to Firearm Violence

The takeaway in this short report about firearm violence is “Black and Hispanic children were more likely to witness or be shot. Black children were 100 times, and Hispanic children 25 times, more likely than White children to be shot in Chicago and other major US cities. They are at greater risk of being shot […]

DOGE “savings” are disappearing

Wonder if these expenses will show up on the DOGE ledger: “Early this spring, the Food and Drug Administration fired nearly 50 workers in the Office of Regulatory Policy – only to turn around and order them back to the office with one day’s notice. “After dismissing thousands of probationary employees for fabricated “performance” issues, […]

Home inspections and the real estate market

When we visited the Providence Rhode Island area in April 2022 to look for a house, we bid on three houses. The first bid had an inspection contingency and was rejected out of hand. For the other two, we left out the inspection continency and were still outbid. It was a seller’s market. In the […]

May jobs report: about as poor as an expansionary report could be

 – by New Deal democrat Even before the new Administration took office in Washington, my focus had been on whether the economy would have a “soft” or “hard” landing, i.e., recession. That has only intensified by the utter chaos of tariff-palooza! So my focus now is looking for “hard” vs.”soft” data indicating its impact. This month’s […]

Tipping Waiters

Open Thread for Talk. You can talk about tipping waiters or you may choose a different topic. Initial topic is “tipping waiters.” When we go to dinner, we expect good service and usually get it. A good waiter is typically checking on the restaurant guests and being attentive to their needs. The exchange should be […]

“Artificial intelligence creates more academic dishonesty than it detects!”

by Sandwichman EconoSpeak Back in December, 2024, The Wall Street Journal carried a feature on an economics preprint research article that showed surprising findings. David Autor and Daron Acemoglu lauded the preprint. “It’s fantastic,” said Acemoglu. “I was floored,” said Autor. The two economists appeared in a photo flanking the author, Aidan Toner-Rodgers. Turns out Autor was right. The […]

YoY jobless claims still rangebound, but continuing claims at 3.5 year high

– by New Deal democrat Let’s take our weekly look at jobless claims. Particularly since it is one of two “quick and dirty” elements that will indicate whether the “recession watch” I inaugurated yesterday will need to be upgraded to a “warning.” Initial claims rose 8,000 last week to 247,000, while the four week moving average […]

More Sellers Than Buyers of Housing

Too many houses on the market. Opportunity for Buyers. The graph below has the details . . . As taken from: “The Housing Market Has Nearly 500,000 More Sellers Than Buyers,” Redfin, Lily Katz and Asad Khan There are an estimated 1.9 million home sellers in the U.S. housing market and an estimated 1.5 million homebuyers. In […]

“Large Upward Redistribution of Income”

“For the very rich who will see enormous tax cuts from this bill, it all might end up being a good deal,” wrote Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute. “For everybody else, it will not.” Economist Details How GOP Medicaid Cuts Would Be Disastrous for Everyone—Except the Super-Rich Common Dreams and Jake Johnson The […]