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

What is college for?

My parents were both college grads. My dad was an MIT-trained chemical engineer. My mom had a bachelor’s degree in psychology. After she finished college, she got married and became a homemaker, eventually raising five children. Needless to say, during that time she wasn’t earning the average salary of a high school grad—she wasn’t earning […]

Supreme Court to hear arguments from oil and gas companies to block climate change lawsuits

– by Lindsay Whitehurst Public Broadcasting Service Associated Press  Supreme Court (Monday, February 23) it will hear oil and gas companies’ grievances and their attempt to block lawsuits holding the industry liable for billions of dollars in damage linked to climate change. The court agrees to take up the Boulder, Colorado case. This case is one […]

The Uncertainty of the Impact of Tariffs

Angry Bear is very fortunate to have guest posts by V.P. Erica York of the Tax Foundation. The timing of this particular commentary gives Angry readers some insight as to the impact and possible outcome of President Trump’s tariffs. The Court may have some input to add to the legitimacy of tariffs. Read on . […]

Congress and Administration Move Forward on Oil & Gas Leasing

A move by the Trump administration is unneeded as yield is less than the cost of producing. Taxpayers will be paying for a government boondoggle. “two lease sales generated less than one percent of the $905 million the taxpayers were promised.” Reiterating what was going on in 2017, stopped in 2020 (Biden), and back again in 2024 […]

Trump DoD joins the ‘60s

Back in the 1960s, college antiwar protests included protests against ROTC and other military training programs. Now I see where “Whisky Pete” Hegseth also wants to shut down graduate military education on university campuses. “Beginning next fall, the Defense Department will discontinue graduate-level professional military education, fellowships, and certificate programs at Harvard, according to the […]

“Scraping existing obligations to collect and report racial, ethnic and gender-based data involving law enforcement, education, federal contracts, public health, environmental justice, and social research”

I do believe most people do not recognize the magnitude of what the Trump administration is doing. I think of Bradbury writing about the book burnings in Nazi Germany. And then there is the ideological repression of the McCarthy era in the United States. The nation is at it again in a far more reaching […]

Jobless claims rise, but still mainly lower YoY: post-pandemic residual seasonality still at work?

 – by New Deal democrat The December JOLTS report that was delayed from Tuesday is scheduled to be released later this morning. I may cover it today, or may delay until tomorrow, since there won’t be a jobs report. In the meantime, let’s take our weekly look at jobless claims which, to reiterate, are a […]

The State of Freight is Mainly Recessionary

– by New Deal democrat This morning, we were supposed to get an actual, on-time JOLTS report for December. But with Pastor Mike Johnson having done what he does best, i.e., keeping the House of Representatives out of session while critical deadlines pass, the BLS announced yesterday that several reports, including both Friday’s jobs report for […]