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

Housing unaffordability closes in on bubble peaks

Housing unaffordability closes in on bubble peaks; expect substantial price declines and increased foreclosures in the likely oncoming recession – by New Deal democrat I last looked at the issue of housing affordability at the beginning of April. As we all know, mortgage rates have continued to skyrocket in the past several months. At present […]

Downturn in housing permits and starts in May

An across the board downturn for housing permits and starts in May Housing permits and starts declined across the board in May. In the past year there has been a unique divergence between permits and starts due to construction supply shortages.  This has been reflected in the number of housing units authorized but not started […]

Why $10,000 of Student Loan Relief will not Help

I have been bugging Alan at Student Loan Justice to talk more about Student Loan interest, etc. accumulating on these loans. As you can see it is not unusual to accumulate more interest or other costs than the original loan amount. It is also not unusual for the servicer to collect interest before paying down […]

The Postal Service identifies 170 “suspended” post offices for permanent closure

To Be Discontinued: The Postal Service identifies 170 suspended post offices for permanent closure, Save The Post Office, Steve Hutkins Earlier this week the Postal Service shared a list with the Postal Regulatory Commission identifying 170 post offices that were “temporarily” suspended several years ago and that will soon be closed permanently. The list was submitted as […]

Think There’s a Connection … ?

“Ten Bears” poking at Fox News and Republicans downplaying the January 6 Insurrection by not broadcasting the 1st of six Hearings and probably the rest. One can only hope they will change their minds and take ownership of what they helped to sponsor. It is evident with their continuous denials, Homeless on the High Desert, […]

Why In The US IS D-Day Memorialized While The Battle Of Midway Is Not?

Why In The US IS D-Day Memorialized While The Battle Of Midway Is Not?  Today is 6/6/22, 78 years after 6/6/44, D-Day, when American, British, and Canadian troops stormed beaches in Normandy to push the Germans out of France.  It was a dramatic landing, with many dying heroically, and depicted in several highly popular movies […]

Coronavirus variant update: and on to the BA.4/5 wave

Coronavirus variant update: and on to the BA.4/5 wave Last week the CDC update showed variant “Ba.1.1.526” increasing quickly to 6.6% of all cases. Although they did not note it, I wrote that this was almost certainly Ba.4/5; they simply had not made the change yet. Well, this week they did. This morning’s “nowcast” update […]

Rationale for a Post Office Suspension Dashboard: Comments for the PRC’s Public Inquiry

In the commentary, Steve Hutkins is addressing is Post Office Suspension of operations. In this case, there are 454 Post Offices in suspension with no resolution. Some Suspensions have been as long as 5 years. The issue is the Suspension and a potential the policy of a Suspension being used to close a Post Office […]