Another interesting piece by Federal Tax Policy Vice President Erica York at the Tax Foundation. One premise . . . “an analysis suggests the administration could replace 56% to 73% of IEEPA revenue using Section 122 tariffs.” Over the past week, we received final tariff collections data for 2025 from the Treasury Department, a new Beige Book from the Fed, and a […]
– by New Deal democrat There’s no new data of note today or tomorrow, so in the meantime (aside from observing Martin Luther King’s birthday) let me take a look at a very important, if small piece of economic data: the “real” price of gas. Gas price shocks have been important precipitants of a number of […]
“The Minneapolis Crucible” – Paul Krugman January 15, 2026 Will we forge democracy anew? When Trump won the 2024 election, I feared rightly) our democracy would soon be in great peril. Between gerrymandering, a corrupt Supreme Court, a compliant Republican Party, and a tsunami of political donations from the tech broligarchy, I thought American democracy […]
– by New Deal democrat Industrial production is much less central to the US economic picture than it was before the “China shock,” but it remains an important if diminished economic indicator, particularly since the month it has peaked in the past has typically been the month the NBER has chosen as the economic cycle peak. […]
Trump’s most recent healthcare plans as reported on by the former Kaiser Family Foundation known today as KFF. It appears and as reported. Trump is taking from various sources for his plan. Hopefully, a united Congress improves upon what Trump is proposing and what Republicans had in mind earlier. Many US citizens could end up […]
Celia: I will offer up another perspective. In 2006, Joel Garreau wrote a piece in the Smithsonian called “300 million and Counting.” This article is still readily available. The point of the article was the U.S. population which was an approximate 300 million. It was on the verge of creating only enough citizens to maintain […]
– by New Deal democrat Real retail sales, one of my favorite broad-economy indicators, was updated through November this morning, making only one month stale. This, along with real personal spending, is one of the two most important indicators which have been missing, as we know the jobs and real income have been stagnant, but […]
A reputable source of information to read and determine for yourself what took place. I subscribe to Letters from an American. I find Prof. Heather to be accurate and forthcoming in her articles depicting what is happening in the United States today. The story is quite different tah what is being broadcast. Indeed, it is […]
– by New Deal democrat New home sales were updated for the second time since the shutdown, with data only through October – i.e., stale. The silver lining is that this is a long leading indicator, so it remains of value. Normally I save inventory for last, but in view of the importance of new […]
If you’ve noticed you are paying more these days for milk and oranges, Tuesday’s inflation report is unlikely to surprise you. The report shows U.S. inflation cooling slightly in December. But it also demonstrates how the price pressures consumers actually notice with regard to food, energy, commodities other than the former, and services other than services. You have probably […]