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

Sunday thought: It’s Still Capital vs. Labor, Stupid

Actually posted on Monday, Before I went on to other things in business, I used to consult with Ingersoll Engineers as the MRPII and materials control guru. The main thrust by Ingersoll was Direct Labor in manufacturing was a small portion of the total cost. Materials was the greater cost. Going after the later made […]

New Deal Democrats Weekly Indicators for May 25 – 29

My Weekly Indicators for May 25 – 29 is up at Seeking Alpha, New Deal democrat The split between the portion of the economy being driven by AI-related production and profits and the broad consumer economy continues to stand out starkly. But as I have pointed out often in the past many months, there is […]

Slow biking

From the archives: In praise of slow bikes – by Lloyd Alter Carbon UpFront Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Food movement, has died. He inspired many other slow movements over the years. I wrote about many of them and believe I was the first to call for a slow-car movement, somewhat in jest. But I […]

Raising the Minimum Wage Benefits Society and Reentry to It

Having been exposed to the prison system over a period of time, I can vouch for what the author is proposing and the state is establishing. People do make mistakes. However, if society continues the punishment during and after parole, it becomes harder for a parolee to reestablish themselves in society. As it stands today, […]

The producer part of the economy is doing just fine, thank you

– by New Deal democrat Per my comments yesterday, so much data was released (with none coming today) that I did not report on several of the items. I’ll get to new home sales later, but first let’s talk about new orders and revised GDP. The central theme of yesterday’s personal income and spending report […]