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

Why goods-producing employment is not flashing a danger signal for an economic downturn

 – by New Deal democrat During this week’s drought of new economic data, let’s continue taking a look at some important information from last Friday’s employment report. In every report, I break down my analysis first and foremost by looking at the leading indicators contained within the data. This is almost entirely confined to the goods-producing […]

Debasing Trump Country

TR__p show he has no regard for his supporters . . . Since 2015 and across 170 disasters, the median average assistance amount per approved application from FEMA’s IHP is $4,995. On average, approximately 39 percent of applicants are determined to be eligible for Individuals and Households Program (IHP). FEMA programs can be a lifeline. […]

Your tax dollars at work

ICE’s new funding level is larger than the combined budgets of the FBI, DEA, ATF, Bureau of Prisons, and U.S. Marshals Service. Who are these people? “ICE was generally known as a place made up of people who couldn’t get jobs at the more established and reputable federal policing agencies — so, FBI, U.S. Marshals, […]

Two important danger signals in the June employment report

Two important danger signals in the June employment report  – by New Deal democrat This is Ben Casellman, Chief Economic Correspondent for The NY Times’s take on last Friday’s employment report: I beg to differ. As I wrote Friday, underneath the headlines, this was a barely positive report – with some significant negatives. Let me […]

Key Facts About Medicaid Coverage for People Living in Rural Areas

Some words and 4 simple, easy to understand charts on Medicaid on who uses Medicaid in rural areas and under the age of 65 years. Four minutes of read time to get the idea. If Republicans and Tr__p are going to whack rural citizens, you might as well know a little about them. Five-minute read. […]

Economically weighted ISM manufacturing + services indexes continue to warrant “recession watch”

– by New Deal democrat Last month the new orders components of the economically weighted ISM manufacturing and services indexes warranted the hoisting of a yellow flag “Recession Watch.”  This month that continued. To recap, because manufacturing is much less important to the economy than in the decades before the Millennium, the economically weighted average of the […]

Tax Cuts to the Rich . . . What Are They Good for? Absolutely Nothing . . .

Dipping deep here to an old tune sung by the Temptations and then Edwin Starr. Tax Breaks to the wealthy do not pay for themselves and neither do they trickle down to lower income people. The 2017 Tax Break The reality is the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) did not pay for itself […]