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

No Social Security Scandal . . . Just Fake News . . .

Gee, “Whata Surprise” . . . There is no overwhelming Social Security Scandal or Fraud. A newly reported document shows that “anti-fraud checks” implemented at the Social Security agency found virtually no improper benefit claims. This find, while slowing payments substantially. ‘A Huge Scandal’: Internal Doc Exposes Trump-Musk Hunt for Social Security Fraud as a […]

Fighting the Trump/DOGE cuts to biomedical research

The link is to a long but cogent piece in Talking Points Memo. Unlike the author, I long ago appreciated the threats posed by the massive cuts to NIH funding. But Josh does the extra work of thinking about how this anti-science juggernaut could be halted. Read the whole thing, but here are the nut […]

Energy Star Efficiency Program

You may think the Energy Star program is about helping industry by making it easier and less expensive to manufacture product. Not particularly so; but, the Energy Star on a product could promote greater sales. Much of the costs of manufacture are low as it is and due to offshoring manufacture of product. When manufacturing […]

The Trade War is Not Over

As you get further down in the latest Krugman piece, you will read: “Everything is at most an announcement about what tariff rates will be for the next 90 days.” A lot of talk and threats and no reality. We are constantly off balance due to Trump’s (as the Pres) threats. The Trade War Isn’t […]

Most Medicaid adults under age 65 are working already . . .

If this was about people taking advantage of Medicaid, Unemployment, or other government programs, there might be a reason to do what Congress is doing. Instead, elected Republican Senators and Representatives are moving in mass to cut programs so as to maintain Trump’s 2017 TCJA tax breaks which was passed under reconciliation. The tax break […]

Industrial and manufacturing production suggest front-running production has peaked

– by New Deal democrat The final datapoint for today is industrial production, including its important manufacturing component.  Last month I wrote that “I suspect the big increases in February and March in manufacturing, like this morning’s retail sales numbers, were about front-running T—-p’s tariffs. Which means that like retail sales, production might have been […]

Department of Justice Indicting a Judge

Attorney Joyce Vance discusses what is interesting about this piece other than being correct. The Department of Justice is attempting to indict a judge. Judge Dugan “is entitled to judicial immunity for her official acts. The case cited which protects a judge is Trump v. United States, the case where the Supreme Court gave Trump immunity […]

Does Trump Get To Decide Who Is An American?

– by Joyce Vance @ Civil Discourse The stakes are high, even though the Supreme Court won’t be deciding, at least not yet, whether Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship is constitutional. Tomorrow (written on May 14), the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the Birthright Citizenship Case, Trump v. Casa, Inc. We’re here because Donald […]