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

Job Market’s 2.6 Million Missing People

“Job Market’s 2.6 Million Missing People Unnerves Star Harvard Economist,” (msn.com), Ben Steverman  Originally in a comment in this post Discussion on Solutions to Social Security, Angry Bear. The number I had originally calculated was ~2.6 million people joining the Civilian Labor Force. I had said: Since you addressed me, what group is dropping out […]

Why the Fed’s present rate hike campaign is almost unprecedented

Why the Fed’s present rate hike campaign is almost unprecedented – by New Deal democrat Just how unprecedented is the Fed’s current rate hike policy? Since the Fed started actively managing the Fed Funds rate in the late 1950s, only two other occasions are similar. The reason the Fed is hiking rates is to combat […]

Sparsely Illumed

Illumed, Illusion, Ill used one Another commentary done in a unique style by a former Slate commenter Weldon Berger. I had read about the Walgreen’s shoplifting media frenzy elsewhere. If you have been in a Walgreens, you have probably seen the cameras in the ceiling, wide open aisles, “Sparsely Illumed,” Weldon Berger, Bad Crow Review […]

GOP Rep has a Fit about Losing his Natural Gas Stove

“GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson Throws Ridiculous Shit Fit Over the Prospect of Losing Gas Stove,” Vanity Fair, Bess Levin I can remember when someone else said something else along the lines of: I’ll give you my gun when you pry (or take) it from my cold, dead hands.” Charleton Heston In his own unoriginal words . . . […]

Fredrick Douglass (1867) on race and integration in the US

by David Zetland (originally published at The one handed economist) I had heard of Douglass, but man oh man, I had no idea of his brilliance. His “Composite Nation” speech is full of wisdom and hope, offering a path to that “shining city on a hill” that Americans have had such a hard time reaching — mostly […]

Medicare Advantage has Overcharged FFS Medicare by Billions for Years

And the news Media is waking up to this? In December 2022, NPR wrote, “Medicare Advantage plans overcharged Medicare by millions,” Health News : NPR, Fred Schulte and Holly K. Hacker Citing an April 26, 2016 example of US government auditors asked a Blue Cross Medicare Advantage health plan in Minnesota to turn over medical […]

Public libraries continue to thrive despite defunding and privatization attacks

Article Author April M. Short, an editor, journalist, and documentary editor and producer. Presently she is a writing fellow at Local Peace Economy, a project of the Independent Media Institute. Previously, she served as a managing editor at AlterNet as well as an award-winning senior staff writer for Santa Cruz, California’s weekly newspaper. Her work has […]

Democratic politics and the multiple audience problem:  the case of Ukraine

One reason politics is so hard is that our words are often heard by different audiences, and a message that is well-calibrated for one type of listener may work poorly for listeners with different roles, values, or interests. To illustrate:  Phillips O’Brien has a piece in the Atlantic with the headline “Time is on Ukraine’s […]

A Bit of Peter Drucker for You All

“Peter Drucker Sets Us Straight,” January 12, 2004 (cnn.com), Peter Drucker and Brent Schlender This is an oldie from 2004 which still has relevance to what has occurred and is occurring in the world today. Any number of times I have found myself fixing supply chain operations globally for various companies of different countries. Ninety-Four […]