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

Growth, GDP, and Faith

“This Pioneering Economist Says Our Obsession With Growth Must End,” NYT. Portions are (or much) taken from David Marchese’s interview with Herman Daly in 2022. Economist Herman Daly passed on, October 28 in Richmond, Virginia. at the age of 84. What made Herman Daly unique was his embracing of “the counterintuitive possibility our current pursuit […]

November JOLTS report consistent with a continued “hot” labor market

November JOLTS report consistent with a continued “hot” labor market  – by New Deal democrat  The JOLTS report for November showed both continuing decelerating trends in some series, but overall a picture of a labor market that continued “hot.” Here’s the graph I ran one month ago of job openings, hires, quits, and total separations: […]

Healthcare, Justices, and Brazil

An brief introduction this time to Prof. Heather’s commentary. I am taking the opportunity to embolden the beginning of the three points Prof. Heather makes. Within those points, I also chose to emphasize a part of those points by italicizing them. The cost of healthcare and in this particular instance, insulin is one of those […]

On Leverage

Archimedes is said to have to have said, “Give me a place to stand and a lever and I shall move the earth.” They say, “Give us a seat and we will screw up The House of Representatives, the Nation.” They proved it. NRA said, “Here’s some cash.” There is no distance between the Freedom […]

Earnings inequality continuing growth in the pandemic labor market

“Inequality in annual earnings worsens in 2021.” This report is a couple of weeks old. Still relevant and supports what NDd has been saying as well as others here at Angry Bear. This is taken from EPI. Partial read of a larger report. Details from year twenty-one finds annual wages rising the fastest for the […]

Weekly Indicators for December 26 – 30

 – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is also up at Seeking Alpha. The volatile coincident consumer numbers bounced higher this week, while another recession indicating system flashed red, suggesting a recession is most likely to start during the 2nd Quarter of 2023. As usual, clicking over and reading my commentary at Seeking […]

Nous sommes dans le changement

Indeed we are. Tout les mond sommes dans le changement. Change comes sometimes fast, sometimes slow; but always, inexorably. Still and yet, some would deny, attempt to slow down or even stop change. Too few recognize it when they see it. Throughout history, blood has flowed like rivers resultant efforts to slow down or stop […]

Further evidence of real declines since summer

House price indexes decline, unchanged in October; further evidence of real declines since summer The Case Shiller national house price index declined another -0.3% in November, and is now up 9.2% YoY, compared with a peak of +20.8% YoY in March (note that is in line with my rule of thumb that a decline of […]

Not One Inch

Just finished “Not One Inch: America, Russia, and the making of a postwar stalemate” by Mary Sarotte. The book was recommended to me by Bruce Cochrane. It is an excellent insight into current events in Ukraine today. The title comes from the assurance given by then-Secretary of State James Baker to Mikhail Gorbachev that German […]

Jay Bhattacharya’s selective libertarianism:  on COVID and insurance rating

A recent paper finds that drivers who are not vaccinated against COVID are substantially more likely to be involved in serious auto accidents than vaccinated drivers. In response, Jay Bhattacharya, an author of the Great Barrington Declaration and a prominent opponent of lockdowns and vaccine mandates, tweeted that the study “should not be used by […]