Many people in a survey cited inflation as the reason for financial difficulties than any other cause. Inflation reached a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022 and has yet to return to the Fed’s target of 2%. And as we all know, we were in amidst of a pandemic to which many economic entities took advantage […]
ISM manufacturing index in January the strongest since 2022 – by New Deal democrat Although manufacturing is of diminishing importance to the economy, (it was in deep contraction both in 2015-16 and again in 2022 without any recession), the ISM manufacturing index remains an important indicator with a 75+ year history of accurately describing that […]
World’s richest person making life difficult by cutting development assistance and aid Somewhere within all the issues Congress has to deal with, with this administration, there must be a day of reckoning coming. I can not imagine Republicans being too thrilled with the damage trump and his pissant are creating. In less than two years, […]
Personal income and spending for December: more “steady as she goes” but with late cycle characteristics -by New Deal Democrat The December personal income and spending report showed that for the huge consumption sector of the economy, “steady as she goes” continued, as both nominal and real personal income and spending rose again in December. […]
I haven’t written about Trump, tariffs, and trade wars because there is plenty of smart commentary out there, and because I really had (and have) no idea how the whole thing will play out. It seemed plausible to me that Trump might be dissuaded from launching a destructive full scale trade war, that he might […]
Did Biden think he (or Harris) was certain to win the election? A competent executive knows that high priority initiatives need their constant attention to overcome bureaucratic resistance and infighting. This is true in the private sector and in government. Yet this is what we got from Biden: In the final year of President Joe […]
Trump has said that “tariff” is the most beautiful word in the dictionary. Last Friday, he announced his intention to shine that beauty on the American people. “Outside analyses make clear that Trump’s tariffs would hurt the voters that he intended to help, meaning that he might ultimately need to find a resolution. “An analysis […]
There are other forms of taxation besides income taxes. Tariffs are really just taxes on consumer goods. And deportations will drive up the prices of produce that’s left to rot in the fields. Call it a “deportation tax.” This link is from 16 January. “The impact of President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportation is […]
At its beginning, no one knew that they were in the Industrial Age; let alone how to deal with it. It was like nothing anyone had ever seen before. Later on, great minds like Marx, Keynes, Galbraith, et al would give ‘how to deal with it’ their best shot. Since, say, 1970, we have been […]
This is a seven year-old NPR interview with David Honig, an attorney and adjunct professor at Indiana University, where he teaches negotiations. While this discussion dates from the first Trump term, he’s obviously learned nothing about negotiation skills since then: “HONIG: It’s an interesting question. I reread “The Art Of The Deal” today in anticipation […]