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

With a Decline in Interest Rates, Home Sales Went Up in October

I believe it was about 4-5 years ago, we decided to move from our of 2600 square feet on 2/3rds of an acre. We also wanted to get to some place warmer. We did eventually do both and not exactly where we wanted. The first year we went exploring in the areas around Phoenix and […]

Two-Thirds of the Growth in High Intensity Hospital Stays Not Explained by Changes in Patient Demographics or Pre-Existing Comorbidities

This is something Angry Bear has been following for a few years. A person may go to the doctor for one issue and the office wants to expand the visit to other supposed issues. An example being having a comprehensive blood test two months previous and their wanting to repeat the same blood test. The […]

A Measure of Poverty in the United States

We often talk about poverty and people living in poverty as measured by the government, Then, we set policy with regards to them. We never quite realize the impact of the programs on the people on the receiving end. A brief recital of facts and figures in charts. I also do not believe we get […]

The death of free trade?

Robert Kutner has a paywalled article in The New York Review of Books about the history of free trade and the efforts since Trump’s first term to impose tariffs, particularly on China, beginning with the first Trump Administration. “Free trade ideology once aligned with America’s economic and security interests. After World War II, open markets […]

New Deal Democrats Weekly Indicators December 2-6

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. This week whipsawed the data that was heavily influenced by Thanksgiving week.  The tone of the short leading and coincident data remains positive. The negativity of much of the long leading data is becoming more problematic. As usual, clicking over and reading […]

Monthly Rebound Masks Deeper Declining Trends

November jobs report: the expected monthly rebound masks deeper declining trends  – by New Deal democrat To understand this month’s jobs report, let’s start with last month’s, where I wrote that “there were some signs of real weakness in this report that do not appear to be hurricane-related. But Hurricane Milton, as well as the […]

Wealth –  Money – Worth

When an economy produces goods and services above and beyond the requisite, i.e., produces an abundance, it creates wealth.  Ten-eleven thousand years ago, this wealth was likely food stored for winter, that rainy day, that dry season, … .  Today, for some, this abundance/wealth might include assets such as fine houses, lifestyle, money, …; and […]

A Fiscal Policy in a Global Context?

This is a good take on what has been happening with United States Fiscal policies impacting its economy. It does mention former President Trump’s 2017 tax break which targeted the upper 5% of taxpayers with substantial breaks. We should look further to the 2001 and 2003 Bush’s tax breaks which Obama extended for two years […]

Jobless claims: neutral

Jobless claims: neutral – with an extra grain of salt  – by New Deal democrat As I cautioned last weekend in my “Weekly Indicators” update, we have entered that period of the year where Holiday seasonality means take everything with at least a little grain of salt. For example, this year Thanksgiving was almost one […]

Uncertainty is nothing new for DACA recipients

The population is on a path to shrink and the majority of the population will be elderly in some fashion or another shortly. US productivity is based on inputs from Labor without which there could be declines in such without younger Labor. The nation populated in the past is not on a path of replacement […]