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

Jobs Report July 30, 2024. Time for the FED to Lower Fed Rates

The latest Jobs Report numbers I pulled off of the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. It would appear the FED has done its job in lowering inflation to the point the nation may slip into a recession. For the last couple of months this is what New Deal democrat has been reporting also. “In other […]

Rebalancing between New and Existing home sales

Repeat home sales were benign in May, forecast continued downtrend in shelter CPI in months ahead  – by New Deal democrat First, a brief administrative note: I am traveling this week, so posting is going to be sporadic and delayed. I’ll get to this morning’s JOLTS report later today or tomorrow morning. With that out […]

Book proposal: Marx’s Fetters and the Realm of Freedom: a remedial reading 

The second part of my book proposal is a chapter outline and summary. I will be doing that on the installment plan, one chapter at a time. Below is a table of contents: 2.0 Marx’s Fetters and the Realm of Freedom: a remedial reading – part 2.0 – Angry Bear 2.1 Ambivalence – Angry Bear […]

Marx’s Fetters and the Realm of Freedom: a remedial reading — part 2.0

Book proposal: Marx’s Fetters and the Realm of Freedom: a remedial reading — part 2.0 The second part of my book proposal is a chapter outline and summary. I will be doing that on the installment plan, one chapter at a time. Below is a table of contents:

Perceived Inflation and the Perceived Effect of Inflation

 I have my usual thoughts about inflation. People confuse levels and changes. I think this is a fundamental cognitive illusion. I think perceived inflation and the perceived effect of inflation on real incomes are based on an impressive pair of errors. 1) people estimate inflation from the price level comparing current prices to prices they […]

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators July 22-26

Weekly Indicators for July 22 – 26 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. The high frequency data, like the personal income and spending report, continue to show a strong consumer. Some of the long term negatives have also gotten “less bad” as well. As usual, […]

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are Hiking the Price of Drugs

A follow-up to the much longer report on Insulin (test on this later) and how PBMs impact pricing on other drugs. “Insulin A Drug Pricing Analysis,” Angry Bear. “Drug manufacturers alone set and raise drug prices, and PBMs are holding drug companies accountable by negotiating the lowest possible cost for drugs, including insulins, on behalf […]

The business model of American research universities

Ever since I graduated high school, I’ve been associated with one or another research university, either as a student, a postdoc or a faculty. And during nearly all of that time, I was engaged in some form of research. William Rouse wrote a book in 2016 entitled “Universities as Complex Enterprises: How Academia Works, Why […]

Insulin A Drug Pricing Analysis

Money from Sick People Part IV: Paying a Premium for Drug Pricing Irregularity — 46brooklyn Research Starting with the Q1 2023 Drug Pricing file (all of this information was knowable before the 2024 Medicare plan bid process was completed). Within the files are the five insulin products we identified as taking large price decreases. 46 […]

The Middlemen of Healthcare Pharma Especially

I copied the two paragraphs below (actually I took one and split it) from Matt Stoller’s Big News Letter. Matt is talking about the same issues I have been talking about for years. The Pharmaceutical Industry and their rip off pricing. It is a good read if you wonder over there. The YouTube is also […]