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

Household incomes have fallen since 2019

Chandra Childers at Economic Policy Institute reports on household income: “Household incomes have fallen since 2019 despite growth in workers’ earnings“ “On Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau released 2021 household income and household earnings data for states from the American Community Survey (ACS). National averages hide the wide disparities experienced by workers and families across […]

August existing home sales: confirmation of housing prices peaking

August existing home sales: confirmation that house prices have peaked Existing home sale by themselves are not that important economically, since there is a mere transfer in ownership, rather than a complete build. But they can help verify turning points, and in this case very importantly as to prices. But first, sales declined slightly (-2,000) […]

What News was in My In-Box

Healthcare and Politics are the heavy hitters tonight. I always feel like I missed something. Feel free to add articles to this in comments. I have a post to complete on the costs and prices on Pharma. You know there is a difference. Politicians usually talk about one or the other. A while back Germany […]

Housing: permits and average starts decline, while construction remains at peak

Housing: permits and average starts decline, while construction remains at peak The data on housing construction this month was mixed. While starts rose, their 3 month average, at 1.511 million annualized, was the lowest since September through November 2020. Meanwhile total and single family permits both declined, both to the lowest since June 2020: This […]

Replacement theory in the US

David Zetland writes on “replacement theory” (originally published at One Handed Economist) Replacement theory in the US “Replacement theory” is a semi-racist, often-hysterical belief that — in the US — White Christians will be “replaced” by others. The racist part arises from the vapid conception of “race” and/or “White” which rests on no biological or scientific facts. As […]

The Impending Doom, Gloom, and Fiery Crash of Independent Meat Processors

Market consolidation is nowhere near revolutionary news these days, as we have seen meat processing plants loom ever larger. Sitting right outside of major or semi-major metropoles, freshly frozen stock of proteins are brought in at all hours of the day and night to sell at a meat retail counter in all large chain grocers […]

Rail lines and Unions head off a potentially devastating Strike

If you believe railroads do not count much anymore in the American economy, you need to rethink your thought. For a major automotive company, I was coordinating shipments to and from Asia via container, rail, and ocean. It was not that hard if you understood the lead times, customs, shipping and rail, and the bottlenecks. […]

The Ukraine war spike in energy prices has completely unwound

The Ukraine war spike in energy prices has completely unwound  – by New Deal democrat I plan on putting up a Coronavirus update later today, because there have been a few significant developments (No, the pandemic is *NOT* over) particularly as they relate to the next few months. Tomorrow and Wednesday, we get our first […]

Modeling the New USPS Delivery Network: List & Map

In an earlier post, Steve Hutkins introduced Louis DeJoy’s new plan centralizing post offices in various locations calling them Sorting and Delivery Centers. Many mail delivery personnel routes would increase in size and routes would be further away and larger. The result could lead to delayed delivery and a further degeneration of service. The result […]

Declining US Citizen’s Life Expectancy

Lifted from notes by One handed economist David Zetland comes with this reminder about US life expectancy dropping. David goes further and gives the reasons for decreasing Life Expectancy. America, my increasingly ex-country, has lower life expectancy than 21 “peer” countries. This decline being due to a combination of death from Covid, cars, guns, and lifestyle. […]