Word is circulating that Stephen Miller is writing Donald Trump’s speech on race relations. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that Trump’s “solution” to the current malaise in the U.S. will involve extending a ban on immigration and expanding enforcement and expulsion of undocumented individuals. This seems like a safe bet […]
May jobs report: a welcome positive shock – by New Deal democrat HEADLINES: 2,509,000 million jobs added. This makes up about 12% of the 22.1 million job losses in March and April. U3 unemployment rate improved 1.4% to 13.3%, compared with the January low of 3.5%. U6 underemployment rate improved 1.6% to 21.2%, compared with the […]
There are two insurance-related police reform ideas being discussed. One approach focuses on municipal liability insurance. Many municipalities do not purchase liability insurance to cover lawsuits against officers, instead choosing to self-insure. This is potentially a problem because insurers actually play an important role in loss control. They provide information and services related to procedures, […]
Jobs Report Not Really All That Surprising I am a bit taken aback at how shocked so many are about the new jobs report showing that net hiring in May was positive. For regular readers here I have made several posts here noting that the US economy was almost certainly growing, probably for at least […]
by New Deal democrat Weekly Indicators for June 1 – 5 at Seeking Alpha My Weekly indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. The interest rate-sensitive long leading indicators largely turned positive as soon as the coronavirus crisis hit. As lockdowns have eased, several of the short leading indicators have also now turned – or at […]
Global Oil Demand Rises Back on April 20 we saw briefly the bizarre appearance of negative oil prices in certain markets. Today for the first time in many months Brent crude briefly topped $40 per barrel, although it fell back below that level (WTI is tending to be about $3 behind it, despite a single […]
The 2.5 million employment gain does not look too impressive from this perspective.
If only it were so simple by Ken Melvin The covid-19 pandemic has been difficult to get a handle on; so much unknown, everyday so much new info. It will probably take years for the world to fully to understand all that the 2020 covid-19 pandemic entailed. The George Floyd protests are all too familiar. […]
I highly recommend David Hopkins blog. Yesterday, he posted a piece on the end of confident conservatism. It begins like this: After Richard Nixon’s 1968 election, many conservatives came to believe that their movement naturally represented the political views of most Americans. This conservative faith in the wisdom of the average citizen was cemented by […]
The barriers facing black people in America today are numerous and daunting: poor schools, dangerous neighborhoods, lack of income, wealth, and connections, persistent formal and informal discrimination in so many settings. The list goes on, and it certainly includes many problems with our criminal justice system, from over-criminalization to degrading conditions of imprisonment to oppressive […]