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

Five graphs for 2017: mid year update

Five graphs for 2017: mid year update – by New Deal democrat At the beginning of the year, I identified 5 trends that bore particular watching, primarily as potentially setting the stage for a recession next year.  Now that we are halfway through the year, let’s take another look at each of them. #5 Gas […]

The Seattle Study: Increasing the Minimum Wage as a Way to Boost High Income Jobs

by Peter Dorman (originally published at Econospeak) The Seattle Study: Increasing the Minimum Wage as a Way to Boost High Income Jobs As labor market mavens all know by now, the University of Washington team chosen by the city of Seattle to evaluate its minimum wage law has issued a new report.  This one is […]

Saudi Succession Shuffle

Saudi Succession Shuffle A not unexpected event has just been announced: 31-year old Prince Muhammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Sa’ud has been elevated from Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia by his father, 81-year old King Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul-Rahman al-Sa’ud, to replace his 57-year old cousin, Prince Muhammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Sa’ud.  […]

Here is Andrew Coulson Series on Virtues of Privatization

Diane Ravitch offers more on schools in America: Here is Andrew Coulson Series on Virtues of Privatization by dianeravitch Watch libertarian Andrew Coulson’s film, now showing on some, not all, PBS stations around the nation. It was paid for by libertarian foundations that support privatization. The lead funder–the Rose-Mary and Jack Anderson Foundation– is a […]

American carnage?

Institute for New Economic Thinking Lance Taylor describes his thinking on the great divide.  Worth a look: President Trump, in his inaugural address and elsewhere, rightly says that over the decades since 1980 American household distributions of income and wealth became strikingly unequal. But if recent budget and legislative proposals from Trump and the House […]

New book on investment incentives will help shape policies debates for years to come

Lifted from Middle Class Political Economist is the announcement related to  Angry Bear Dr. Kenneth Thomas video series Wednesday, June 29, 2016 New book on investment incentives will help shape policies debates for years to come This past week I received my chapter author’s copy of a new book from Columbia University Press, Rethinking Investment Incentives: […]

Many places in America are essentially devoid of doctors

Via Kevin MD Dr. Kenneth Lin writes another article on disappearing rural medical care.  this is part of the article… I recently attended a conference in Savannah, Georgia sponsored by the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research. Since I haven’t spent much time in Georgia outside of Savannah and Atlanta, the welcoming plenary on improving health […]

One Ohio Town’s Immigration Clash, Down in the Actual Muck

NYT has an interesting article that might provide readers with the details of not only immigration but labor, food supply, agriculture in a mixed reaction to such issues.  I also wonder if planting went smoothly, for instance, as the details of lives get lost in the simplicities of bumper sticker, all or none politics.  This […]

Video series for “Rethinking Investment Incentives”

Video series for “Rethinking Investment Incentives” As regular readers will recall, I contributed to the Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment’s book, Rethinking Investment Incentives: Trends and Policy Options (Columbia University Press, 2016). Now, the editors have put together a series of video teasers for most of the individual chapters, all of which can be seen […]