The current House and Senate budget proposals both include defense increases of about $100-150 billion over ten years, or about $10-15 billion per year in nominal dollars. Toy Sec Def Hegseth is proposing a cut in defense spending of -$70 billion per year. Anyone who thinks the House and Senate will pass a bill with […]

– by Steve Roth Originally posted at Wealth Economics “Capital” is polysemous; it has multiple meanings. People, notably including economists (who should know better), constantly muddle those meanings together even within a single sentence, so that nobody including the speakers and writers themselves knows, or can know, what the speaker is saying. It’s a centuries-old dumpster fire — conceptual and […]

– by New Deal democrat Let’s take our weekly look at jobless claims. These are a short leading labor market indicator. Also, it is likely that the firings in the federal labor force will shortly be reflected in this data. This week initial claims rose 5,000 to 219,000, while the four week average declined -1,000 […]

“Palantir stock fell 10% for a second day on Thursday, adding to Wednesday’s 10% drop following a Washington Post report that said the Trump administration has told the Pentagon to plan for massive budget cuts over the next five years, casting doubt on a major source of the tech firm’s revenue.” I’d be happy to […]

The 2024 election was, to some extent, a referendum on inflation. Voters were mad about higher prices, and they vented their wrath on the Democrats.   Was that fair?  USA TODAY asked economists to ascribe blame for the historic run of inflation, which reached a 40-year peak in mid-2022. Inflation has cooled since then, to an annual rate of […]

Wanna know why nobody wants to cut defense spending? It’s because defense dollars are spread all over the country. There’s a military installation in every state. Many companies have contracts with the DoD. So any discussion of cuts ends up with folks saying “don’t cut our piece, cut their piece.” No Congressman wants their piece […]

Housing construction declines further into recessionary territory  – by New Deal democrat As promised, economic data resumed this morning, and with it my extended posts. First, the usual point that housing is a very important and leading sector of the economy, typically turning down more than a year before a recession begins. And with higher […]

Some thoughts. If inflation is increasing at a lower rate than previously, the higher rate for previous years have set a higher level. There by, if salary increase is based upon the new lower inflation rate it will not equal or surpass the cost level already incurred. Indeed, unless costs stagnant or decrease, salary increases […]

Though you’re gentle, or you’re kind. It don’t think ’bout folks behind . . . (miriam berg’s folksong collection). Neither does Trump pay much mind if you are Democrat or Republican, poor or rich, black or white . . . You are laid off or fired regardless. I guess you have to learn the hard […]

Data drought continues  – by New Deal democrat There is no new significant economic data today, and I am on the road. Meaningful reporting should resume tomorrow with housing permits, starts, and construction. In the meantime, here is a look at a high frequency series I keep track of: Redbook retail sales, for the past […]