A Bit of Paul Krugman “Trump, Energy and MAGA Brain” “So what’s going on with the proclamation that American energy production, which is one of our economic strong points, is in crisis? Partly it’s a cynical payoff to the oil industry, which more or less openly made a deal to give Trump $1 billion in return for […]
Jobless claims: seasonality and neutrality continue – by New Deal democrat The week’s first meaningful data is jobless claims. These have been trending higher YoY, but with lots of seasonal noise. And that trend continued this week. Initial claims increased 6,000 to 223,000. The four-week moving average (especially more important right now to filter out […]
More on How the Republicans will have to cut in order to keep the TCJA. Perspective: “Nearly 60% of mandatory spending is for Medicare and Social Security,” noted one expert. “If they don’t touch those, they’d have to cut Medicaid to the bone.” Call for $2.5 Trillion in Cuts Proves GOP Wants to ‘Steal Our […]
What is Necessary for Republicans to Extend 2017 Tax Cuts? The tax cuts in the 2017 TCJA were supposed to pay for itself in stimulation of the economy. The TCJA was passed using the Reconciliation Act. It never did pay for itself. So now Republicans are working on cuts to social programs to keep the […]
ACA Marketplace Reflections on Retention and Year-round Enrollment – by Andrew Sprung xpostfactoid Writing about the ACA marketplace at this point has an elegiac feel (as does writing about almost any not-depraved or degraded aspect of American life). As of 2026, coverage is likely to be far less affordable, out of pocket costs will rise […]
– by New Deal democrat I don’t normally discuss movements in the stock and bond markets, but occasionally there are important paradigm shifts that can tell us a lot about the economy, and the last few months have been one of those times. The Federal Reserve began to cut interest rates on September 18th. What […]
Somewhere in all of this, I one time wrote about the accessibility of groceries in low-income neighborhoods. It mostly does not exist and people living in these deserts are more into eating McDonalds or other fast foods. I believe as you read further, you will find the same circumstance driving many smaller stores out of […]
– by New Deal democrat There is no significant economic news until Thursday. In the meantime, today and tomorrow let me discuss a couple of issues at the intersection of economics and politics. The 2024 Presidential election was one of the closest popular vote margin for the winning candidate, at 1.5%, since Richard Nixon’s 0.7% […]
Lest anyone missed: The despicable one’s threats to annex Canada, Mexico, and Greenland gave his Best Bud Vladymir license for his invasion of Ukraine. “It’s OK if America does it.” This was no doubt cooked up during one of their chats. Anne, he is bullying Denmark because he can — he doesn’t need a reason. […]
Or who is the biggest moocher of Federal funding? Mike Johnson wishes to Penalize California. According to Louisiana’s Mike Johnson, California should be penalized. “Mike Johnson told CNN’s Manu Raju that there should be “conditions” on the proposed federal aid to California in the wake of the deadly wildfires in Los Angeles County. It appears to us […]