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

The economics of deportation

The Trump administration is threatening to deport >10 million people. These are people who, regardless of their immigration status, are contributing to the economy and jobs by purchasing goods and service (“job creators”) and contributing to social programs like Social Security and Medicare. Indeed, if they are undocumented, they will never see benefits to the […]

Watch Months-of-Supply! Housing

Watch Months-of-Supply! by Bill McBride Calculated Risk Both inventory and sales are well below pre-pandemic levels, and I think we need to keep an eye on months-of-supply to forecast price changes. Historically nominal prices declined when months-of-supply approached 6 months – and that is unlikely any time soon – however, as expected, months-of-supply is above 2019 […]

United States’ Fiscal Policy in a Global Context

A comparison of US Fiscal Deficit prompted me to post this at Angry Bear. I believe it will be interesting to see how Trumps fiscal policies playout over the next four years. Check out The Guardian’s Economics Editor’s commentary on Trumps economic plans. The Issue: With continued high fiscal deficits likely for the foreseeable future, […]

Student Loan Updates 2024

It does not look like students holding loan debt and looking for relief will get any relief soon. Newly minted President Donald Trump is in the revenge mode. That would include help from Republicans. Like any new administration looking for revenge, this one will attack the weakest element. It does not mean that Student Loan […]

Early Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) Numerics for November 2024

Just some economic analysis about good economic growth in the month of November 2024. Something the public seemed to have missed along the way. 2023 and 2024 appears to have had good growth even with high Fed rates. See chart below. Commerce Data Show Strong Economic Gains Due to Americans Making and Spending More November […]

The Aftermath of the 2024 Election

US Citizens awaken to their new world. Prof. Heather Cox Richardson at “Letters from an American” has a good take on what is taking place three days after the 2024 Election. She states people are beginning to realize what will take place once a Trump presidency and a mostly Republican Congress begins to implement the […]

How the Fed helped Doom the Democrats

 – by New Deal democrat This is not a formal post about Tuesday’s election. But with the benefit of “revealed preference” a/k/a 20/20 hindsight, it’s pretty clear that the Fed rate hikes were an important part of why Kamala Harris and the Democrats failed. Because we may or may not be experiencing a “soft landing” […]

Jobless claims: back to almost completely normal and neutral

 – by New Deal democrat Initial jobless claims continued their return to normalcy this week, as they increased 3,000 to 221,000. The four week moving average declined -9,750 to 227,250, which is tied for the lowest number except for two weeks in five months. Continuing claims, with the typical one week delay, rose 39,000 to […]

Economy on Solid Ground “Before Election”

US consumers keep economy on solid ground ahead of election – By Lucia Mutikani Reuters WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) – The U.S. economy grew solidly in the third quarter. Consumer spending increasing at its fastest pace in 1-1/2 years and inflation slowing sharply, continuing to defy forecasts of a recession, and outperforming its global peers ahead […]

The economics of healthcare is sick in Vermont

My parents retired to rural upstate NY, where they lived happily for 20 years. But naturally, as they aged, their health declined. At one point, my mom had a pulmonary embolism, and landed in a community hospital in Bennington VT, about 30 miles away. She got the care she needed, but when she was later […]