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

Making Trump Tax Cuts Permanent has Medicaid the Top Target for Cuts

I did some rewriting on this particular commentary and added two charts from another commentary (at the bottom). The point being to give graphical depiction of the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and who it benefited the most. You can see (for whatever reason) why the Republican Party is pushing for […]

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for September 2 – 6 2024

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. In the wake of yesterday’s weak jobs report, bond yields and mortgage rates declined to 12 months+ lows, commodities declined across the board, stocks sold off sharply, and the 10 years to 2-year Treasury spread un-inverted. That’s bad news and good news. […]

Empty Promises, Big Paydays: Kroger and Albertsons CEOs Fail to Justify Largest Supermarket Merger in History

by American Economic Liberties Project Looks like things are being said that are not legally enforceable. Let me see . . . Deleted emails, Albertson’s CEO can walk away with a $40-something million bonus if he can close the deal, a special dividend to private equity investors worth $4 billion and paid with borrowed money, […]

FTC and grocery giants debate who real competitors are

More on the FTC investigating Albertsons and Kroger as to whether they are truly competitors. The issue being how much of the market-controlled now by each and what would result after Kroger acquires Albertsons. Both the FTC and Unions argue “FTC argues different stores have different use cases. FTC lead attorney Susan Musser noted “you […]

Labor Market Conditions – Sahm

Yes, I get occasional commentaries from this substack. No, I am not going to post it all here. Follow the link after you read what I did post of Claudia Sahm’s here. Labor market conditions. – by Claudia Sahm Tomorrow (9/6) is the jobs report for August 2024. There is intense attention for any clues […]

August jobs report: for the first time, including revisions, more consistent with a hard landing

 – by New Deal democrat My focus continues to be on whether jobs gains are most consistent with a “soft landing,” i.e., no further deterioration, or whether there is further decline towards a recession.  For a change, this month the Establishment report was the weakest in several years, if still positive. Meanwhile the Household report rebounded […]

Strikes start at top hotel chains as housekeepers seek higher wages and daily room cleaning work

CNBC The plight of hotel workers in cleaning up after residents who stay for a few days and leave the room in a wreck. The pay id the minimum that can be made. The hazards are such a worker can become readily sick. from exposure. I am sure the pandemic caused issues. Plus, people do […]

Economically weighted ISM indexes show an economy on the very cusp of – but not in – contraction

 – by New Deal democrat Recently I have paid much more attention to the ISM services index. That’s because, since the turn of the Millennium, manufacturing’s share of the economy has contracted to the point where even a significant decline in that index has not translated into an economy-wide recession, as for example in 2015-16.  When […]