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

American society was not always so car-centric.

Introduction: Nice piece on how Americans are so tied to their gasoline powered cars, pickup trucks, etc. and the impact on cities and environment. What is key to this article and the author’s thought is this statement: “The obvious solution … lies only in a radical revision of our conception of what a city street […]

Construction spending continued to increase in November

Construction spending continued to increase in November  – by New Deal democrat I’m feeling a little under the weather today, so I am going to keep this brief. Total construction spending rose 0.4% in November, while residential construction rose 1.1%: Keep in mind that these are nominal numbers, affected by the cost of construction materials. […]

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for December 25 – 30 2023

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. 2023 has been a year of improvement, and that improvements continued in the final installment, as ever so slowly more and more indicators flip neutral or positive. As usual, clicking over and reading will bring you up to the virtual moment, and […]

NPR Nails It: Highlights Two Programs That Make a Difference to Millions

NPR Nails It: Highlights Two Programs That Make a Difference to Millions, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Dean Baker. Dean Baker: I’ve complained a lot about how the major media outlets seem to highlight every piece of bad news about the economy, while downplaying or ignoring altogether the positives. Given my complaints, I want […]

Jobless claims end the year on a solidly positive note

Jobless claims end the year on a solidly positive note  – by New Deal democrat For our last data of 2023, initial jobless claims remained at a very low level, up 12,000 from one week ago to 218,000. The four week average declined 250 to 212,000. With the usual one week delay, continuing claims rose 14,000 […]

Soft Landing II

I promised a second entry in the series, Soft Landing this time it’s monetary. The question is why didn’t the FED’s monetary tightening cause a recession. There certainly was tightening, the Federal Funds rate rose from 0.07% to 5.33% There certainly were people who predicted a recession in 2023 (hey they still have 4 days […]

ACA Open Enrollment Period (OEP) is STILL ongoing

Charles Gaba was to become known to me because of Maggie Mahar who was featured at Angry Bear in the past. Another resident of Michigan like I was, one county and a few communities away from my own home. Thoroughly ACA knowledgeable and ACA competent. You can trust his words. I featured this commentary by […]