– by New Deal democrat There’s no major economic news today, so let me take this opportunity in view of last week’s update to the CPI, to update one of my favorite labor market indicators: real aggregate nonsupervisory payrolls. As a brief refresher, over the past 60 years this has been a very good and reliable […]
For the past couple of decades, whenever oil prices spiked, I wondered if this would be good news for railroads. Trains in Europe are still very much a thing, and I’ve traveled by train in England, France, Germany and Spain. There are rail connections from Providence to Boston and to New York City. Of particular […]
Unless you like being beat up? When I was consulting with Ingersoll Engineers, I would handle the materials and supply side of the projects. Much of my time was spent looking at systems, warehousing, inventory, and purchasing. The cost sits in those areas. Depending on the throughput within the factory, you could streamline much of […]
I believe we were married about 8 years before we had enough funds to put down on a home. ~ $55,000 in an Oak and Hickory forest. Two bedrooms on a quarter acre of land. We were able to put 10% down and had an 8% mortgage rate. One year after we sold and bought […]
– by New Deal democrat Probably my biggest theme right now is that most of the economy is either recessionary or at least on the cusp of recessionary. But this has been counterbalanced by AI data center- related spending, and the stock market boom and wealth effect it gave rise to. Last month I highlighted how […]
Picture to the right was what was occurring in the United States 1973. People lining up for gasoline due to an oil embargo against the United States. I was able to find one as taken from the NY Daily News Archive as shown by Getty Images, (Time). Out and about today and did not get […]
If you are reading this, New Deal democrat predicted 2025 would be a wash in labor growth and the economy. No Boom to be experienced in any case for 2025. And 2026 may not be so great either. “Trump’s ‘roaring economy’ meets a rough start to 2026 with job losses, rising gas prices and uncertainty.” […]
Tom is discussing the battle between Labour and Machinery. As manual machinery was replaced by NC and then CNC, Labor did not reap anything more for it. Instead, Labour was displaced. Keep one thing in mind. Direct Labor in manufacturing is the smallest component in the cost of manufacturing. The productivity gains Tom speaks to, […]
– by New Deal democrat Before I get to the main event, a couple of quick comments on the other data released so far this morning: 1. Real GDP as revised only grew at 0.7% annualized in the 4th Quarter of last year. This is often, but by no means always, recessionary. And since there was […]
Preliminary results from the February 2026 survey University of Michigan economics’ report does not see a dynamic economy for the overall nation. It portends gains for the upper income populace and not so much in store for the lower income brackets. Largest stockholders can look forward to a good year. Those further down, a not-so-great […]