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

Listening to Our President’ Pontifications

I have listened (tolerantly) to our Pres, pontificating, taking up large sums of my time. It really is a waste of time. The truth of his accomplishments are in the numbers and not in what he claims. A couple of phrases which turn up most of the time when he is jabber-jawing to the nation […]

Think About What We Could Do with the Money!

“War Is Expensive for the Little People” – Paul Krugman March 3, 2026 On Sunday, according to the U.S. military, Kuwaiti forces shot down three U.S. F-15s in a “friendly fire” incident. Fortunately, the crews were able to safely eject and survived. The sad truth is that such incidents are common in modern war. One of the […]

11 cents Price increase in Gasoline per gallon over night in the US, AAA reports

New Deal democrat’s commentary earlier today. “What is the effect of Oil and Gasoline Prices on the US economy?” Angry Bear. I guess I am not surprised to see gasoline market prices and oil prices start to increase. That is expected even if there is no reason for it to jump today or even months […]

What is the effect of Oil and Gasoline Prices on the US economy?

If you have been reading and earlier commentary Oil Prices are Up, you will get a pretty idea of what is happening with Oil Prices since Trump decided to bomb Iran. Just to point out, here are the top three countries by oil reserves. Top 3 Breakdown:  1. Venezuela ($\sim$303 billion barrels), 2. Saudi Arabia […]

Oil Prices are Up

Gasoline around us is still high and about $3.25. What are you seeing for price per gallon of gasoline? They keep talking about a drop. We have not seen it. Charts and graphs emphasizing what is happening with oil, where US oil comes from (imports) and goes to (exports). See the first chart for the […]

ISM manufacturing In February positive, but with a major helping of inflation

 – by New Deal democrat Most official data series remain about one month behind their normal schedule, despite the government shutdown having ended over three months ago. Thus the ISM manufacturing and services reports, as well as the regional Fed manufacturing and services reports, remain the most timely overall barometers of the economy. In the past […]

DEATH OF TRUTH and SOCIAL SECURITY (3)

Part Three of a commentary (broken into parts) about Social Security. Dale Coberly discusses with AI (Artificial Intelligence) Social Security. The topic about Social Security? How it can be saved as it is today without major cuts to it. This is really hard to discuss with people. Many believe it would take a vast amount […]

Claiming a Golden Age

“Rhetoric Is Not Reform: The Good Life Can Not Be an Applause Line,” Roosevelt Institute In his State of the Union address, President Trump claimed a “Golden Age of America,” insisting the economy is “roaring like never before” and pointing to market highs and headline indicators as proof. But people don’t live inside a speech. […]

Construction spending mainly flat nominally and declining in real terms, except for AI data center-related Boom

– by New Deal democrat Before I get to the main object of this post, there was a little kerfluffle in the financial markets this morning about a “hot” producer price index number. Specifically, PPI for final demand increased 0.5% in January. Commodity prices also increased 0.3%. The YoY% changes were 2.8%, although raw commodity […]

Immigrants are Using Less Welfare than US Citizens

In that respect, the title is correct. Immigrants whether legal or not do not use more welfare than U.S. citizens. That they do use welfare benefits can be an issue to many. However, I believe we should look more at the economic impact immigrants have on the economy whether they are legal or not. As […]