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

CMS Delays a Full Crackdown on Medicare Advantage Plans

It has taken years for the Feds, CMS, MedPac, Congress to catch up with the thieving practice of these healthcare plans. They have mislead the people they sell these plans too with come-ons such as health club ss, etc. Then when it comes time for care, it is delayed or denied. This comes after the […]

Will Dean Baker’s Quiver Full of Solutions Stabilize Social Security?

Dean is on a roll here with propositions for the nation as it ages. Thoughtfully, I called it initially a Quiver of Arrows in Support of the economy and in the end Social Security. He is answering a question of what do we need to do to prepare for an aging population and lower replacement […]

Revisions to Q4 GDP made real final sales worse

Revisions to Q4 GDP made real final sales worse, a potential portent of near in time recession  – by New Deal democrat A month ago, following another blogger, I took a look at real final sales, and real final sales to domestic purchasers, in the GDP – which increased less than 0.5% and just above […]

Death to Farm Credit from Those on High

I think I missed this one by Michael Smith. I did not delete it out of my In-Box/ Even so it is interesting . . . Death to Farm Credit from Those on High, Farmer and Economist, Mike Smith I’m in between fall crop planting and have to focus so I am going to run this like […]

Almost nobody is still getting laid off, but this week, it’s not good enough

Almost nobody is still getting laid off, but this week, it’s not good enough  – by New Deal democrat Today and tomorrow update the two remaining positive sectors of the economy: jobs and real personal income. And the first one continued to give excellent historical readings, but relatively speaking suffered in comparison to their all-time […]

Sharp deceleration in YoY house price gains, and the Fed’s chasing the phantom menace

More on the sharp deceleration in YoY house price gains, and the Fed’s chasing the phantom menace  – by New Deal democrat Since there is no big economic news again today, let me fill in a little more detail on house prices through January, reported yesterday, vs. CPI for shelter. Here is the monthly % […]

YoY house price gains continue to decline

YoY house price gains continue to decline  – by New Deal democrat Today is a travel day so I have to keep this brief.  On a monthly basis for January, prices rose 0.2% as measured by the FHFA house price index. But because that was far less of an increase in January last year, YoY […]

3 graphic signs of financial stress

3 graphic signs of financial stress  – by New Deal democrat The theme of my weekly “high frequency” economic indicators update over the weekend was the sudden deterioration in some measurements of financial stress. Tomorrow we’ll find out that house prices as measured by both the FHFA and Case Shiller have decline further, and that […]

Two Banks in Trouble, Some History, and Four Opinions

I have read enough on the bailing out of two banks (Silicon Valley Bank and the smaller Signature bank). in 2018, I had argued against increasing the $50 or $100 (?) billion limit to $250 billion. These were commercial banks which were allowed in 2008 to join with Wall Street banks to dabble in securities, […]

Exploring the Consumer and Environment Issues

With the exception of the One-handed Economist, quite a few of these consumerism and environmental articles show up in my In-Box. Some of them are actually quite good. In the past I did have some of them my In-Box Post. I thought this time I would break them out separately. Most of the are from […]