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

Trump’s Claims for Thanksgiving

#1. Trump’s ‘Irrefutable’ Thanksgiving Claim Hit With Brutal Fact Check (Daily Beast): “President Donald Trump boasted the price of a Thanksgiving dinner from Walmart had dropped under his administration. He conveniently leaves out the catch behind the bargain meal . . . ‘Walmart just announced that Prices for a Thanksgiving Dinner is now down 25% since under […]

Don the con

Trump says affordability is “a con job by the Democrats.” Who ya gonna believe, The Donald or your lyin’ eyes? When Trump speaks of cons, we should listen. He should know, he’s the king of cons. But like all Republicans, Trump accuses others of what he himself is doing. “During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump […]

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators November 10 – 14

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. The trends of strong retail spending, a weak US$, and strength in commodity prices all continue. But in recent weeks withholding tax payments have waned. While there can be a number of causes for that, it definitely merits a caution flag as to […]

Tariffs and Prices

Short commentary on what is going on with US prices. With Trumpian on and off policies, economic stability is difficult to maintain. Pulled this graph from a Tax Foundation article from October 21, 2025. “Trump Tariffs Raising Prices for Consumers, New Evidence Shows.” As you can see. prices did increase for domestic product just as […]

The student loan shock

 – by New Deal democrat Earlier this week, I wrote about 4 current shocks to the US economy (tariffs, medical insurance increases, SNAP payments, and AI related layoffs), but I should have included a 5th as well: the effect of the end of the student loan repayment moratorium. As a quick refresher, the Biden Administration enacted […]

Hospital CEOs

Hospital CEOs Pay Is Too Damn High, MedPage Today President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act — otherwise known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — is projected to magnify economic inequality in the U.S. By 2034, the top tenth of U.S. households will see an estimated $13,600 increase in “household resources” (annual income), while the bottom tenth […]

Light vehicle sales and transportation of goods: the next recession caution shoe may have dropped

– by New Deal democrat Although the temporary continuing resolution was signed last night, reopening the Federal government through January, needless to say the reporting of economic statistics has not yet resumed, meaning that this morning’s scheduled reports on consumer inflation and retail sales for October were not released. So we must continue to rely on […]

Important thought for the day: lessons from SuperNanny “about Caving”

– by New Deal democrat From Avika M. Cohen, “Litigation Disaster tour guide”: ——- Ppl need to understand what’s happening here. The GOP response to the shutdown was: You’re gonna cave, or we’re going to hurt vulnerable people by shutting off SNAP. The Dems, unwilling to let that happen, caved. Having watched that, the GOP is […]

Money where their mouth isn’t

The Republican Party and the American right-wing (but I repeat myself) has been predicting for over 100 years the doom of the US if liberals or moderates are elected. Yet somehow, these absurd prophecies are evergreen. “Fox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday ranted about the supposed dangers of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, […]