Which one would you want to pay? Dean Baker does the comparison of Military expenditures and as compared to ACA subsides. Details in the Dean commentary. Is paying $11,200 a year to soothe the president’s paranoia in his demented state reasonable? Donald Trump says you should. The Republicans in Congress are likely to agree. So, […]
– by New Deal democrat The economically weighted ISM manufacturing + services indexes have become one of my favorite datapoints. That’s in part because the former has a nearly 80 year history of being a solid leading indicator, although somewhat attenuated since the start of the Millennium. But the latter now also has a long […]
Is downsizing the IRS part of Trump’s goals? I would say it is. Short staffing an agency such as the IRS makes it difficult to maintain the process and also audit taxpayers. Those who take advantage of greater would welcome an IRS less capable. It, like other parts of the Federal Government, has been faced […]
To follow up on a previous post about Tesla autonomous driving vehicles: “Tesla has retroactively modified “Full Self-Driving” purchase agreements to add “supervised” language that did not exist when owners originally bought the product. In some cases, the original documents have been made entirely inaccessible. “Electrek has confirmed the issue with multiple owners. The contracts […]
Does raising the minimum wage increase unemployment? An increase in the minimum wage can motivate more people to enter the labor market because they will earn more money. Some promote, an increase in the minimum wage increases firms’ costs. Also, the quantity of labor demanded decreases (firms hire fewer workers). From my point of view […]
– by New Deal democrat The JOLTS report is low on my list of useful tools, but it does break down the labor market further than the jobs report, and it does have several slightly leading components, so let’s take a look at the latest report, which is for April. Below are job openings (blue), […]
One of the larger ongoing non-Trump grifts in America is the “Ark Encounter” in Williamstown, Kentucky. It’s been open for nearly ten years. I don’t know whether or not it’s hit its evangelistic benchmarks, but it has never met the financial benchmarks promised to Kentucky taxpayers. “When Creationist Ken Ham and his team at Answers […]
It has been a bit since I have placed anything on Angry Bear, I felt it was time to catch up with anything going on with railroading. Apparently, there is a big push for the UP and Norfolk to merge. The merger would create the first transcontinental railroad from the East Coast to the West […]
– by New Deal democrat May data started out as usual with the ISM manufacturing index. Plus, as a bonus, official government data is finally back on schedule, only 7 months after the end of the shutdown! By which I mean to say, April construction spending was also released, on time. To cut to the chase, […]
Introduction: In and around 2007 – 2009 the US economy was in or coming out of recession. Much of this was cause by lax lending in a rapidly growing economy. Bank took on risks which did not occur in the past as greatly. Little money down and loans on equity which disappeared in recession. Several […]