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

Thoughts from economics writers on politics

Mark Thoma has put together some thoughts of his own as well as those of Bruce Bartlett, Brad DeLong, and Paul Krugman. I think it is worth a scan. Bruce Bartlett on President Obama as ‘an old time Republican’ seems to fit the description, without the hyperbole of contentious issue debate: In a little-noticed comment […]

House approves bill

Via NBC news Updated at 6:58 a.m. ET: An agreement to stave off the harshest and most immediate consequences of the fiscal cliff won approval in the House late Tuesday. President Barack Obama said he would sign the law, the battle over which foreshadowed more fights with Congress over spending.

"G.O.P. Anger Over Tax Deal Endangers Final Passage"

by run75411Op ed. G.O.P. Anger Over Tax Deal Endangers Final Passage NYT is reporting Eric Cantor and many other House Republicans will not vote for the Senate (89-8) passed Hr8 bill American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. Again another line is drawn in the sand for the President and whether he will use the political advantage the […]

Three definitions of Solvency for Social Security

Bruce Webb brings an interesting perspective to the current situation as pundits and politicians figure out ‘what is acceptable’ and what ‘they can live with’ her at AB and at his new website Social Security Defender: (see link below): Scheduled vs Payable Benefits: three definitions of Solvency As usual click to embiggen. When it comes […]

Who foots the "grand deal (no capitalization on purpose)" costs.

by run75411 Who foots the “grand deal (no capitalization on purpose)” costs. Everything You Need to Know about the Fiscal Cliff Deal “Wonkblog” Zachary Goldfarb This was the model to describe what would happen if the Grand Deal increase in taxes fell upon those Household Taxpayers making greater than $200,000 (individual) and $250,000 (family) (Tax […]

Happy New Year 2013

I wanted to say “Thank You” to all of Angry Bear readers, contributors, and commentors, who make Angry Bear such a deeply rewarding endeavor for me. It is a labor of love for all involved. Here is wishing everyone a healthy, happy and rewarding 2013!

Social Security and the current fad of being balanced and comprehensive

Salon writer  Natasha Lennard reports that a sticking point around Social Security stalled ‘fiscal cliff’ back and forth rejoinders between the two parties, but also points out that the topic continues to be on the table (and has been offered by President Obama before these talks a couple years ago).   Notice both parties using the […]

Dr. Black Did It as a Shorter; Here’s the Data

The problem with waiting overnight to post is that other people figure out the same thing: If the true CPI-E increases faster than CPI, then chained-CPI is worse, not better. It’s actually worse than that.  The measure by which Social Security is raised turns out not to be what we usually call CPI (Consumer Price […]