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

The decline in prime age labor participation: the smoking gun (Part 1of 2)

by New Deal democrat   (Bonddad blog) The decline in prime age labor participation: the smoking gun (Part 1of 2) I recently wrote about the compelling evidence that the biggest reason for the decline in the prime working age labor participation rate was the increase in the number of second-earner spouses who decided to stay […]

Making a Difference in American Families’ Lives by Crying ‘Wolf’ about Sexism

“Her campaign has been about how to make a difference in American families’ lives – a cause she’s fought for her entire life,” said [Clinton campaign] spokeswoman, Christina Reynolds. “It’s a shame Senator Sanders’s campaign has decided to make the campaign about political attacks. Voters want to hear about how their candidate will fight for […]

Neo-Fisher Reflections

The Fisher Effect would say that steady and low nominal interests would bring down inflation as the real interest rises to its natural level at full employment. OK… nominal interest rates are steady and low and inflation is low. So is it really the Fisher Effect that is bringing down inflation? Just yesterday I posted […]

When Titans collide: UPS petitions the PRC to change USPS costing methodologies

BY MARK JAMISON (A North Carolina Retired Postmaster). First posted at Save The Post Office The United Parcel Service is very concerned that you might be paying too much for a postage stamp. If you’re wondering why UPS would be worried about something like that, it has to do with the way postal rates are […]

Federal Deficit by President

If you look at the federal deficit as a share of GDP by presidential administration an interesting pattern emerges. Every Republican administration left office with a larger deficit than they inherited. Every Democratic administration left office with a smaller deficit than they inherited. Why should we pay any attention to anything any Republican says about […]