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

The last twenty years and Krugman

by tin man and rdan Paul Krugman said some thing in the NYT. We wondered about these questions too. What was the mechanism for the leveling of healthcare costs in the Clinton ‘90s? (If they did actually level?) What was the mechanism for the same to skyrocket as they have in the past 8 years.(What […]

Peak Oil and prices in two years from now

By One Salient Oversight Summary: Oil prices are dropping as demand destruction bites. But thatdoesn’t invalidate Peak Oil. Supply limits will continue to exist evenwhen oil prices and demand drops. This means that the price of oil willstill be too high even when the economy is at its lowest ebb. Quotes:——————–The economic stress caused by […]

Real GDP Report

Sorry I’m slow posting this, but I was busy elsewhere yesterday. To understand the real GDP report you need to look at the monthly data. Real GDP is a measure of output. But we do not directly measure output. Rather, we measure consumption and adjust that for changes in trade and inventories to indirectly measure […]

New posting rules, comment removal

rdan Updated January 23, 2009 Comments to date have been generally relevant and appropriately documented. ‘Coventry has been removed for now as no longer necessary and moderating has become routine and rarely used. All the Angry Bears thank readers for their respect and tone. It is reciprocated. The blog owner and moderators reserve the right […]

Real Per Capita Income

Yesterdays release of real income data has received much commentary from blogger. Many ways of looking at the data and many excuses for the data have been proposed. Often I read comments about how the use of household and/or family data biased the data. And there are some validity to the comments that different ways […]

Immense Budget

The whittlin’ demands an immense budget. Perspectives: Chart 3: FY 2008 outlays: Defense Discretionary 20.5%: Non Defense Discretionary 20.8% : Social Security Medicare/Medic Aid 20.1%: Other Mandatory 12.8%: Interest 7.9% Table that defense discretionary has grown faster than non defense discretionary and is a larger part of federal spending than in the former adminstrations. Table […]

Comments and bar brawls

Nieman watch dog carries a summary of some research. The quote here is a summary of conclusions we might use. Journalists should avoid presenting both sides of a story when one is false – and take into account how readers’ brains process the disagreements. The following four rules can guide their efforts. 1. State the […]

When is a well not a well??

Here is an interesting water problem for coastal folk. Almost as interesting as who owns the land at low tide or high tide for beach properties.

Congress whittles many beaks

by ilsm If the war machine were not for the jobs and the PAC’s it may be more useful than whittled beaks. New England politicians saved jobs, diverted funds from better uses, many outside the military industrial complex. The Navy will build a third Zumwalt class destroyer. The Navy does not need a destroyer which […]