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

More Sellers Than Buyers of Housing

Too many houses on the market. Opportunity for Buyers. The graph below has the details . . . As taken from: “The Housing Market Has Nearly 500,000 More Sellers Than Buyers,” Redfin, Lily Katz and Asad Khan There are an estimated 1.9 million home sellers in the U.S. housing market and an estimated 1.5 million homebuyers. In […]

“Large Upward Redistribution of Income”

“For the very rich who will see enormous tax cuts from this bill, it all might end up being a good deal,” wrote Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute. “For everybody else, it will not.” Economist Details How GOP Medicaid Cuts Would Be Disastrous for Everyone—Except the Super-Rich Common Dreams and Jake Johnson The […]

A Political Third Rail

Musk has lost his shine with Trump so he has been sidelined. Instead, Musk has become critical of Trump and what he is doing. In this case Musk is calling Trump’s latest “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. […]

The awkward truth

If we just don’t see it, it didn’t happen, amirite? “Trump administration officials delayed and redacted a government forecast because it predicts an increase in the nation’s trade deficit in farm goods later this year, according to two people familiar with the matter. “The numbers run counter to President Donald Trump’s messaging that his economic […]

Economically weighted ISM services + manufacturing warrant Recession Watch

 – by New Deal democrat Last month I concluded my report on the economically weighted ISM manufacturing and services indexes by writing “new orders for the entire economy are tight on the cusp of tipping into contraction.” This month, they did, warranting a “Recession Watch.” To recap, because manufacturing is much less important to the economy […]

Whataboutism and the fake ‘fair and balanced’

Sure, Trump and Musk are endangering America by their cuts to the Department of National Security, the FBI and the CIA. Sure, those cuts make it easier for the next 9/11 attack. But whatabout back when the Democrats held the WH and Congress and had the clairvoyance to foresee all this and didn’t pass any […]

Trump vs Musk cage match?

Josh Marshall won’t come out and say it, but I will. Musk’s attack on Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” is political kayfabe. Josh points out that they could each draw blood but haven’t. “Both of these guys have very big weapons each can use against the other. Musk can invest money against the GOP budget bill […]

Giant budget reconciliation bill has focused attention on the drastic cuts

June 2, 2025 by Heather Cox Richardson Letters from an American The Republicans’ giant budget reconciliation bill has focused attention on the drastic cuts the Trump administration is making to the American government. On Friday, when a constituent at a town hall shouted that the Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid, the federal healthcare program for […]

Student Loans: Republicans Back Plan to Give Some Borrowers Extra Money

Start to cancel some of the loans instead. Student loan debt is now the second-highest consumer debt category after mortgages. Student loan debt in the United States totals $1.777 trillion; annual growth resumed in 2024 following a year-over-year (YoY) decline in 2023. Additional Information Federal Student Loan Portfolio | Federal Student Aid Table of Contents Student Loan Debt […]

April job openings, hires, quits, and layoffs: possibly the last month before the effects of Tariff-palooza! are felt

 – by New Deal democrat The JOLTS survey, which decomposes the employment market into job openings, hires, quits, and layoffs, was reported this morning for April. In 2024 the data were most consistent with a “soft landing,” but the actions of the new Administration, especially on trade, have exacerbated the fear that this might transform into […]