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

“Small is Beautiful”

David Zetland The one-handed economist Book Review: “Small is Beautiful” E.F. (Ernst Friedrich) Schumacher published Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered in 1973. I read the book years ago [Whoops! Here’s my 2009 review, which is much shorter!] and even used it as “the text” for my microeconomics course ten years ago, but I […]

Trying to follow the measles anti-vaxxer arguments

Apparently, the latest conspiracy theory is that the measles epidemic in Texas was a bioweapon attack: ““I’m not going to be careful by calling it a virus,” Willis said in the measles webinar. “I’m going to call it what it is, and that is a bioweapon, and my belief after interviewing these families is that […]

Trump Administration appears to be backing down

On Harvard: “The White House (yes, technically the GSA guy and the two lawyers) sent that letter to Harvard, demanding de facto control of the university’s hiring, admissions and various elements of its curriculum. Harvard replied with a flat rejection ten days ago. The White House immediately responded by freezing $2.3 billion in grants to […]

Ending the Vote

The Executive Order to End Voting – Joyce Vance Civil Discourse Apparently, Trump wasn’t kidding when he told people 2024 was the last election they’d ever have to vote in if he won. On March 25, 2025, he issued an executive order = “PRESERVING AND PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF AMERICAN ELECTIONS” – that is a vehicle for making […]

Independence of the Fed

Claudia Sahm documenting the personal attack by Trump on Fed Chair Powell and his actions concerning the economy. Typical modus operandi by Trump to critique the person’s intellect and capability . . . “A crash course in Fed independence,” Claudia Sahm With recession odds rising and the stock market down, it is no surprise that […]

As the World Turns with Trump in Charge

A brief 🙂 rundown on how Trump is blowing the economy up and taking us with him. For someone who wants to be in charge, he is most certainly absent. He is not taking control and giving direction to his sycophants who are floundering in different directions. The fighting amongst them damages the US as […]

Abduction of Kilmar Abrego Garcia Is Not About Politics

The Abduction of Kilmar Abrego Garcia Is Not About Politics, Washington Monthly Pragmatism is a worthy principle in politics. If parties can’t win elections, they can’t shape policy. To win elections, parties need to build coalitions of base voters plus swing voters. Since issues that motivate base voters don’t always move swing voters, sometimes politicians […]

Cutting Trade with China and Asia

What it means if you cut trade with China and Asia. Shipments start to decrease once the announcement is made. The impact is shown in Paul Krugman’s bar chart. I added the numbers in the second chart. Containers also come out of other countries. Keep in mind. One week (minimum) in the port on either. […]

And now, for some decent economic news: new home sales steady, prices slowly deflating

 – by New Deal democrat In ordinary times, new home sales are important because while they are very noisy and heavily revised, they are the most leading of all housing metrics. They remain important even presently because they can tell us about the underlying upward or downward pressure on the economy going forward one year […]

Avoiding Medicaid Cuts

The House Republicans’ budget resolution is now available. In it, they are proposing a cut of ~$800 billion. Almost all of the $800 billion 10-year spending cut target for the Energy and Commerce Committee would come out of Medicaid by choice. (God forbid those not being able to afford healthcare should have healthcare.) Those with […]