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

Policy Proposals, Feelings About Issues, and that Nasty Newly African American Woman who laughs

I have read many articles quoting (brave) Republicans complaining about Donald Trump’s focus on personal, petty and implausible attacks on Kamala Harris. They often assert that if the election were decided on the basis of policy or issues, then Trump would win. Here is the latest discussion I read about that (just the available link […]

For Labor Day: 4 measures of worker wage growth

 – by New Deal democrat On this Labor Day, it is fitting to update the economic state of ordinary workers. There is a variety of economic data series to track both average and median wages: Without further ado, here is the update for all four. Average hourly wages are updated through July; the other three […]

Ken Burns Keynote Address to the Graduating Class of 2024

Why would I be timely with this Keynote Address to the Class of 2024 by Ken Burns. Fifty-something addresses to graduating classes at Brandeis University. Good listen if you have 25 minutes to hear it. Ken Burns books are good reads and make for something to do while spending 10 or more hours on a […]

COVID-19 deaths and the efficacy of the Covid vaccine

The university where I was on faculty for 37 years has one of ten NIH-funded vaccine testing and evaluation units in the US. I vividly recall attending a presentation by the clinical director of our vaccine center in January of 2020 on the then-new SARS-CoV-2 virus. By the summer, our vaccine center became a clinical […]

More on Why Albertsons Should Not Be Allowed to Combine with Kroger

We have shopped at both stores and also Frys which is also a part of Kroger. Of the three, Ftys is less costly. Our Frys always seems to be out of product. We end up at Bashas to fill out the rest of or grocery shopping, or Sprouts which has excellent veggies, or make the […]

More of the “Economy Is Bad” Under Biden Series

 I guess if it is said enough times it has to be true or does it have to be? The Biden rescue since he took office is far better than what we experienced in 2008 onward. Yet Another in the Economy Is Bad Under Biden by Dean Baker CEPR Like other major news outlets, the […]

$100M Award to ACA Healthcare navigators

Biden-Harris Admin awards $100 Million to navigators to help Americans sign up for healthcare coverage by Charles Gaba ACA Signups ~~~~~~~ The Biden-Harris Administration today continued its historic investment in health care coverage and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by awarding a new round of $100 million to organizations vital to helping underserved communities, consumers, and small […]

Who is better on unions, Harris or Trump?

A fitting topic for Labor Day, 2024. Over at TPM, they have an extended discussion of the records of the Biden/Harris Administration vs the Trump/Pence administration regarding unions and workplace safety. Click the link to read the whole thing. I’ll keep the quotes here within fair use. “. . . three aspects of the candidates’ […]

Labor Day September 5, 1882

by Prof. Heather Cox Richardson Letters from an American Almost one hundred and forty-two years ago, on September 5, 1882, workers in New York City celebrated the first Labor Day holiday with a parade. The parade almost didn’t happen: there was no band, and no one wanted to start marching without music. Once the Jewelers […]

Meat and Poultry Is Wildly Expensive Now — and It Could Be Due to Price Fixing

This appears to be similar to what I wrote about recently, An A1 Price Fixing Dream. You Know It’s There. But You Can’t Prove It. – Angry Bear. You have an entity collecting information, categorizing it, and then supplying the information to other entities so they can set pricing. In this case with meat and […]