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

Dems DHS Shutdown Strategy Became a Messaging Failure

Guest Commentary: J.P. McJefferson, “The breakdown turned a strategic advantage into public confusion . . . “ In mid-February, Democrats held a clear advantage on the issue of ICE and Border Patrol (CBP) reforms within the Department of Homeland Security. Following high-profile incidents and protests in Minneapolis, public attention was sharply focused on concerns surrounding […]

Economy Will Not Absorb This Oil Shock

AB: A review and forecast of what is happening and what will happen over the next few weeks due to the oil shortage brought on by Trump’s attack on Iran. The impact of which, Trump’s blunder will cause many more issues economically. This is not Venezuela. “The Economy Doesn’t Have the Room to Absorb This […]

“Problems of high prices and complexity of health care cannot be solved by shifting responsibility to people”

I read this piece at Health Affairs. Liked it, thought I could shrink it down with a bit of a rewrite, failed on the latter. It is a 10 minute easy read on health care, deductibles, and why the ACA is in trouble . . . think deductibles. They do not solve the use of […]

Book Review

Review: “Breakneck” – The one-handed economist Dan Wang is a trenchant observer of the US and China. He was born in China but raised in Canada. He’s worked in the US and China as an adult, and he compares the culture of the two in this 2025 book. Wang’s big point is that US culture is […]

Prepare for a major CPI shock in March and April

– by New Deal democrat Prepare for the CPI to increase over 1.5%, and perhaps even 2.5%, just by the end of April. That’s the message conveyed by the huge spike in gas prices so far this month due to the war with Iran. Let me start with the blockbuster graph. This is the monthly […]

“Deferring to pres. Trump in his determination to decide how large is large and how serious is serious?”

Sorry for the length of this piece. Trump will be heading back to SCOTUS with another proposal granting him unlimited authority. He really knows no bounds for the presidency when it comes to deciding outside of Congress. The Presidency proposes and Congress taxes, appropriates, budgets, and spends when it comes to the economy. Trump prefers […]

Investigating Excess Capacity and Labor Practices

Before you start to believe this administration cares about in country’s manufacturing and people working more hours for less pay, think about it first. Do you really believe this administration cares about either? It is all about giving an edge to him to play the nation’s economy to fill his pocket. Guest Commentary by Erica […]

Fuel Shortage in Asia

I am always curious about what happens in other countries when there is an oil shortage. In this case it is fuel for cabs to cart westerners and Europeans around. For them, this is serious. No fuel, potentially no income from westerners transporting them. In Bangkok, Thais make a living shuffling westerners around. We have […]

Running Out of Funding . . .

As reported at Common Dreams by Jake Johnson, “The Pentagon reportedly wants Congress to approve more than $200 billion in supplemental funding for US President Donald Trump’s unauthorized and deeply unpopular war on Iran as the administration weighs deploying thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, signaling a drawn-out conflict and a possible ground invasion.” AB: […]

Trump giveth and Trump taketh away

While crowing about how it’s sinking the Iranian economy, the Trump Administration is literally keeping it afloat. “In the coming days, we may unsanction the Iranian oil that’s on the water,” Bessent said on Fox Business Thursday. The US is already allowing Iranian oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and that nation has […]