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

June jobs report: deceleration continues, with weakest private jobs sector growth since 2020

June jobs report: deceleration continues, with weakest private jobs sector growth since 2020  – by New Deal democrat My focus remains on whether jobs growth continues to decelerate, and whether the leading indicators, particularly manufacturing and construction jobs, as well as the unemployment rate (which leads going into recessions) have meaningfully deteriorated. In May the […]

MIdyear update: the state of the big monthly coincident indicators

MIdyear update: the state of the big monthly coincident indicators  – by New Deal democrat Let’s take a look at the important monthly coincident indicators that the NBER has indicated they weight most heavily, along with quarterly real GDP, in gauging whether the economy is expanding or contracting. Remember, a recession isn’t actually defined by […]

A 400-year veto Angers opponents in Wisconsin

Wisconsin governor’s 400-year veto angers opponents in state with long history of creative cuts, AP News, Scott Bauer. Wisconsin’s governor attempted to lock in a school funding increase for the next 400 years by issuing a partial veto that angered his Republican critics and marks the latest creative use of the unique gubernatorial powers in the state. […]

How the Super Rich Are Killing Social Security

How the Super Rich Are Killing Social Security, Robert Reich Blog, Robert Reich Since Angry Bear has a well known expert on Social Security in the name of Dale Coberly, I like to post other commentary on the topic. Robert Reich suggests increasing the salary limit well beyond 2023’s $160, 200 cap. He proposes eliminating […]

May JOLTS report: continued decelerating trend, but still extremely positive

May JOLTS report: continued decelerating trend, but still extremely positive  – by New Deal democrat Let me start out with the statement that has been my touchstone for the JOLTS report for the last year or more: for the last several years, the jobs market has been a game of “reverse musical chairs,” where there are […]

Pharmacies making Generic Versions are being sued by Manufacturers

“Generic drugs are approved only after a rigorous review by FDA and after a set period of time that the brand product has been on the market exclusively. A generic drug is a medication with the exact same active ingredient as the brand-name drug.” It is not unusual to buy generic versions of a particular […]

Initial jobless claims: moving closer to a red flag warning

Initial jobless claims: moving closer to a red flag warning  – by New Deal democrat Initial claims for jobless benefits rose 12,000 last week to 248,000. The 4 week average declined -3,500 to 253,250. With a one week lag, continued claims declined -13,000 to 1.20 million: More importantly for forecasting purposes, initial claims are up […]

The Medicare Advantage Quality Bonus Program: High Cost for Uncertain Gain

The Medicare Advantage Quality Bonus Program, Urban Institute, Laura Skopec and Robert A. Berenson The following is an introduction and a portion of a very readable report to which the link can be found at the end of this introduction. The findings are similar as to what Kip Sullivan and others have been reporting all […]

There are Three Federalist Societies

A comment taken from Ken Melvin’s commentary “The Coup.” Ken Melvin discussing with JackD. Yeah. Sen, Whitehouse makes this distinction: In effect, there are three Federalist Societies. The first (Federal Society) one most lawyers know from law school. It is, for the most part, a debating society, made up of like-minded aspiring lawyers drawn to conservative […]

The Coup

The US Constitution was their best effort to answer the question, “How should it be?” Then, they were seeking a new and better way of governance. Now, some two-hundred-forty years later, a latter-day majority of Justices on the US Supreme Court, the one charged with interpreting the Constitution, are saying, “This is how it should […]