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

Immediate post-election observations

Infidel753: “Immediate post-election observations,” Infidel753 Blog There was no red wave.  There was no blue wave.  Most incumbents got re-elected.  Whichever side ends up controlling the House and Senate will have a razor-thin margin. Turnout was very high on both sides and the process ran smoothly pretty much everywhere, so it was a big win […]

Postal workers and allies to protest DeJoy’s Ten-Year Plan

“Postal workers and allies to protest DeJoy’s Ten-Year Plan at BOG meeting, Save the Post Office, Steve Hutkins I missed this announcement at Steve Hutkins “Save The Post Office” blog. Apparently a large number of US Post Office supporters went to the Governor’s meeting and expressed their opinion on Postmaster Louis DeJoy’s plan to centralize […]

How is the working-middle class doing? Real average non-supervisory wages

Real average hourly wages and real aggregate payrolls for October  – by New Deal democrat With yesterday’s report on October consumer prices, we can take up two of my favorite measures of how the working/middle class is doing – real average non-supervisory wages, and real aggregate payrolls. Real average wages for non-supervisory workers declined -0.1% […]

October CPI reports total inflation increases at a 3.5% annual rate

October CPI report: total inflation increasing at 3.5% annual rate, core inflation minus shelter increasing at 2.8% annual rate in the past 4 months  – by New Deal democrat For a full year now I’ve been hammering the fact that the official CPI measure of housing inflation, “owners’ equivalent rent,” seriously lags actual house prices as […]

Democrats wrest control of Michigan Legislature for first time in almost 40 years

I lived in Michigan for 27 years having moved from Madison Wisconsin. If I had my choice, we would have stayed in Madison. It was damn cold in the winter. We were still able to do things though. Michigan was not quite the same. It was never really home for us. Just too many things […]

Jobless claims: still holding steady

Jobless claims: still holding steady  – by New Deal democrat Initial jobless claims rose slightly, by 7,000, from one week ago to 225,000. The 4 week average declined -250 to 218,750. Continuing claims also rose slightly, by 6,000, to 1,493,000: This is right in the middle of where claims have been for the last 6 […]

Coronavirus dashboard for November 8, 2022

Coronavirus dashboard for November 8: the new alphabet soup of variants fails to generate a new wave (so far)  – by New Deal democrat Biobot has not updated since late last week, showing COVID particles at or near 6 month lows both nationwide: and in all 4 Census regions: As expected, the CDC’s variant update […]

Promoting the 2022 Election – Michigan Signs

“U.S.A. the Envy of World After Ten Billion Dollars in Campaign Ads Changes Almost Nothing,” The New Yorker, Andy Borowitz. Three questions in a row commentary. Were you convinced? Did you wonder about who was trying to influence the election the most? Which ones, Republicans, Democrats, Polling firms, TV News, Magazines, News Papers, the masked […]