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

Measure and Regulate Embodied Carbon in Everything

I do not have an exact date when this was written. It appears to have been update May 2021. I find it interesting as US automakers are making moves to switch from combustion powered vehicles to electrically powered vehicles utilizing rechargeable batteries to provide the power. US automaker Ford is so committed to this conversion; […]

Money In Politics

I have two thoughts. The first is that major party presidential candidates would be wise to stop participating in big dollar fundraising events. The second is that we can identify the effect of money on political success, but usually assume that correlation is causation. I think that three major party candidates have seriously hurt themselves […]

Weekly Indicators for September 19 – 23

Weekly Indicators for September 19 – 23 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators column is up at Seeking Alpha. For the third week in a row, interest rates increased, and gas prices, along with the prices of other commodities, tumbled. While the decline in gas prices is good, the downturn in […]

Tom Schelling Is Rolling Over In His Grave

Tom Schelling Is Rolling Over In His Grave, Econospeak By Barkley Rosser  Thomas Schelling got his Nobel Prize in economics for saving the world from global thermonuclear war in the 20th century, when many thought it was inevitable. Rival nuclear game theorist, John von Neumann, said to bomb the Soviets as soon as possible, like, […]

Ezra Klein on ARPA-H

As usual it is best to just click and read as the column is well crafted and I can’t summarize or explain well. The topic? “On Monday, President Biden announced that Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, a biotech executive who previously worked at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known as Darpa, would be the first […]

They have come to resurrect Caesar.

Dana Millbank at the Washington Post points us to JD Vance, the MAGA Republican from Ohio running for a Senate seat in Congress and a potential American Julius Caesar. “‘Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears: They have come to resurrect Caesar. MAGA Republican leaders take umbrage at being accused of ‘semi-fascism,‘ which is understandable: […]

“Whacking Labor” to Fight Inflation and Fix the Economy

It is refreshing to see Dean Baker using one of the words I use to describe what the FED does when they are hiking Interest Rates. Those FED actions do not create results over night. Because they can’t, read on. Powell appears to be frustrated by the lack of economic slowing. Maybe there are other […]

Focusing on the short end of the yield curve

Focusing on the short end of the yield curve  – by New Deal democrat  When most analysts talk about yield curve inversions, they typically mean a measure of the 10 year bond vs. a shorter maturity like 3 month or 2 years. These certainly have merit – in fact the 10 year minus 2 year inversion […]

Potential Voting Machine Issues (tampering) in Some States

“Computer experts urge Georgia to replace voting machines,” (msn.com), Kate Brumback Should Georgia replace present voting machines with paper ballots? CNN — A Republican County official in Georgia escorted two operatives working with an attorney for former President Donald Trump into the county’s election offices on the same day a voting system there was breached, newly obtained video shows. […]

September 21, 2022, Letters from an American

Summary: More on the Ukraine war, Russia calling up soldiers, Putin’s referendum, and a threat of nuclear consequences if the referendum is interfered with by something, someone, and his imagination. President Biden answers Putin’s threats. New York AG Letitia James filed a $250 million civil lawsuit against Donald Trump, the Trump Organization, and the family. […]