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

Santa and Social Planning

Rebecca Wilder was a writer at Angry Bear and posted originally posted this at Economonitors. With Rebecca’s permission, Dan reposted this at Angry Bear in 2011. “Santa Claus as a Social Planner“ – by Rebecca Wilder Here’s a nice little model I discussed in 2007: The Economics of Christmas! Hope that you enjoy; I do. […]

Judge supports Trump affirmative action for domestic tech workers

As a PhD molecular biologist, I’ve spent my entire career in tech, albeit academic tech. During that time, I’ve had the privilege to work with many colleagues on H-1B visas. I believe in meritocracy, and my experience is that most of these H-1B visa holders were eminently qualified. Were there more qualified Americans out there? […]

Strong Q3 GDP, but long leading components are mixed

Strong Q3 GDP, but long leading components are mixed; first preliminary positive signs for production in October  – by New Deal democrat Because today is a travel day for me, I am going to keep my comments about the much-delayed Q3 GDP report brief. As was obvious, a 4.3% annualized real GDP print is very good, […]

Manufacturing Jobs Lost in 2025

How Many Manufacturing Jobs Has Trump Lost? CEPR In Donald Trump’s imagination, trillions of dollars are being invested in the United States. In the real world, factory construction, adjusted for inflation, was down by more than 10 percent from its year ago level, as of August (the most recent data available). Manufacturing employment, based on the data […]

Ending the Vicious Cycle of Non-Governing

By changing the mindset of governing – by Jeff Dauphin “We the People” know our government is not working. For decades, Americans have said they want leaders who work together, confront problems honestly, and make decisions that push the country forward. Yet the officials we send to Washington keep repeating the same self-defeating patterns—polarization, gridlock, […]

Democrats have budget leverage.  They need to press their advantage.

On October 1, 2025, the first day of the most recent government shutdown, Donald Trump’s net disapproval was 12 points.  By the time the shutdown ended 6 weeks later, his net disapproval had risen to 16 points.  Democrats should keep this in mind as the government funding wars heat up again.  The Dems do not […]

RFK Jr-founded Antivax Org pushing to Ban mRNA COVID Shots

Red Alert: RFK Jr-founded Antivax Org pushing to Ban mRNA COVID Shots. Articles of impeachment are filed, ACA Signups, Michigander Charles Gaba does the News in healthcare Hoo boy. You knew this was coming. Via Jessica Karins of Inside Health Policy: As public health stakeholders and members of Congress grapple with how to respond to changes in […]

Tariffs on Christmas Decorations Surpass $500 Million

Happy Holidays! In this final update for 2025, we’re going to take a look at how tariffs are burdening everything on and under your Christmas tree, comparing import data from the first nine months of 2024 and 2025.  The cost of decking the halls has gone up by hundreds of millions of dollars, as everything […]

Bidding a Farewell to Sixty Minutes Freedom of the Press

Just a “wow” moment. CBS News caves to Trump’s demands to remove a discovery segment involving people who were deported to El Salvador prison. This comes after legal input from attorneys. Basically, the government just censured public news about what it is doing. Robert Reich: Farewell to “60 Minutes” ~~~~~~~ The nation is caving . […]