If you want to understand Donald Trump, follow the money. That includes foreign policy. Kidnap the president of Venezuela for the oil. Take over Greenland for the minerals. And Gaza? Certainly not for the Palestinians or Israel. “Countries on Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” for Gaza will be asked to contribute $1 billion in order […]
– by New Deal democrat There’s no new data of note today or tomorrow, so in the meantime (aside from observing Martin Luther King’s birthday) let me take a look at a very important, if small piece of economic data: the “real” price of gas. Gas price shocks have been important precipitants of a number of […]
“The Minneapolis Crucible” – Paul Krugman January 15, 2026 Will we forge democracy anew? When Trump won the 2024 election, I feared rightly) our democracy would soon be in great peril. Between gerrymandering, a corrupt Supreme Court, a compliant Republican Party, and a tsunami of political donations from the tech broligarchy, I thought American democracy […]
– by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. With the yield curve close to completely normal and mortgage rates at or near 3 year lows, and the housing market reacting to those, the longer range picture is improving. But what is going to drive (in more ways than one) the immediate […]
In an effort to extort Greenland from Denmark, Trump has ordered a 10% tariff on goods from EU nations that have opposed the US expropriation effort beginning in February. He has threatened to raise that to 25% if they don’t capitulate. A couple of points: • The tariffs are mostly a nothingburger for EU economies: […]
Not too surprised by this finding. It can be said, SCOTUS has not been overly supportive of US citizens. In fact, their decisions have denigrated regular citizens greatly. Maybe my view point is tilted in a less than favorable viewpoint? One case comes to mind with the state providing legal support in a trial. In […]
While Elon was out slashing jobs and programs, Trump and his family continued to grift on the taxpayer dime. Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago alone have cost millions this year alone. Imagine the government efficiency if he was forced to live in the White House! Then, there are the bills racked up by his family. “The […]
Review: The Edge of the World – The one-handed economist I picked up this 2014 book by Michael Pye due to my recent interest in histories of Europe (my new “homeland”), and I found it fascinating. The subtitle (A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe) shows why it may be interesting to me, […]
– by New Deal democrat Industrial production is much less central to the US economic picture than it was before the “China shock,” but it remains an important if diminished economic indicator, particularly since the month it has peaked in the past has typically been the month the NBER has chosen as the economic cycle peak. […]
Deliberate abuse of the legal system without checking for legitimacy. If you as a citizen were to disobey or disregard a Federal Judge. More likely than not, you would find yourself in a jail (state or federal) somewhere. This is what happens when a rogue element takes over society. Nothing of reason or law remains […]