The Angry Bear

As a former union member, Reader Denis Drew writes about Labor and Unions. You can read him at Angry Bear from time to time or at his Blog site: “On Today’s Page,” on todays page, Denis Drew. Jimmy Hoffa’s dream – Jimmy Hoffa’s worst nightmare First: Jimmy Hoffa’s medical labor market wet dream:   a) cannot stop technical employees from organizing,   b) demand is everywhere and ever growing   c) bills paid automatically by insurance or...

As vehicles and outdoor appliances become increasingly electric, long term gas usage – and “real” prices – decline  – by New Deal democrat What is the “real” cost of gasoline? When measuring this, some people compare with the CPI. But that actually just tells you the *relative* inflation in gas vs. other items. That’s why, for example, when I want to look at the “real” cost of housing, I measure against income, such as average hourly earnings....

This article is kinda long and also along the lines of what I have done since the mid-seventies. I consulted in throughput for a while. Did not much like it as compared to actually doing it. It is a good piece though. This report is twenty years old and things have changed in China. Modernization has changed its cities and is having an impact outside of them. Been there and seen it multiple times over the years. However, the topic is different than...

My TMU Sustainable Design students on how to fix the world, Carbon Upfront, Lloyd Alter. For about a dozen years, I have taught a one-term course on Sustainable Design at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, formerly Ryerson University). It started in the School of Interior Design but has expanded to include students of photography, urban design, fashion, and journalism from the Creative School. Teaching sustainable design is tough; it is...

For MLK Day: Blacks are faring better during the post-pandemic Boom than at almost any time in the previous 50+ years  – by New Deal democrat On this MLK Jr. national holiday, let’s take a look at how Blacks are faring in the current economy. And the answer is, pretty good! The unemployment rate for Blacks in December was the 2nd lowest ever in 50+ years of history, at 5.2%. The lowest was last April at 4.8%: The Black unemployment...

I’m reading Homelands: A personal history of Europe by Timothy Garton Ash. The book is organized by decades, and the decade of 1980-89 was a historically significant one for Central Europe. By the end of the decade, the “communist” dictatorships in Poland, Hungary, East Germany and Czechoslovakia had collapsed.Real history resists simplification, but to simplify, the seemingly permanent division of communist East and capitalist West succumbed to the...

Some morning economics in the states trying to rein in costs. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves takes on a cut back on food for kids by not accepting a fully funded program. Tate looks like he could spare a few pounds except . . . Republican Governor Tate Reeves is declining to participate in the federal program giving electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards to low-income families to supplement food costs for children when academic classes are...

As taken from “In ‘wild western Licking County,’ rogue builders meeting permit enforcers bent on upholding laws,” msn.com, as written by Alan Miller. The Angry Bear writer has added his own experiences to the article. There are modifications to the original article. With the rapid pace of growth in western Licking County, some commercial builders and business owners have taken the law into their own hands by moving ahead with construction projects...

Texas took it upon themselves to guard the border and not allow the Border Patrol entry to Shelby Park, a 47-acre Texas public park. The Border Patrol typically apprehends people crossing the river at that point. Texas/US military soldiers were sent to the area to block any migrants from crossing the river. A group of six had trouble crossing the river. One woman and two children drown in the presence of the National Guard. The Border Patrol was...

I have a very extreme opinion about what we can learn from the struggle between Russian and Ukraine for control of the Black Sea. First I think it is agreed that Ukraine basically has won the struggle so far. First Russia removed naval vessels from Sebastopol to Russia proper — this is huge news as it would have been at any time in the past 150 or so years. The ships were too vulnerable to anti-ship missiles and drones. This means that the...