The Angry Bear

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2024 Perceptions of inflation vs. wage growth: why the divergence?  – by New Deal democrat My recent travels included visits to cousins and their children on both sides of my family. Without any prompting from me, inevitably the table talk turned to the state of the economy. Rather than Bigfoot the opinions of my relatives, I decided to sit back and listen until they were all done before I weighed in. The most...

This will be a long boring post amplifying on my slogan “asymptotically we will all be dead.” I assert that asymptotic theory and asymptotic approximations have nothing useful to contribute to the study of statistics. I therefore reject that vast bul of mathematical statistics as absolutely worthless. To stress the positive, I think useful work is done with numerical simulations — monte carlos in which pseudo data are generated with pseudo...

Gabriel Boric Is Struggling to Boost Chile’s Meager Pensions, Jacobin, Phineas Ruekert. Dale Coberly on Social Security: Not so long ago (2003) the Liars who want to destroy Social Security in America were bragging about the privatized pension system adopted by Chile.  Many of those liars commented on my posts on AB.  Here is an update. This is what Chile’s great privatized pension system looks like today. Jacobin’s Phineas Rueckert: Zuñiga is...

I believe Angry Bear has touched upon Right to Work several times now; here, here, and now today. This brief touches upon RTW laws damaging state economies. Data show anti-union ‘right-to-work’ laws damage state economies: As Michigan’s repeal takes effect, New Hampshire should continue to reject ‘right-to-work’ legislation, Economic Policy Institute, Jennifer Sherer and Elise Gould, February 20, 2025 Key findings: Data show that...

This is a tough issue if it is the employer. By that I mean, you may have to put up with it if the economy is poor and jobs are few. I have run into similar situations. When the economy turns around, I left. Just said my good-byes and left. No incriminating remarks as to why I left as it may do no good. Indeed, someone from a company may ask them about you and your remarks about the former employer may come back to haunt you. When it involves...

Other than among Jehovah’s Witnesses, vaccination rightly gained widespread trust and acceptance in America. Innoculation against smallpox was around for hundreds of years before Jenner described the eponymous vaccine. Polio was a scourge in the US through the 1950s until it was virtually eliminated by vaccination. Many deadly diseases like whooping cough and measles were all but elimated in my lifetime through vaccination.Now, thanks to rank...

Weekly Indicators for February 12 – 16 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat I am back from my travels, so it’s time to catch up. There’s no significant economic news until tomorrow, but in the meantime I neglected to link to my weekly high frequency indicator wrap-up, which was posted at Seeking Alpha. As usual, if you haven’t already done so, clicking over and reading will bring you up to the virtual minute on the economic data and...

What’s Medicare’s secret sauce for controlling costs? The agency sets provider prices. It’s still the prices, stupid, GoozNews, Merrill Goozner, Sept. 7, 2023 AB: What is fun is my being able to talk to these guys and exchange thoughts. Then I bring them to Angry Bear. Kind of under the weather yesterday and today. Got the chills and a headache. The Times’ Upshot columnists weighed in on Labor Day on a subject I’ve written about extensively...

Some history While debating the original Post Office Act, Alexander Hamilton and others argued the post should support itself and make money for the rest of the government. Others, including George Washington and James Madison, didn’t seem to care whether it turned a profit. Jonathan Trumbull, the speaker of the House of Representatives in 1792, observed that having the post subsidize the circulation of periodicals would be “among the surest means...

Read a couple of articles this morning. One by Slate and the other by Newsweek. Sneezing away here and not feeling up to par. I am not going to post them here. Just too long, even if I made the print smaller. My perspective? I thought they were both good. Maybe you will think differently. There is sense of evil in both of the articles. Ivanka Trump Instagram: The former adviser to the president has slipped back into her rose-colored bubble,...