The Angry Bear

In my lingo, existing home sales still down and mortgage rates for new homes still high. Builders are doing what they can do to encourage sales. New Deal democrat gives a clearer view and a hint of an outcome. Read on . . . Existing home sales try to find a bottom, while severe bifurcation with new home market continues  – by New Deal democrat Existing home sales rose 3,000 on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis in November. They are...

J.P. asks AI to summarize their discussion on better government from the other day. J.P. McJefferson: “Chatting With AI On Better Government,” jpmcjefferson.blogspot.com. ME (J.P.) This discussion we’ve been having is somewhat long and detailed. I’m afraid people may not have the time to read it all. Do you think there is any way you could summarize this in about 300 words? ChatGPT Certainly! Here’s a concise summary of the (earlier)...

Parts of the Mexican border are already closed due to the influx of migrants. Puerto Peñasco or Rocky Point and Lukeville crossing, Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, San Ysidro, etc. and several rail crossings. Reader Jim Han offered up a Thom Hartmann commentary suggesting Dems take the deal Repubs are offering up. Thom also points the finger at Repub commentary claiming a Biden policy opened southern borders to all who can get to it. Not true...

Housing under construction continues to levitate  – by New Deal democrat Although they aren’t the most leading of housing metrics, because of supply-chain issues during the pandemic, housing units under construction has been the most important one, because they represent the actual economic activity of construction. With the exception of 2001, which was an investment-led downturn, they also have always turned down significantly before a...

Evey day, I get an array of emails in my In-Box offering up articles or what they think can be interesting reads. Some are hawking subscriptions too. I like to subscribe to news letters and magazines. The problem being, I never get a chance to finish them all. Law Why the Supreme Court rejected a case about LGBTQ+ conversion therapy bans, slate.com, Dahlia Lithwick and Joseph Stern. SCOTUS refused to take up Tingley v. Ferguson, a First...

December 17, 2023, Letters from an American, Prof. Heather Cox Richardson It seems that former president Donald Trump is aligning his supporters with a global far-right movement to destroy democracy.  On Saturday, in Durham, New Hampshire, Trump echoed Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s attacks on immigrants, saying they are “poisoning the blood of our country”—although two of his three wives were immigrants—and quoted Russian president Vladimir...

Have wages “really” increased since before the pandemic?  – by New Deal democrat All of the remaining 2023 data – housing sales and construction, and personal income and spending, as well as the Index of Leading Indicators – will be reported this week. After Christmas, only initial claims will be reported next week. Today there is no significant data. But over the weekend, a little tiff erupted on another site that I read, about whether real...

Bruce Webb introduced the Social Security Northwest Plan in 2009.  He credited Arne and Dale as co-authors.  The NW Plan only increases payroll taxes if increases are needed.  For years before 2009 Bruce had confidence that forecasts were too pessimistic, but he was convinced by Arne to consider a plan that included triggers.  Arne’s solution was overly complicated, but Dale Coberly showed that a permanent solution could be had by simply increasing...

Dale Coberly discusses an article written by Andrew Biggs “No, Social Security Isn’t ‘Earned’,” WSJ [Dear reader: this is very long. It had to be to refute all the claims made by the author of the WSJ op ed.  You don’t have to read it if you don’t want to, or all of it, or all in one sitting.  But I hope it will help you understand the truth about how Social Security works.] I read an article the other day [December 8] in the Wall Street...

J.P. at J.P. McJefferson blog took up a rather interesting conversation with AI/ChatGPT. J.P. McJefferson: Chatting With AI On Better Government, jpmcjefferson.blogspot.com. ME What ideas do you have for improving U.S. governmental decision-making? ChatGPT Improving U.S. governmental decision-making is a multifaceted challenge that involves addressing various aspects of the political process. Here are some ideas that could contribute...