The Angry Bear

A bit of a rewrite on this article. Still a little too long. Talking about railroads, the East Palestine derailment February 2023 crash and how little has been done since then. Outside interests including Koch Industries have been blocking much needed reform through their lobbying of friendly resources in Congress. A good read. Last year’s toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, prompted new legislation with the aim of making railways...

Real incomes and Presidential approval: most measures did not surpass pre-pandemic levels until 2023, or this year!  – by New Deal democrat This post is somewhat of a follow-up to one I wrote two weeks ago, about perceptions of income vs. inflation, as well as following up on yesterday’s post considering the electoral implications of the current economy. It’s a truism – if certainly an oversimplification – that people vote their pocketbook....

A bit behind here as other things have distracted me in AZ. Health being one of them. A double dose of excellent reviews of the economy today. If there is one commentary (if you are rushed) on Angry Bear you should read concerning the economy, it is NDd’s reporting. Spending and Unemployment are in the early commentary today. Not sure what NDd has in store for later. The economy and employment are in far better shape after the pandemic than what...

The USPS Network Consolidation Plan: What’s at Stake for Southern Oregon, Save the Post Office, Steve Hutkins In 2023, two years into the 10-year plan, USPS reported that the agency had committed $7.6 billion out of a total $40 billion restructuring budget and plans were on track to open 60 new Regional Processing and Distribution Centers across the country in the coming years. Through this consolidation plan, many postal processing and...

Tuberville is a politician who campaigned to overturned Joe Biden’s electoral win over Donald Trump in 2020. He further displays his ignorance by advocating the Big Lie since the election of Joe Biden. He has some taken some controversial stances such as climate change denialism and repealing the ACA. The news media calls stances by Tuberville to be controversial. Well, it is controversial and silly too. He does not represent Alabama in a positive...

Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to democracy, the rule of law, and to basic rights and human decency.  It is hard to see how anyone could deny this.  Trump encouraged violence and fraud to remain in power after he lost the 2020 election.  He continues to insist that he won the election, despite losing in court over and over, even in front of judges that he appointed.  In his campaign for re-election, he has emphasized revenge against his...

Another site has a long article on Toyota of it not going whole hog into electric vehicles in the beginning. Meanwhile domestic US automotive companies are proving out the technology with their models. Beyond mentioning the article, I will not delve into its content. That is other than saying it exists and may be a good read. To me, staying with Hybrids is a sound decision by Toyota. Wait till the technology is proven with EVs before jumping into...

Millions of People Who Could Benefit from Obamacare Don’t Because They Don’t Know About It, and Neither Does the New York Times Center for Economic and Policy Research, Dean Baker. I and others have written about the PPACA multiple times over since it came out and has been improved repeatedly since its introduction. Lets start with the subsidy cliff which was at 400% FPL. President Biden changed the law on it allowing higher incomes to receive...

Infidel753, A ray of hope from the grassroots, Infidel753 Blog Mid-December commentary by Infidel753 as taken from his site as known by the same title. Much of the intensity of political polarization in the US comes from a strangely mirror-image-like pair of personal-freedom issues — abortion rights and gun rights.  In each case one side, or rather its most militant exponents, is grimly determined to attack and destroy what the other side...

Manufacturing and construction show softness to start the month  – by New Deal democrat As usual, the new month’s data starts out with information on manufacturing and construction. The ISM manufacturing index has been a good leading indicator in that sector for 75 years. The difference over time, especially the last 20 years, is that manufacturing makes up a smaller share of the total US economy. As a result, even though it has almost...