The Angry Bear

Is investment spending “spending,” or isn’t it? Steve Roth (@ Wealth Economics) J.M. Keynes’ brief Preface to the French edition of General Theory is sometimes held up as the most concise, cogent, and coherent expression of his economic understandings. It achieves that, but in doing so it also reveals a core incoherence in that thinking. An obligatory nod here to the importance of many pieces of Keynes’ thinking, notably the rather...

Initial claims remain positive  – by New Deal democrat Initial jobless claims declined this week -8,000 to 212,000. The four week average rose 5,750 to 218,250. With the typical one-week lag, continuing claims rose 30,000 to 1.865 million: On the more important (for forecasting purposes) YoY basis, initial claims are down -1.9%. The four week average is up 5.4%. Continuing claims are up 10.3%: Initial claims indicate continued...

Dale Coberly lead-in to his discussion on Social Security is something which has been debated back and forth by politicians, those who wish to cut it, those who seek to end it, and those who have done all of the above such as Andrew Biggs. Social Security for the today’s elderly and those who will retire in the future can be fixed rather inexpensively. Dale, Bruce, and Arne etc. have argued the points extensively on Angry Bear. Dale has given me...

Andrew Biggs knows small incremental increases in SS withholding would resolve any shortfall. The plan presented by Dale Coberly is such and it was agreed up by the Social Security administration as workable. This has been a long running back and forth with Andrew Biggs whose only plan is cuts in Social Security and its demise. Dale and Bruce held a back and forth with Andrew Biggs here: Notes on Social Security Reform: Responding to Angry Bear:...

I get quite a few commentaries on healthcare and also announcements. I thought I would follow Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs site for a while. I can vouch for the lower cost drugs I use are close to what Mark’s business is citing. If anyone see one of these drugs is of a lesser cost, please check Mark Cuban’s “Cost Plus Drugs” site for accuracy. The latest . . . Homepage of Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs Mark announces Cost Plus Drugs has added...

The long leading forecast for 2024 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat A couple of times a year I update my long leading forecast. With the latest GDP and Senior Loan Officer Survey data, there is enough to take a look at what the next 12 months probably have in store. This article is up at Seeking Alpha.  Below, a brief Introduction of what New Deal democrat is featuring. As usual, a very well detailed article by NDd. The Long...

Justice Clarence Thomas asked why there weren’t more examples of states disqualifying candidates under the 14th Amendment after the Civil War. There have been and I am confident Clarence knows this. Rather than face the issue of who can disqualify trump, Clarence chose a moment when he can shine by asking a question and then insisting it be answered. Indeed, he is probably the weakest justice on the SCOTUS bench. Last line, Section 3 of the...

It never ends as commercial interests keep trying to horn in on healthcare for the old geezers like myself. Except, it is not person related healthcare. It is related to the size of your wallet. More on Medicare Advantage by Jake Johnson at Common Dreams. ~~~~~~~~ A right-wing coalition’s proposal to make Medicare Advantage the default enrollment option would be a “clear handout to the private insurance industry,” said one critic. ‘Hell No’:...

Eleven* Years of #ACA Medicaid Expansion in One Image, ACA Signups, Charles Gaba I just posted a colorful graph which tracked ACA Qualified Health Plan (QHP) enrollment over eleven years of Open Enrollment Periods. Below I’ve done the same thing for ACA Medicaid Expansion. The data comes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services quarterly Medicaid Budget & Expenditure System reports. *Unfortunately, the MBES reports only...

January 2024 consumer inflation: still a tug of war between gas and housing  – by New Deal democrat As it has been for going on two years, consumer inflation has boiled down to a contest of strength between energy (mainly gasoline), which peaked in June 2022 and roughed in June 2023, and housing, which peaked in early 2023 and has been gradually disinflating since. The headlines, as you presumably already know, are that total inflation rose...