I believe that I have caught a typographical error in the New York Times. The article is interesting, it alleges that Taylor Swift fans may decide the Argentinian presidential runoff (voting for the center left Sergio Massa and not for the right wing Javier Milie). A pop singer with actual measurable political influence (in a foreign country even) makes me think of the 70s as does Javier Milie’s hairstyle (longish, tousled, & with sideburns...
Read More »October jobs report: more deceleration, in the weakest report (except for June’s) since March 2021
New Deal democrat’s October Jobs report is again featured at Angry Bear. You can also pick-up the September 2023 Jobs Report from the link at the end of this report. This is the most complete monthly review on Unemployment Rate, average hourly earnings (minus management), which way job growth or decline is going, and a summary. NDd also writes at Seeking Alpha and does a Weekly Indicator Report there also. He has been writing at Angry Bear for a few...
Read More »Freight and people shouldn’t mix on the roads
I agree with Lloyd’s dad Gabe and also Lloyd. Big trucks including construction vehicles exceed the speed limit. Their weight does not enable them to stop in short distances. The results of a collision with automobiles is catastrophic with people in cars being seriously injured or dying. The volumes being moved long distances are better served by rail to nearby land ports and off loaded to short haul trucks. This is what mostly occurs with loads...
Read More »Illegal immigration and Social Security/Medicare
In a previous post, I mentioned an effective way to curtail illegal immigration—require all employees to be screened through E-Verify—and some reasons why it won’t be adopted. Another disincentive to deterring illegal immigration is that it subsidizes Social Security and Medicare:“ . . . illegal immigrants as a group are net contributors who partially pay into the trust funds while receiving little in return, but amnesty would transform them into net...
Read More »Initial Jobless claims: were the recent lows just unresolved seasonality after all?
Initial claims: were the recent lows just unresolved seasonality after all? – by New Deal democrat Initial jobless claims rose 5,000 to a 7 week high of 217,000 this week. The 4 week moving average rose 2,000 to 210,000 from its 9 month low of 208,000 last week. With the usual one week delay, continuing claims continued their recent sharp ascent, up 35,000 to 1.818 million. Aside from 2 weeks in April, this is the highest level of continuing...
Read More »Financial Engineering’s Impact on Hospitals and Healthcare Delivery
This is a smaller version of a larger article in The Atlantic. I believe I have captured all of the issues needing to be presented. A hospital’s delivery of healthcare is more than just profit-taking to which the big firms invest their money. With the involvement of private equity firms buying up hospital chains, the hospitals are being squeezed for their returns, saddled with debt, and leaving a shell of what was worst then before. Along the way, a...
Read More »September JOLTS report shows continued deceleration in all trends – except layoffs
September JOLTS report shows continued deceleration in all trends – except layoffs – by New Deal democrat All of the major metrics in last month’s JOLTS report for August improved, most slightly, but the decelerating trend continued. In this morning’s report for September, that trend continued, as most of the metrics improved or declined very slightly, but the trends remained intact. Here are openings (blue), hires (red), and voluntary...
Read More »Getting serious about illegal immigration
I see where the latest gambit by House Republicans is to tie Ukraine aid to immigration “reform.” Setting aside the fact that aid to Ukraine is, like most foreign aid, a subsidy for US business, the linkage to immigration is a red herring. All the current approaches are failing, are doomed, and are a waste of taxpayer money, something the GOP pretends to care about.I’ve long held that the solution to most undocumented immigration is to reduce...
Read More »The new month of data begins: residential construction positive, job openings negative, and manufacturing mixed
The new month of data begins: residential construction positive, job openings negative, and manufacturing mixed – by New Deal democrat As usual, the monthly data started out with reports on the two most important production sectors of the economy, namely manufacturing (for October) and construction (for September). Additionally, the JOLTS jobs survey for September was released. I am going to do more detailed reports on both JOLTS and...
Read More »Medical Debt Is Killing Patients who Deny Costly Healthcare
Emergency Physician and Pennsylvania state representative Arvind Venkat, MD has a detail story to tell about the impact of healthcare upon patients who can not afford the insurance, or are under insured, and opt to deny healthcare. And most can not afford the payments resulting from Medical Debt. This is a good plan and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on a “bipartisan vote” supported it. Medical Debt Is Killing Our Patients | MedPage...
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