The Angry Bear

New Deal democrats Weekly Indicators for June 19 – 23 2023  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. When nothing dramatic is happening, high frequency information can be like watching paint dry. That’s where we are at the moment. The positives – like improving sentiment in the stock market – are still positive; and the negatives – like interest rates and mortgage applications – are still negative. And the...

If you have not noticed it, SCOTUS has been pushing back on states filing frivolous suits to which no harm has been done to them. They file these for whatever reasons they dream up, shop for district judges for approval, and then file to SCOTUS. Much of which is political. It could be to block another state, groups of people, or a person seeking redress. SCOTUS takes a limited number of cases per year (eighty-something and down from...

If you must know in order to understand why I would post this, I am a Vietnam era veteran. I use the VA healthcare system. I find the VA to be a valuable entity for all veterans. It goes beyond healthcare and provides help for education, buying a home, and other valuable services which would be costly to us if privatized. All of this I have used and found it to be valuable. American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein frequently...

Interesting national reports as detailed in Letters from an American. At least, I find them interestingto be redundant. Multiple topics passing in review. June 22, 2023, Letters from an American, Prof. Heather Cox Richardson Something Amazing for Drivers “To rebuild I-95 on time, we need 12 hours of dry weather to complete the paving and striping process,” Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor Josh Shapiro tweeted. “With rain in the forecast,...

About the time I was talking to USC’s Associate Director and Alan Collinge at the Student Loan Justice Facebook site, Michael “The Guardian” reporter was talking to students there about payback issues. Everyone is concerned about the startup of loan paybacks. It is a serious issue for most. ‘There’s no way I can pay it’: Americans dread restart of student loan payments, US student debt | The Guardian, Michael Sainato Many Americans are dreading...

Back to the basics: how do initial claims, total hours worked, aggregate real payrolls, and job growth relate?  – by New Deal democrat One of the most important reasons why big Fed rate hikes and big downturns in things like housing starts and credit provision haven’t translated into a recession this year (so far!) is the big decline in gas prices in the second half of last year. This big decline has translated into income and spending gains...

What is being offered up by 3M, etc. (NYT article below) is a pittance of what will be necessary to clean up lakes, wetlands associated with the lakes, rivers, and streams. I lived in Michigan. The reported contamination from PFAS, etc. there is massive and then there is a potential Lake Erie cleanup, the Niagara River, and into Lake Ontario. You can fish in Michigan lakes, etc. but they are advising not to eat the fish. Also areas near air force...

Arizona Opinion: There are lies, and there is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, tucson.com, Lisa Ansell and Christina Winton. USC Associate Director Lisa Ansell discusses the predicament Christina Winton is in with Loan forgiveness applied for after 10-years in public service and the foot dragging by the PSLF program to cancel her student loans. And then there is loan repayment scheduled to start again September 1 of this year....

Initial claims: yellow caution flag turns more orange  – by New Deal democrat Initial claims, which were one of the most positive indicators of all last year, have turned darker in the last several months, and are edging closer to triggering their recession warning levels. Claims were unchanged at a revised 264,000 last week, the highest level in over 18 months. The more important 4 week average rose 8,500 to 255,750. Continuing claims, with...

This commentary is along the lines of what I have been taught when I was consulting with Ingersoll Engineers in Rockford and which is now extinct. My background includes manufacturing planning at all levels domestically and internationally for US and foreign companies. Labor’s wages are a small part of the Cost of Manufacturing, etc. Spencer England and I went round and round on this topic. Manufacturing, Inventory and Throughput planning was my...