The Angry Bear

I received an e-mail from Kaiser Permanente with a link to click. I clicked the link and learned that Kaiser Permanente (KP) has libeled me. Below see a definite assertion of fact. KP definitely asserts that I have ignored my legal obligations (the required DPT vaccination — I will not present proof on this point here — might as well admit it). KP’s accusation is false. KP did not perform due or any diligence. I assert that KP’s conduct is a...

December real retail sales: the worst in almost two years  – by New Deal democrat Real retail sales, one of my favorite indicators, was updated this morning for December, and it was significant. It’s not just that retail sales declined -1.1% for the month both in nominal and real terms; it’s that both October and November were revised downward by -0.2% and -0.4% respectively, so the ultimate number is considerably worse than would otherwise...

“Job Market’s 2.6 Million Missing People Unnerves Star Harvard Economist,” (msn.com), Ben Steverman  Originally in a comment in this post Discussion on Solutions to Social Security, Angry Bear. The number I had originally calculated was ~2.6 million people joining the Civilian Labor Force. I had said: Since you addressed me, what group is dropping out of the Civilian Labor Force? “To get back to what the Participation Rate was in 2020, 2.0...

Why the Fed’s present rate hike campaign is almost unprecedented – by New Deal democrat Just how unprecedented is the Fed’s current rate hike policy? Since the Fed started actively managing the Fed Funds rate in the late 1950s, only two other occasions are similar. The reason the Fed is hiking rates is to combat inflation. But, as I have pointed out in the past, the post-pandemic Boom is very similar to the immediate post-WW2 Boom. In 1947...

Illumed, Illusion, Ill used one Another commentary done in a unique style by a former Slate commenter Weldon Berger. I had read about the Walgreen’s shoplifting media frenzy elsewhere. If you have been in a Walgreens, you have probably seen the cameras in the ceiling, wide open aisles, “Sparsely Illumed,” Weldon Berger, Bad Crow Review (substack.com) _____________________________________________________ “Where’s the hammer?”...

The important trend in retail sales that Redbook’s weekly report is telling us about  – by New Deal democrat This is the first of hopefully two posts I will put up today. Tomorrow retail sales for December will be reported. In advance of that, I wanted to discuss their comparison with the weekly high-frequency data of Redbook consumer sales, which I have been paying heightened attention to in the past several months. Here is what Redbook...

“GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson Throws Ridiculous Shit Fit Over the Prospect of Losing Gas Stove,” Vanity Fair, Bess Levin I can remember when someone else said something else along the lines of: I’ll give you my gun when you pry (or take) it from my cold, dead hands.” Charleton Heston In his own unoriginal words . . . “If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands. COME AND TAKE IT!!.’” Ronny...

COVID endemicity: 100,000+ (mainly needless) excess deaths per year – by New Deal democrat I suspect these updates are going to be much less frequent from now on; for example, if a significant new wave is evident.  That’s because, as we start our fourth year of the pandemic, the good news is that it is far less lethal than it was during its first two years. From March 2020 through March 2021, 500,000 Americans died of Covid. Another 500,000...

“Open Thread January 6, 2023,” Angry Bear, angry bear blog

by David Zetland (originally published at The one handed economist) I had heard of Douglass, but man oh man, I had no idea of his brilliance. His “Composite Nation” speech is full of wisdom and hope, offering a path to that “shining city on a hill” that Americans have had such a hard time reaching — mostly due to a desire to preserve “tradition” over “progress.” (Listen to this Malcolm Gladwell episode on a segregationist in the 1970s — a...