The Angry Bear

 – by New Deal democrat The second point of economic data released this morning, retail sales, were also positive. On a nominal basis, retail sales in July rose 1.0%. After adjusting for inflation, they rose 0.8% to the highest level so far this year. The below graph norms both real retail sales (dark blue) and the similar measure of real personal consumption of goods (light blue) to 100 as of just before the pandemic: Since the end of...

I like Bernie Sanders for many reasons, but this isn’t one of them:“As a result of those challenges, Sanders wants to see more Democrats vocally get behind measures like . . . removing the cap on Social Security taxation so the wealthy pay a full share of their income into the program.”This is a mistake. SS benefits are capped like taxes, so if you lift the cap on taxes and don’t lift the cap on benefits, SS becomes welfare instead of insurance.Look,...

by Ten Bears Homeless on the High Desert, August 9, 2024 in g’da said Fifty Years Ago last night, Aug 8th, President Nixon shocked the country & the world in a lengthy address at 9pm est where he announced his resignation, effective the next day. It felt like the system was working. But I’m not sure it was We dropped the ball, my generation, we stopped The War! Our War. Viet Nam But we didn’t stop War. We forced Nixon to...

by Andrew Sprung xpostfactoid Brian Blase, a conservative healthcare scholar at the Paragon Institute, is out with an analysis of 2024 ACA marketplace enrollment (summarized in this WSJ op-ed) claiming that millions of enrollees have mis-estimated their incomes to claim benefits to which they are “not entitled.” Here are the core claims: In nine states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,...

Workers across the US rally after string of heat-related deaths. Grist This story was originally published by Grist. Ayurella Horn-MullerFor the last two years, Cecilia Ortiz has worked as a passenger service agent at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. She typically has to walk 10 to 15 miles a day, up and down ramps, pushing heavy wheelchairs and carrying passengers’ luggage. This summer, temperatures have reached over 110 degrees Fahrenheit...

 – by New Deal democrat Last week I pointed out that the YoY increases in initial and continuing jobless claims appeared to be all about Texas in the wake of Beryl. This week there was good news even with some continued hurricane Beryl effects in Texas. Initial claims declined -7,000 to 227,000 for the week, while the 4-week average declined -4,500 to 236,500. Continuing claims with the typical one-week delay declined -7,000 to 1.864 million:...

Apparently, JD Vance thinks so.*Not to go all anecdotal here, but in 1981, I bought my first car, a brand-new Mazda GLC hatchback, for $5770. In 2024 dollars, that’s $20,000. It had no radio, no air conditioning and no passenger-side sun visor. My most recent car purchase was a 2013 Honda Fit four-door, which I bought for $15,000. It has a radio and CD player, cruise control, air conditioning, front and side-door air bags and both driver- and...

by Heather Cox Richardson Letters from an American AB: More dialogue on the less than 3% increase in inflation. The July report for consumer prices from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which came out today, showed that prices rose less than 3% in the previous twelve months. Core inflation has fallen to its lowest rate since April 2021. For well over a year, wages have grown faster than inflation. President Joe Biden cheered the news but...

AB: Run down on the Trump – Musk Get Together by Bill Kristol I’m grateful to Andrew for listening to Donald Trump and Elon Musk last night and sparing me that unpleasantness. But I did listen to some of the clips this morning. Here’s my take: Trump’s awful. This is, I acknowledge, not breaking news. Trump’s awfulness has been so obvious for so long, and we now take it so much for granted, that it seems silly or gauche to point it...

Workers are getting $3/hour. Usually, we tip well beyond 20% of the bill. Maybe it is just because we struggled at times. Some of AZ’s legislators should be working for $3/hour and getting tips if they do a good job in the legislature. It does not appear they are representing people. The last go around I sat through was a House Committee meeting on HOAs which in Arizona are big business. One Rep did not like it when I said during the meeting his...