The Angry Bear

I am not sure what AB Commenters and readers see on TV, in the news, or on the blogosphere. The news I am reading is surreal. I keep hoping we wakeup from this nightmare and things are normal again. Then too, what is normal? One more event date to experience past January 6th, the inauguration. Will trump even attend, will he leave quietly, or will we still experience more raucous behavior? Trump going golfing on inauguration day would be nice....

November construction spending confirms building surge One of my consistent themes in the past few months has been how the housing market is priming the economy for strong growth in 2021 as soon as the pandemic is brought under control. In that vein, November construction spending surged, confirming what we have already been seeing in housing permits and starts. First of all, here are both total and residential construction spending for the...

Each week, Dan puts up an Open Thread post for people to use to discuss topics not related to posts. “Redundant alert,” off-topic comments or subjects to posts can be discussed in the Open Threads. The rules are the same for hateful, discriminatory, etc. comments on an Open Thread. Don’t do it or you will be trashed or tossed into “spam.” We do not see everything written. If we miss it, take a moment and let us know directly rather than...

During the call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger , Trump cited a number of voting fraud – conspiracy theories. The State of Georgia Voting System Implementation manager, Gabriel Sterling debunked each theory as being inaccurate or false on Monday afternoon, January 4th. Its Monday and speaking in front of a poster that had many of the debunked claims Trump mentioned, Sterling starts off; “It’s whack-a-mole again, it’s...

Weekly Indicators for December 28 – January 1 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. In a sparse data environment, it continues to stand out how surprisingly well – under the circumstances – the economy is doing, and how primed it is to really take off once the pandemic is brought under control. As usual, clicking over and reading brings you up to the virtual moment, and puts a penny or...

Even More Questions What is capital?What power does capital have when invested in machinery, lands, agricultural improvements, etc.?What happens to individuals when they have experienced the accumulative power of money?

Because it had always been that way, none could think differently. From time immortal, labor was that what did much of the work of production. There is now a generation, maybe two, on this earth, most of whom will never know labor; will seldom see it performed. The energy for their world will not come from the sweat of the back’s of coal miners. So, if it wasn’t (production = material + labor) what was the real equation for production? The input was...

History Professor Heather Cox Richardson at Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, Boston College writes a daily(?) news letter (Letters from an American) which she describes as; “a chronicle of today’s political landscape, but because you can’t get a grip on today’s politics without an outline of America’s Constitution, and laws, and the economy, and social customs, this newsletter explores what it means, and what it has meant, to be an American.”...

A Few Questions What constitutes the wealth of a nation?What is the source of all wealth and revenue?Does the method by which one receives income — whether wage, rent, profit or interest — indicate the ultimate source of the value represented by it? Do stores of money, machinery, manufactured goods or produce represent reserved surplus labour? ...

Final jobless claims of 2020 continue to show a lack of progress New jobless claims declined for the second week in a row this week, but are still significantly above their recent pandemic lows, while continuing claims, seasonally adjusted, once again made a new pandemic low. There is a sizable but by no means certain likelihood that December’s jobs number will be negative.On a unadjusted basis, new jobless claims declined by 31,736 to...