The Angry Bear

Sailing Alone by Richard J. King Reviewed by one-handed economist David Zetland I read this 2023 book by Richard J. King on the recommendation of LS. It’s all about those sailors who take to the sea alone, with only wind (or muscle power). It’s about the mental and physical challenges, and how technology and society have added or (mostly) subtracted from them. I thought the book was insightful. It definitely convinced me that sailing...

 – by New Deal democrat There’s no big economic news today or tomorrow, so let’s take a more detailed look at the leading indicators from Friday’s jobs report. It turns out, the news wasn’t nearly as bad as the headline employment number. Let’s start with the negative stuff. The simple story is, manufacturing is in a funk. Employment in manufacturing declined -24,000, which is tied for a two-year low. Meanwhile, trucking employment declined...

Suppose that you wake up tomorrow and discover that a sadistic alien has turned you into an economist.  You are just getting over your shock at your new predicament (“How will I make friends?  Will anyone ever trust me again?  At least I’m not a lawyer.”) when Kamala Harris, responding to voter concerns about inflation, makes a vague statement in favor of government restrictions on the price of groceries.  It just so happens that you have a...

I found this report on Health Affairs a day or so ago. It was long and I spent the last two days condensing it so it could be presented and read on Angry Bear. Briefly, the author(s) detailed four main prices which consist of a List Price, an Out-of-Pocket Price, Insurer’s responsibility price, and the Negotiated price once all rebates are accounted. Exhibit 1 is a quicky study to understand how the authors arrived at the breakdown. Also detailed is...

By Garry George Audubon The goal of conservation is to protect biodiversity and prevent species from disappearing. We often associate this work with the maintenance of natural areas, but Audubon’s science shows that bird populations are feeling impacts of climate change even in protected places like wildlife refuges. As just one example, Burrowing Owls are projected to lose 14% of their current range if the average global temperature increases...

I did some rewriting on this particular commentary and added two charts from another commentary (at the bottom). The point being to give graphical depiction of the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and who it benefited the most. You can see (for whatever reason) why the Republican Party is pushing for this and taking it from Medicaid. You can also wonder why less wealthy Republicans making far less than the major beneficiaries are not up in...

 – by New Deal democrat My “Weekly Indicators” post is up at Seeking Alpha. In the wake of yesterday’s weak jobs report, bond yields and mortgage rates declined to 12 months+ lows, commodities declined across the board, stocks sold off sharply, and the 10 years to 2-year Treasury spread un-inverted. That’s bad news and good news. It’s bad news because it indicates a belief that the economy has weakened substantially, but good news because...

Interesting and brief piece by Dean Baker of CEPR in relation to price gouging. There continues to be a debate about the extent to which “price-gouging” or “greedflation” has been responsible for the rise in prices since the pandemic. We can debate the extent to which companies were able to take advantage of monopoly power during the pandemic. Whatever the cause, it is clear the profit share of corporate income has risen from before the pandemic...

If this is going to be a close election between trump and Kamala Harris, I will be surprised, Trump just keeps babbling away with his commentaries. Taken from the reports I have read, the audience coming out to hear him speak, have been leaving early. The more desperate trump gets, the more he babbles. It will be interesting to see who shows up for the debate. The babbler or a thinking (if such can be done) trump. Enoy the read. September...

The one element we lack at Angry Bear is regular woman commenters and/or a woman writer. I have searched and asked. Explained it does take time and you are exposed to silly or rude comments. It is a different perspective coming from women. A perspective I can not present. Angry Bear has Annie’s permission to present her words at Angry Bear. This is a good commentary by Annie as taken from her site “annieasksyou.” Looking Toward Tuesday’s...