Tag Archives: Hot Topics

I believe the decision has already be made. The US is in for both issues be it the Southern Border or Ukraine.. This is something I played with in February 2024. It was long then and it is not shorter today. I did add two graphs which help make my point. The US and Mexican borders are not open. And with the aid of Mexico, the border crossing have become more difficult. Keep in mind one other factor. The Fertility Rate is about 1.62. To...

Having to file with the VA for issues resulting from being stationed at Camp Lejeune, I can see why such a maneuver by Koch Industries is frustrating. GP is attempting to avoid all responsibility. At least, the VA will hear you out. Then take their time deciding. One family friend (Marine) had to file three times before the VA accepted his claim. He died shortly afterwards. Georgia-Pacific’s Asbestos Trust Fund Opposed by Senators by Devin...

More People Moved Farther Away from City Centers Since Covid-19 by Lindsay Spell and Marc Perry CENSUS.Gov I guess people did not like the threat of catching Covid in crowded areas so they are going to the suburbs. Even if they are in less populous areas, they still will have to get the vaccines and distance themselves. ~~~~~~~~ In a possible sign of the COVID-19 pandemic’s lasting impact, the country’s fastest-growing places are...

 – by New Deal democrat The FHFA and Case Shiller repeat sales indexes are the last home sales and price data for the month. Two months ago I wrote that “for the next seven months the comparisons will be against an average 0.7% increase per month in 2023. Because house price indexes have shown a demonstrated lead over shelter costs as measured in the CPI, if present trends continue, as these YoY comparisons drop out, the YoY deceleration in OER...

Let’s be very clear: in vitro fertilization (IVF) results in far more zygotes than will ever be implanted. Further, pre-implantation testing means that some zygotes will be rejected. In the end, this means that millions of fertilized eggs will be discarded. That was always baked in the IVF cake. For reasons that escape me as a PhD geneticist, some people believe that the cluster of cells that we call “zygotes” are the moral equivalent of a fully...

This is kind of an interesting story. The former Surgeon General to Trump is complaining about his ER bill after walking up the 2700 foot high Camelback mountain in AZ. Done it. That is not a high climb. I suspect the heat and insufficient water or hydration did him in. The other point is he is complaining about a healthcare bill. This is the man who had the president’s ear. I doubt he brought up the cost of healthcare to trump once. As far as a...

 – by New Deal democrat Yesterday I discussed how virtually the entire issue of inflation remaining above the Fed’s target was the housing sector. Let me start today’s post where I left off yesterday: namely, that the net level of divergence between total headline inflation and shelter inflation of 1.15% is one of the highest such divergences in history, and the longest such big divergence. Here again is the graph: Today I want to discuss...

 by Elise Gould EPI Average hourly wage growth has exceeded inflation for 12 straight months, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data released this morning. This real (or inflation-adjusted) wage growth is a key indicator of how well the average worker’s wage can improve their standard of living. As inflation continues to normalize, I’m optimistic more workers will experience real gains in their purchasing power. The dark blue line...

 – by New Deal democrat With this week’s inflation report for April, we can update several measures of the real economic status of average American workers, as well as their forecast for further job and economic gains. First, here is real average hourly wages for nonsupervisory workers. In April, nominal average wages increased 0.2%. Since consumer inflation increased 0.3%, real nonsupervisory wages declined -0.1%, the third monthly decline in...

I was a graduate student in a STEM program when Reagan was elected and the Laffer curve was used to justify tax cuts. The problem that immediately stood out to me at the time was that neither the ordinate nor the abscissa in the Laffer graph had scales, so it was impossible to assess where, exactly, the inflection point occurred. Based on the symmetrical drawing, we’re meant to infer that a 50% tax rate is the point after which government revenue...