Tag Archives: Hot Topics

Initial claims: yellow caution flag turns more orange  – by New Deal democrat Initial claims, which were one of the most positive indicators of all last year, have turned darker in the last several months, and are edging closer to triggering their recession warning levels. Claims were unchanged at a revised 264,000 last week, the highest level in over 18 months. The more important 4 week average rose 8,500 to 255,750. Continuing claims, with...

This commentary is along the lines of what I have been taught when I was consulting with Ingersoll Engineers in Rockford and which is now extinct. My background includes manufacturing planning at all levels domestically and internationally for US and foreign companies. Labor’s wages are a small part of the Cost of Manufacturing, etc. Spencer England and I went round and round on this topic. Manufacturing, Inventory and Throughput planning was my...

Much like Kip Sullivan in Minnesota/PNHP who Angry Bear has featured, Kay Tillow of Kentucky is a Single Payer activist. You will find Kip saying similar things about Medicare Advantage, etc. And we are all a little bit different attempting to reach the same goals . . . preventing the privatization of Medicare and achieving Single Payer. Kay’s article appeared on Common Dreams. I have added some things to her article and emphasized some points I...

Real wage growth leads spending; meaning spending seems likely to stall after an increase over the next few months  – by New Deal democrat No big economic news today, so I wanted to pick up on a subject I began a week ago Monday; namely, taking a detailed look at personal spending, i.e., consumption. To put it in more socially relevant terms, what allows average American households to spend more, or to cut back? And what are its ramifications...

Housing under construction increases back close to record; good economic news, but ammunition for a hawkish Fed  – by New Deal democrat Last month I wrote that “the Fed’s sledgehammer attempt via one of the most aggressive rate hike campaigns in its history appears to be on the verge of failure. That’s because housing construction, more than a year after the Fed started its campaign, is not meaningfully cooperating.” This month’s report did...

The death of Daniel Ellsberg on Friday reminded me of his contribution to economics and his influence on my own thinking. In 1987, I was at Cornell, beginning an abortive PhD candidacy. In one of my courses there was an assigned reading on decision theory by Leonard Savage. One of the footnotes referred to an article by “Daniel Ellsberg” and I naturally wondered if it was the same Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame. “Risk, Ambiguity and the...

A comment on Juneteenth; and what I’ll be looking for in tomorrow’s housing report  – by New Deal democrat That Juneteenth is a national holiday ought to be a full rebuttal to those who think that teaching the entirety of American history, including its worst moments, is somehow an insult to the majority. That enslavement was finally ended by the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment is something that all present-day Americans ought...

As American Jews, at what point do we stop to assess the collateral damage that the coalescence of crippling student loan debt and the advancement of AI in all facets of the economy will have on America’s working and middle class? Student Loan Debt, AI and the Extinction of the American Middle Class, jewishjournal.com, Lisa Ansell As millions of student loan borrowers are forced back to repayment on September 1, the Biden Administration will...

Image of tractor and workers spraying is used courtesy of Getty Images. Originally published June 30, 1962, the book Silent Spring was banned initially. It was met with great resistance by many. Carson was advocating a more careful use of the pesticide. Instead, DDT was banned from any use. Globally, other countries followed suit. And the deaths from malaria increased again. Fortunately, more disciplined minds prevailed in the use of DDT....

Weekly Indicators for June 12 – 16 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. Stocks are really buying the “soft landing” scenario, rising to repeated 12 month+ highs, apparently anticipating that corporate profits will be off to the races again. Meanwhile, when we look at consumer spending, which is 70% of the economy, restaurant reservations, which are one of the easiest things for...