Tag Archives: politics

Quite a few things going on requiring some type of commentary. Trump can certainly get people going in different directions away from him. It is important to recognize these issues without losing sight of what Trump has done in stealing an election. Just a few things I have noticed in the news. DACA “But today, that shadow has been cast over some of our best and brightest young people once again. To target these young people is wrong – because they have...

The August jobs report smacked of late cycle deceleration As promised, here is my abbreviated and late take on this morning’s employment report. While the additions to temporary positions (a leading indicator for jobs overall), and construction, and manufacturing jobs were welcome, this report sure looked like late cycle deceleration. The YoY% growth in jobs – a very un-noisy metric – declined again slightly: The number of people not in the labor force...

Via the New York Times, William E. Forbath and Brishen Rogers write an op ed for Labor Day: A New Type of Labor Law for a New Type of Worker Labor Day was born in the late 19th century, during a time of raw fear about the path of economic development. Opportunities for decent, middle-class livelihoods seemed to be shrinking, and the “laboring classes” confronted a grim future of what many called wage slavery. Conservatives held most of the seats of power,...

Much of the coverage of this incident at a hospital in Utah write of ‘recent changes’ in the law concerning drawing blood, but that, as far as I can tell, was a year ago. Is that a recent change? Certainly not changed by an obscure agency or executive order. Perhaps this kind of optic will help drive home the need for a less fear based police protocols, or even explaining why the need is there in this situation. It also appears to present distinct...

Let Trump Continue To Fail To Appoint People There has been much moaning and wailing and gnashing of teeth by many commentators and politicians over the failure of President Donald Trump to appoint people to fill numerous now vacant positions within the executive branch of government, with the State Department often being put forward as one of many agencies with many empty chairs in official positions.  However, the other night I heard Lawrence O’Donnell...

Fairooz was detained after audibly laughing after Sen. Richard Shelby told senators at Sessions’ confirmation hearing that the then-Alabama senator had a record of “treating all Americans equally under the law.” That is laughable as Sessions is flying under the radar having learned you can not be so overt about racism and prejudice. Mind you, Desiree Fairooz did say something after Congressional Security start to remove her from the room. “Support civil...

by David Zetland (originally published at Aguanomics) Lead poisoning, gasoline lobbies and crime Most of you have probably heard how the residents of Flint, Michigan were exposed to unhealthy levels of lead in their water (actually, any level is considered unhealthy) due to political and managerial incompetence.* Then I read this article on the “lead-poisoned generations of New Orleans,” which pointed out two things. First, there’s a very heavy...

by David Zetland (originally published at Aguanomics) So what now, America? I was going to call this post “I told you so, America,” but I want to change people’s perspectives and motivate action more than be right. First of all, let’s all agree that the flood damages to Houston were worse due to poor planning that paved wetlands and allowed the city to sprawl into flood plains. Second, subsidized flood insurance (or the lack of a requirement for...

If you have been in a 401K like I have over the decades, you know this has been helpful in reducing tax on your income. If you do not know this, you do now. The GOP is making eyes on your 401k contributions with the intent of removing the upfront deduction which lowers your taxable income. The GOP would like to go to a Roth type of 401k. Either way, I would be ok. The problem I have with this idea is it is being presented as a way to help holders of a...

Bruce Bartlett’s twitter comments offer a look at one of this September’s issues.