Tag Archives: US/Global Economics

Just some history . . . An October 15, 2008, article in The Washington Post analyzing the origins of the economic crisis claims Greenspan vehemently opposed any regulation of derivatives, and actively sought to undermine the office of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. If you recall, Brooksley Born was the head of the CFTC. A litany od experts and political figures mounted an attack on her in Congress. “The messenger wore a skirt,”...

Late on the draw here . . . Missed this over the last week. Been too busy doing other things with Angry Bear and looking for a Word Press expert who can help Angry Bear solve some issues. You have to wonder what Fed Chief Jerome Powell is going to do next. If you have been reading New Deal democrat (Richard), it appears we are on the edge of a recession of some type. I am hoping he waits. The returns or values on my funds are decreasing so what...

This is an inspiring article, but one sentence makes me sad “Israel’s massive democracy movement is ready for war” The general inspiring story is that the massive movement trying to protect the Israeli judiciary from Netanyahu has temporarily shifted to protecting Israel from Hamas and helping internally displaced Israelis. “ a logical evolution, said Bressler, who now visits victims around the country and finds herself “at too many...

First if my obsession with sharing ideas based on my almost total ignorance is getting to be a nuisance please tell me (can’t hurt – might get me to stop – no promises). Second, many commenters (on my pointless posts below) claim that the USA could prevent Israel from killing even larger numbers of Palestinians in the near future. I am not sure that this is possible, but in any case it is a hope not a plan. The USA acting together as actually...

The useful content of this post on a topic where I have no expertise is this link to a Twitter thread by Gen Mark Hertling (retired) who has a whole lot of expertise and is also very smart and reasonable. The thread is brief. I suggest reading it. I also quote one tweet here: “There will be an IDF incursion. Hamas will prove better than many expect in repelling the IDF advance. Unfortunately, I also believe the fight will last a long time, will...

There are good reasons to want to know the cause of an accident, a fire, – or even a crime; finding out the cause of – the reason for – something undesirable happening could help prevent a recurrence.The media seem to think that we, the public, feel that assigning blame is at least as important as determining the cause. Or, perhaps, it is top-down; the media want us to think it is at least as important to find someone to blame as it is to find the...

Roosevelt Institute’s Economist Mike Konczal calls this a remarkable recovery. The increase in the number of people working has helped tamp down inflation and has shown the importance of aiming for full employment. Myself? I do not think this was planned by any authority, including the Fed. One belief I do have is there being a contrived supply chain shortage by business leading to increasing need for Labor. I do not recall a positive economic...

Weekly Indicators for October 9 – 13 at Seeking Alpha  – by New Deal democrat My Weekly Indicators post is up at Seeking Alpha. The recent improvement in the short leading indicators has made its way through to the coincident indicators. But, given the importance of gas prices, whether the turmoil in the Middle East spreads out to affect oil producing countries is a major issue. As usual, clicking over and reading will bring you up to the...

This post will be long and confused. It is on a topic on which I am unusually especially ignorant as I decided that the case was hopeless 20 years ago and stopped following it. The current war makes me think that, at least things could be less horrible than they are, and I can’t help trying to think of how the horror could be reduced. First, I think that the current Israeli military action is a strategic mistake. I also think that the civilian...

I thought this article was a solid rehash of what took place in the early seventies when we were driving the inefficient monsters Detroit was manufacturing. It was only a short time earlier, smaller and more efficient foreign cars arrived in the US from places such as Japan. I was fortunate to snag a Datsun 510 shortly before the oil embargo. Some information on this article, where it came from, and the authors. The Conversation allows...