A shrinking economy.
Figure 1: Coincident index for Minnesota (blue), for Wisconsin (red), and implied levels according to leading indices (triangles). Source: Philadelphia Fed October releases and author’s calculations.
Update, 12/5 8:45PM Pacific: If you were wondering about what the coincident index measured, you could refer to something more concrete (and equally high frequency): employment.
And Walker’s other parting gift is to kneecap his successor by changing the laws to thwart the will of the electorate. They used to say that evidence of a strong democracy in America is the orderly transition of power from one administration to another following an election.
But as we are seeing in Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina, democracy is on attack by Republicans. Republicans are providing a disorderly transition — a political coup. Republicans really despise democracy because it frustrates their fondness for authoritarianism.
it is called a lack of integrity. petty and vindictive.
on another note, i find it kind of ironic that the republican party has been so adamant about voter fraud and the “millions” of votes cast illegally which gave hillary the popular vote. and yet there was no evidence for this fraud-the orange one even shut down his commission on it. and yet they are silent about the republican led voter fraud that occurred in the north carolina election, possibly shifting the outcome. hey peakloser, corev and other nut jobs, why not denounce the voter fraud committed by republicans in north carolina.
“it is called a lack of integrity. petty and vindictive.”
It is a good thing Trump will not be able to do the same in his lame duck period (late 2020) to the next President who will assuredly be a Democrat.
Republicans really despise democracy because it frustrates their fondness for authoritarianism.
I saw where Democrats won 53% of the total votes in the Wisconsin state legislature races, but only won 36% of the seats thanks to GOP gerrymandering. The GOP motto: All voters are equal, but some are more equal than others.
I agree that there is something in the conservative brain that has a perverse fondness for authoritarianism (there’s actually some neuroscience to support this), but in this particular case I suspect that the kind of corruption we’re seeing in Wisconsin and Michigan has more to do with the sense of entitlement that a lot of downscale rural white (especially male) voters have. You oftentimes see it expressed here in some of the lame defenses of the Electoral College, but those same posters oppose Affirmative Action for minorities; or in the way they disrespect “Welfare queens riding in Cadillacs” or “Young bucks buying T-Bones” but are quite comfortable with farm subsidies.
Walker’s “gift” to the good people of Wisconsin is similar to the “gift” of MAGA from donald trump.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wells-fargo-loan-modification-error-homeowners-who-went-into-foreclosure-seek-answers/
https://www.freep.com/story/news/nation/2018/12/04/beef-recall-salmonella/2201585002/
https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/dow-jones-industrial-average-plummets-more-than-800-points
But the good news is, the Republicans (as they often do) are handling this in such a “classy” way. These are the men who are worried about the legitimacy of people’s votes, and then want to turn around and make every effort to make those votes count for nothing
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/03/us/wisconsin-lawmakers-republicans-power.html
BTW, on a more positive note, I bought some Wisconsin cheese at the grocery store today. Now, I’ll have you Wisconsin “cheeseheads” know that I inspected the labels quite carefully. I was tempted to pick one up that said is was an import from Holland, as I venture to guess the quality is pretty good, Then I thought “why not get Wisconsin cheese when I can support my fellow Americans??”. I hope it’s not too narrow-minded type thinking. I like North Europe quite a bit, what with my fair share of German blood and all. Well, I got a relatively small oblong block of Hoffman’s Smoked Cheddar Cheese, 198grams for $3.28, and some Roth’s 3 Chile Pepper Gouda Cheese 170grams for $3.68. So those of you Wisconsinites with a Phd in cheese consumption are going to have to tell your neighbor down south here, if he got a good deal or not. Please do not include the word “rube” in your descriptions of my cheese purchase, as I’m overly sensitive to that word.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHWb6Clc6KE
Thank you buying Wisconsin cheese! Of course all Wisconsin cheese is a good buy and excellent. Hoffman’s is a good brand and makes a lot of cheddar. (Personally, and don’t tell any of my friends but I actually think that while Wisconsin cheddar is excellent, upstate NY sharp cheddar is the superior cheese in general. Although there have been some world class cheddars produced in Wisconsin. ) Roth had a overall world champion cheese winner a couple of years ago. Great cheese that you purchased but I would prefer their Appenzeller or Emmentaler. Emmi Roth USA in Monroe WI is a branch of the Swiss company here in the U.S. Also, if like Gouda and you doesn’t like a good Gouda! you should buy Marieke Gouda from Thorp, Wisconsin. They have a great creamery and store in Thorp. https://www.mariekegouda.com/ Thanks for supporting Wisconsin dairy!
I’ll be looking for your specific suggestions in the supermarket for sure. Hey, what’s not to like about Wisconsin cheese?? Looking through all those cheeses on that refrigerated shelf is fun. (Leaning heavily towards the Wisconsin brands, but toss in that NY one if I see it). It’s like I heard Jimmy Page say in a video interview when he was talking about making guitar overdubs with the old 8-track tape machines for his “guitar army” back in the ’70s. “It’s a labor of love”.
Shrinking or simply stagnating?
Erik Poole: Shrinking, albeit modestly, for three months.
On the “Shrinking or simply stagnating?” theme, let’s check on the debate whether foreign direct investment was increasing, stagnating, or plummeting. Brad DeLong channeling Paul Krugman answers the latter:
https://www.bradford-delong.com/2018/12/author-_paul-krugman-on-twitter-but-heres-the-funny-part-earlier-this-year-kevin-hassett-touted-that-slight-blip-up.html
‘We’ve seen a plunge in foreign direct investment—that is, investment that involves control, rather than just being part of a portfolio. Also a plunge in US investment abroad, although that was an accounting reshuffle with little real meaning…. Kevin Hassett touted that slight blip upward in the first quarter as proof of tax-cut success; also failed to understand what the repatriation of earnings was about’
Of course we had hear PeakTrader playing the role of Kevin DOW 36000 Hassett whereas Barkley also corrected the record!