That’s a quote from Eric Hovde, candidate for Wisconsin’s senator (WCPT820 Radio), who despairs about Americans’ lack of civic engagement. The entire quote:
“I like to say, sadly, with females, they spend too much time with what’s going on in Hollywood. And with males, they engross themselves too much with sports. And now it’s not just sports, it’s fantasy sports.”
Here are some data:
Source: BLS ATUS.
I think Mr. Hovde’s main criticism refers to doing these activities by watching TV (I suspect he’s okay with exercise). Here is pre-pandemic data.
Source: BLS ATUS.
I’m agnostic about whether we spend too much on either activity. Myself, on TV watching, I’m probably at the mean for my category.
“….. contracted two parasites,”
This isn’t like an RFK Jr. type thing, is it??
Anyone who is no longer the parent of a child under the age of 6, check out “Parents of child under 6” and fondly reminisce.
This is a documentary?? TONS of stuff comes up, even if you search with quotations, do you have a link Sir?? I’ve never had children (anyone who dislikes Charlie Manson or John Wayne Gacy types should thank God I never had children) but you got me curious to watch/read it.
Sorry, buddy, it just Menzie’s second figure. The lowest hours of TV watching are among parents with children under the age of 6.
Hahahah, no need be sorry. Just being my usual “slow to the take” self. Kinda funny. I seem to remember just starting to watch a lot of TV around age 6. It’s hazy, but my Dad had just bought a motel in a small town on a US Route. We didn’t have any true “neighbors” there near the motel, it was a commercial area and not residential. So it made us kinda isolated at what one could argue is an important age of socialization. That explains the nervous tick in my left shoulder I can never get rid of (that last part was a joke).
I guess that category—parents with kids under age 6— is referring to parents not having enough time to even watch TV?? or is it the kids are so entertaining they become parents’ “TV screen”?? I guess it’s becoming glaringly apparent here why I never became a parent. Oh man, I gotta laugh at myself sometimes.
“Dukes of Hazzard”. “CHiPs”, “Incredible Hulk” (Bill Bixby), “Knighr Rider”, “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”, Wow, those were some innocent years then. I would only decades later find out I was a ferocious racist for loving the colors of the “General Lee”. Good times…….
Eric Hovde called most Americans “deplorable” and accused them of “not knowing what the heck is going on.”
Well Trump’s basket of deporables do not know what the heck is going on as they spend all day watching Faux News.
This is like one of those deals where the guy is 90% correct, but not correct for the reasons that he thinks he is. My argument would be the death of the “typical” American male (whatever your view of typical American male is) reading the newspaper on a regular basis. Did women thoroughly read newspapers from say 1945 to say 1979 (you know, what with the horribly “high cost” of newspapers in those years)??? I’ll let a Black female anthropologist provide the answer. She can give her “convincing” views on it without being slaughtered for truth telling.
Off topic – thinking before ‘splaining:
One of our more recent commenters has been mansplaining to us – well, mostly to me – which economic indicators are and are OK to use. I am concerned that he may not have a firm grasp of economic indicator analysis.
I will ducksplain:
Analysis of economic indicators relies upon statistical regularities, patterns in the data observed over time. That “over time” part is why we lend them credence. The ability of the yield curve to predict recessions is an example of one such regularity.
Serious practitioners of indicator analysis realize that indicators can give false signals, so they look behind the data for things which might cause the indicator to give false signals. In fact, the yield curve has been called into question, and we know why – lots of thought has gone into it.
What serious students of economic indicators generally don’t do is to dismiss well-established statistical regularities lightly. That’s a rookie move. You’ll have noticed that our host continues to post analysis of the curve(s). Smart people have not yet declare the curve dead.
Another thing you’ll never find serious economy watchers doing is treating analysis like a game of Dungeons and Dragons. You never hear them say “I cast Labor Force Participation and banish the Unemployment Rate!” You see it from dilettantes, sometimes in comments here, but not from the pros.
That doesn’t mean a pro wouldn’t care about changes in the participation rate. A pro might, for instance, calculate a participation-rate-adjusted unemployment rate, as I have seen done. That way, one could know whether changes in the participation rate fully explain a rise in the jobless rate. One would also want to notice whether changes in the participation rate had in the past eroded the predictive value of the jobless rate.
Or one could avoid all that work by finding another indicator which does the same job – and I’m all about avoiding work. Regular readers of comments probably know where I’m going with this.
Here’s the U.S. employment-to-population ratio:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/EMRATIO
Like the unemployment rate, it regularly changes direction prior to recession. Unlike the unemployment rate, it has population, instead of the labor pool, for a denominator and so is not sensitive to changes in labor-market participation.
What has been happening with the EmPop ratio lately? The ratio stopped rising as of March 2023, a little over a year ago. It is now down about 0.2% from the cycle high. As statistical regularities go, that’s not good.
So we have two labor market indicators (at least) which are warning of recession – one which is sensitive to labor force participation, the other not.
I suppose a fan of fantasy role-playing could find a potion or an amulet to overcome even two labor market indicators. We’ll just have to wait and see.
“What has been happening with the EmPop ratio lately? The ratio stopped rising as of March 2023”
Back in my Angrybear days, I was credited by Brad DeLong for focusing on the “natural rate” of the employment to population ration which way back then Brad and I suggested was near 64%. Of course demographics has changed that but by how much. Now I would be a lot happier if this ratio finally got back above 61%.
Hovde is an out of state multimillionaire – that wants to buy a Senate seat in Wisconsin and repeal the Affordable Care Act and deny the right of a woman to get healthcare during a pregnancy.
Also Hovde constantly repeats the MAGA/GOP lie that the economy is headed in the wrong direction – to the contrary- the economy is strong and is headed in the right direction – best economic recovery from COVID in the G7, stock market breaking records, GDP grew by 4.1% over the past two quarters, and has been on average over 3% in Biden’s Presidency, 3 times higher than Trump averaged per year, Lowest unemployment rate in peacetime economy since WWII, Inflation has fallen, dramatically, and prices of many goods, including many food items, continue to fall. Inflation is lower here today than any G7 nation, Very elevated wage gains, new business starts and prime-age worker participation rate etc. – . https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/another-great-jobs-report-the-economy