Author: Kevin Drum

Good news! Remember all those Republicans who said their personal finances got worse as soon as Joe Biden was elected? They're suddenly all better:

In just the past two weeks, the share of Republicans who say their personal finances are worse than a year ago has plummeted by 14 percentage points. Apparently our long national nightmare of strong growth and low unemployment is finally over.

This is a throwaway sentence in a CNN story about problems with the Stellantis vehicle lineup:

Chrysler, once the company’s core brand, is essentially down to one model, the Pacifica minivan, arguably the weakest segment of the US market.

It turns out this isn't quite fair. It's true that the Voyager minivan is just a version of the Pacifica, but Chrysler also sells the 300 sedan. So that's two models.

But wait! It turns out the 300 has been discontinued even though it still shows up on Chrysler's website. So they really do sell just a single car in 2024. I did not know that.

This is muddy old Santiago Creek after a rainstorm last year that tossed a little bit of snow onto our local mountains. Even with the rain it's unusual to get a sky so clear all the way to the horizon around here. Even when there's no smog, there's always haze.

According to the Census Bureau's latest estimate, total revenue for childcare establishments increased 6.1% in the second quarter of the year. Not bad. Here's a long-term look at childcare adjusted for the population of 0-4 year-olds:

Childcare seems to be doing nicely even after the pandemic subsidies went away. However, families are paying a price: over the past three years the cost of childcare has gone up 7% more than overall inflation.

Did you know that housing prices increased as much under Trump as they have under Biden? They did:

If you adjust for inflation the increase is bigger under Trump than Biden. Unexpected, perhaps, but true.

In what's become a routine fixture of Republican legislators faced with the horror of a Democratic governor taking office, North Carolina legislators have rushed through a bill that strips the incoming governor of various powers. This one is a particular beauty:

Under another section of the bill, the governor must fill any vacancies on the state’s top courts with appointees recommended by the political party of the departing judge. That will prevent Stein from appointing Democrats to fill future openings on the state Supreme Court, where Republicans hold a majority.

I'm not going to pretend to be shocked by this. Nothing Republicans do in the name of naked power grabs surprises me anymore. But seriously? Cementing in place a Republican Supreme Court majority for all time? I never want to hear another word from Republicans about court packing in my life.

Here's the thing. There are places where I think the trans movement goes overboard, either by promoting extreme niche issues (biological boys in girls sports) or by dismissing inconvenient science too cavalierly (puberty blockers).

But then a trans woman gets elected to Congress and Republicans respond in their usual repellent way by loudly banning trans women from women's bathrooms on Capitol Hill. Can't give the bigots in your base any cause to doubt your genuine viciousness, after all. And you know what? Fuck 'em. In the face of this kind of performative cruelty I suddenly don't care about the other stuff so much.

Eggs again? The Washington Post reports that yet another chicken plague is tanking supply:

Eggs have vanished from many U.S. grocery shelves in recent weeks, sparking consumer fears that a shortage could coincide with the holiday season. Egg production in the U.S. dropped 2.6 percent in October from a year ago and is projected to decline 1 percent in 2024 compared to 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported in a Friday release.

Hmmm. 2.6% doesn't seem like much, does it? But apparently it is:

The price of eggs has nearly doubled in response to a 2.6% decline in supply? Eggs must have an elasticity from hell. Sales are holding up fine:

Are egg producers really selling 97.4% of their normal egg supply for twice the price? That seems . . . not very likely. What's going on?

Double the cancers, double the health updates! Here's the latest test result for multiple myeloma:

Cosmically speaking, 0.40 isn't super great, but it's not bad and it's down from two months ago. This means it's unfortunate that I can't tolerate the Talvey, since it produced a pretty noticeable improvement after only one dose. Hopefully the Tecvayli will work just as well.¹

¹But without all the ghastly side effects.

Ezra Klein sez:

This drives me crazy. There are three great myths of the past five years that I'm going to go to my grave still fighting everyone about:

1. The 2021-22 inflation surge was sparked by the excessive size of Joe Biden's ARP. But it wasn't. The "excessive" size of ARP contributed no more than a fraction of a percent to inflation. Larry Summers was wrong.
   .
   
2. The Afghanistan withdrawal was a chaotic mess. But it wasn't. Under the circumstances it was actually a remarkable success and one of the great achievements of Biden's presidency.
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3. Operation Warp Speed was Donald Trump's greatest triumph. But it wasn't. It was conceived entirely by Congress and the private sector. All Trump did was parachute in a couple of months later and give it a name.

These are all hills I'm willing to die on. And I probably will.