a Better Bubbleโ„ข

Kevin Drum ๐Ÿ•ธ

Reliable Republican judge throws Chamber of Commerce under the bus

16 minutes 52 seconds ago
Here's an odd one. A few weeks ago the CFPB issued a new rule substantially cutting late fees on credit card payments. The US Chamber of Commerce quickly sued. They unsurprisingly chose to file in the Fort Worth division of the Northern District of Texas, home to judges Reed O'Connor and Mark Pittman, who are ...continue reading "Reliable Republican judge throws Chamber of Commerce under the bus"
Kevin Drum

Bridges failures havenโ€™t changed in the past quarter century

52 minutes 26 seconds ago
Just in case you're curious, here's the annual rate of bridge failures in the US: There's no trend either up or down. It's perhaps also worth noting that virtually none of these failures were due to age or bad design. The vast majority failed due to floods, being hit by trucks, being hit by barges, ...continue reading "Bridges failures haven’t changed in the past quarter century"
Kevin Drum

Burger flippers in California set to get 12% raise

4 hours 30 minutes ago
The LA Times reports today on the impact of raising the fast-food minimum wage in California to $20 per hour: Chipotle, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Jack in the Box and Shake Shack are planning to raise menu prices. Fast-food franchisees are laying off employees or cutting their hours. Smaller independent business owners, meanwhile, worry their workers will ...continue reading "Burger flippers in California set to get 12% raise"
Kevin Drum

Lunchtime Photo

4 hours 41 minutes ago
Sunset at the Desert Lily Sanctuary in Chuckwalla Valley. This is where I go (almost) every month to skygaze, and I have yet to see any lilies. Of course, I've never been there in daytime, and I've never walked beyond the parking area. Maybe I should leave early and check it out for real the ...continue reading "Lunchtime Photo"
Kevin Drum

The Great Divergence continues

6 hours 43 minutes ago
GDP and GDI are supposed to be identical: just different ways of measuring the same thing. But a gap opened up in late 2022 and has grown ever since. GDP is now about half a trillion dollars bigger than GDI. wtf?
Kevin Drum

Raw data: Black unemployment

21 hours 50 minutes ago
The BLS began collecting unemployment data by race in 1972. Since then, the lowest Black unemployment rate ever recorded was in 2023. The second lowest was in 2022.
Kevin Drum

Lunchtime Photo

1 day 4 hours ago
This is a rhinoceros hornbill at the LA Zoo. I assume the name comes from its big yellow horn, which looks sort of rhinoceros-like. I wonder what its evolutionary purpose is?
Kevin Drum

Right-wing websites are hemorrhaging traffic

1 day 6 hours ago
According to TheRighting, which tracks right-wing websites, traffic in 2024 is way down compared to the last presidential election cycle in 2020: Traffic compared to 2023 was also mostly down: Traffic tanked to most right wing websites for the sixth straight month. Only five right wing news websites posted gains in YOY unique visitors. For ...continue reading "Right-wing websites are hemorrhaging traffic"
Kevin Drum

Pro-choice Democrat wins big in Alabama special election

1 day 20 hours ago
A Democrat won a landslide victory in an Alabama state legislature race tonight: In the Huntsville AL area, Democrats have flipped state House District 10 tonight. In 2022, Marilyn Lands (D) lost by about 7 points. This time, she won by almost 25%, sweeping nearly everything. This was a stronger margin here than Doug Jones's ...continue reading "Pro-choice Democrat wins big in Alabama special election"
Kevin Drum

A conservative takes on right-wing social media

2 days 2 hours ago
You all remember Christopher Rufo, don't you? He's a right-wing activist who made his bones as an opponent of Critical Race Theory, DEI, wokeness, systemic racism, LGBT "grooming," and, in general, liberalism's "long march" to take over America's most powerful institutions. Just recently he was largely responsible for getting Christine Gay to step down as ...continue reading "A conservative takes on right-wing social media"
Kevin Drum

Lunchtime Photo

2 days 4 hours ago
This is some hot buying and selling action at the Montreuil Flea Market in Paris. It's one of the three big flea markets in the city, but it was a disappointment: basically just a bunch of ordinary goods like this being sold at arguably ordinary prices. Are all the Paris flea markets like this? Or ...continue reading "Lunchtime Photo"
Kevin Drum