a Better Bubbleโ„ข

Kevin Drum ๐Ÿ•ธ

Are most young women โ€œoverwhelmedโ€ by stress? Iโ€™m skeptical.

1 year 9 months ago
I don't quite remember what got me started on this, but a couple of hours ago I ran into a report about stress from the American Psychological Association. It reported that stress was simply overwhelming these days: A quarter of all Americans report feeling so stressed on most days that "they can barely function." Among ...continue reading "Are most young women “overwhelmed” by stress? I’m skeptical."
Kevin Drum

Measured correctly, poverty was up 60% in 2022

1 year 9 months ago
The Census Bureau released poverty figures for 2022 today: The official poverty rate is based solely on family income. It declined continuously during the 2014-19 economic expansion, and since then has been about flat. The current official poverty rate is 11.5%, slightly down from last year. The Supplemental Poverty Rate is a better measure that ...continue reading "Measured correctly, poverty was up 60% in 2022"
Kevin Drum

As expected, Republicans open pointless impeachment inquiry

1 year 9 months ago
I suppose this is hardly unexpected, but even so: Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday directed top congressional Republicans to open an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, blowing past G.O.P. divisions as he worked to appease far-right lawmakers who have threatened to oust him amid a pitched fight over spending. Mr. McCarthy said he would task ...continue reading "As expected, Republicans open pointless impeachment inquiry"
Kevin Drum

Did the oxy crackdown lead to the fentanyl crisis?

1 year 9 months ago
The Washington Post says that counties with the highest level of legal opioid use from 2006-2013 (i.e., oxycontin) now have the highest level of fentanyl overdoses: According to the Post, "The data confirms what’s long been known about the arc of the nation’s addiction crisis: Users first got hooked by pain pills saturating the nation, ...continue reading "Did the oxy crackdown lead to the fentanyl crisis?"
Kevin Drum

Chart of the day: Employee compensation declined 2.7% in Q2

1 year 9 months ago
"Employer costs for employee compensation" is yet another estimate of worker pay from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's based on a quarterly survey of 35,000 observations from 8,500 establishments. For some reason, federal workers aren't included. Here are results through the second quarter of 2023, adjusted for inflation: In addition to wages, total comp ...continue reading "Chart of the day: Employee compensation declined 2.7% in Q2"
Kevin Drum

California fast food workers are finally making $15 per hour*

1 year 9 months ago
Good news for workers in California: Fast-food companies agreed over the weekend to pull a California referendum off next year’s ballot that sought to reverse a landmark worker-protections law, forgoing a costly political fight with labor unions over employee pay. The deal will result in an increase in the minimum wage for fast-food workers to ...continue reading "California fast food workers are finally making $15 per hour*"
Kevin Drum

Even in blue California, most oppose cash reparations to Black residents

1 year 9 months ago
A new poll says that only 28% of Californians support cash reparations for Black residents. But this number is fairly meaningless because it masks partisan differences that are even bigger than usual: Democrats: 43% support Republicans: 3% support I myself have long believed that cash reparations are a misguided idea. I have four primary reasons: ...continue reading "Even in blue California, most oppose cash reparations to Black residents"
Kevin Drum

Who are the traitors defending Joe Biden?

1 year 9 months ago
Marjorie Taylor Greene says Joe Biden is obviously guilty of.......something, but that's small potatoes. We need to move slowly and deliberately on impeachment in order to unearth the real crimes: It has become evident that there is a vast amount of people in previous administrations, this administration, and federal agencies that all worked diligently to ...continue reading "Who are the traitors defending Joe Biden?"
Kevin Drum

DeSantis & Co. arenโ€™t happy with newest COVID vaccine

1 year 9 months ago
Ron DeSantis is edging toward being a full-on vaccine denier: Lashing out at what he called the “medical authoritarianism” of mask mandates and other anti-Covid measures, DeSantis accused federal health agencies of being “basically an arm of Big Pharma” as they mulled authorizing [new] vaccines as early as next week. “Pharma will make more money ...continue reading "DeSantis & Co. aren’t happy with newest COVID vaccine"
Kevin Drum