a Better Bubble™

Kevin Drum 🕸

It’s good to be rich

1 week 3 days ago
This is apropos of nothing in particular, but I felt like checking out annual increases in wealth for the top 1%. You can think of this as "extra" income, above and beyond what people spend, or as annual savings. Here it is: The annual wealth increase of the top 1% has increased about 150% since ...continue reading "It’s good to be rich"
Kevin Drum

Too good to check

1 week 4 days ago
This story about Fox Sports sideline reporter Charissa Thompson cracks me up: “I’ve said this before, so I haven’t been fired for saying it, but I’ll say it again. I would make up the report sometimes,” Thompson said in a recent interview.... Thompson, 41, added that she assumed that “no coach is going to get ...continue reading "Too good to check"
Kevin Drum

Lunchtime Photo

1 week 4 days ago
This is the first bronze cast of Rodin's "The Kiss," now displayed outside the Musee de l'Orangerie in Paris. The crowd in the background is from the Paris 10K run, which was finishing up when I took this picture.
Kevin Drum

No, paychecks are not falling ever shorter these days

1 week 4 days ago
Karen Petrou explains why so many people are unhappy with Joe Biden's economy: The mortal enemy of Bidenomics isn’t Donald Trump; it’s a reliance on aggregate and average numbers.... For most Americans, a sense of financial well-being doesn’t come from capital returns in the stock market or even from house price appreciation. It comes in ...continue reading "No, paychecks are not falling ever shorter these days"
Kevin Drum

Prosecutor expected to be “sharply critical” of Biden’s classified documents

1 week 4 days ago
From the Wall Street Journal: The prosecutor investigating why classified documents ended up at President Biden’s home and former office is preparing a report that is expected to be sharply critical of how he and his longtime aides handled the material, but the probe isn’t likely to result in a criminal case, according to people ...continue reading "Prosecutor expected to be “sharply critical” of Biden’s classified documents"
Kevin Drum

War in the Middle East? Really?

1 week 4 days ago
I have to admit that on my "things that will provoke massive political unrest" bingo card, I didn't have war in the Middle East. There's always war in the Middle East! Live and learn.
Kevin Drum

So how are things going in LA?

1 week 4 days ago
You may be aware that a section of Interstate 10 in downtown Los Angeles has been closed due to arson. How are residents taking it? The New York Times is at top. The LA Times is at bottom: Different parts of the elephant, I guess.
Kevin Drum

Al-Shifa hospital has a few guns, but no Hamas command center

1 week 4 days ago
Fog of war and all that, but, um, yeah: Where's the photo of the Hamas command center and the entrance to the underground tunnel network? Because 10 AKs and half a dozen hand grenades doesn't cut it when you're trying to justify an attack on a HOSPITAL. https://t.co/RJOtVZanWi — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) November 15, 2023 ...continue reading "Al-Shifa hospital has a few guns, but no Hamas command center"
Kevin Drum

Childhood vaccination rates have remained low this year

1 week 5 days ago
Kiera Butler reports today that since the pre-pandemic era the overall childhood vaccination rate has fallen from 95% to 93%: Childhood Vaccination Rates Are Declining. You Can Blame MAGA. This latest development is no random statistical blip—actually, I’ve been dreading it for a while now. What started as a campaign by a small group of ...continue reading "Childhood vaccination rates have remained low this year"
Kevin Drum

Lunchtime Photo

1 week 5 days ago
This is a church steeple in the city of Banning during late winter, with a bit of snow still left on the mountains. The church elders need to fix their cross. It's crooked.
Kevin Drum