Juggling Dynamite

David Stockman suggests President Trump might best spend some time actually addressing economic issues instead of the administration’s travel ban for immigrants from Middle Eastern countries, which Stockman called “a giant misfire:”

“Trump was elected because flyover America is hurting economically. The voters of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania are imperiled not because of some refugees, they’re imperiled because their jobs have all been disappearing for decades. The problem is far more the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, the bubbles they’re creating on Wall Street…
Here is a direct video link.

For several years we have been pointing out that demographic trends are turning away from high-cost, high-maintenance housing, in favor of lower cost, more efficient, and easier-to-maintain housing. In Canada especially (and many other countries) this is happening as home prices have ballooned on a household debt bubble.  This is bad timing for baby boomers who are counting currently inflated values as the bulk of their life savings and hoping to sell high in order to buy less, reduce debt, and hopefully–bank some savings for retirement. Best to get on with it sooner, than later.  The pool of able and interested buyers is small and shrinking. See:  A mismatch of buyers and sellers points to pain this year

The US housing market has a big problem on its hands—the types of houses people want to buy aren’t available, and the kind they don’t are. Most Americans are looking to buy starter homes, but there is currently a dearth of options available. At the upper end of the housing spectrum there is lots of availability but little interest. Overall, the balance of homes leads to a 7.4% mismatch between supply and demand, where zero would reflect perfect balance. This will likely lead to swift price rises for lower priced homes and falling prices for higher priced ones.

For well over a century, viscose rayon has been used to make clothes, tires, cellophane and everyday kitchen sponges. It was hailed as a wondrous new product when first introduced — but what most people didn’t know is how deadly manufacturing rayon was for the factory workers.

In his new book Fake Silk: The Lethal History of Viscose Rayon, Blanc, who is also a University of California professor of medicine, looks at how the manufacturing of viscose rayon served as a death sentence for many industry workers.

Here is a direct audio link.