Economic Policy and Labor Market Commentary by Dean Baker
U.S. inflation rises to 4.2 percent while wages fall, Dean Baker notes
Dean Baker highlights that year-over-year inflation has increased to 4.2 percent. He observes that President Donald Trump appears to be confused about economic priorities, having managed to ...
Dean Baker: May jobs report shows gains but real wages fall
Dean Baker reports that while May jobs numbers showed encouraging growth, declining real wages raise concerns. The update highlights a mixed picture for the labor market, suggesting that job ...
Labor market data needs cautious interpretation, Dean Baker warns
Dean Baker cautions against taking the reported increase in job openings for April too seriously. He suggests that fluctuations in labor market numbers like this should be interpreted with care, ...
Dean Baker: Factory construction declines despite $18 trillion in foreign investment under U.S. President Donald Trump
Dean Baker indicates that factory construction is sharply declining even though there is $18 trillion in foreign investment coming into the United States under U.S. President Donald Trump. He ...
Inflation surpasses wage growth, Dean Baker notes
Dean Baker states that inflation is currently rising faster than wage growth and emphasizes that this is not a technical issue. He comments directly on the relationship between inflation and ...
Dean Baker: Positive outlook for Russell 2000 and foreign index funds
Dean Baker highlights that the Russell 2000 index, which does not include SpaceX, as well as foreign index funds, stand to gain from recent developments. No additional details were provided in ...
$600 billion in unpaid U.S. taxes is an issue, Dean Baker notes
Dean Baker raises the issue of $600 billion in unpaid U.S. taxes. Baker questions whether the Justice Department will pursue these unpaid taxes, while suggesting that tax avoidance may be more ...
Dean Baker: Zero Social Security fraud would cost $10 billion a year
Dean Baker questions whether it would be reasonable to spend an additional $10 billion each year to completely eliminate fraud involving payments to deceased Social Security recipients. He ...
SpaceX reaches $1 trillion valuation, Dean Baker notes
Dean Baker comments that the stock market currently values SpaceX at $1 trillion, attributing this extraordinary valuation to the idea that not everyone can lose money in the way Elon Musk does. ...
Dean Baker: Bezos proposal would not impact bottom 40 percent who pay no income tax
Dean Baker asserts that the bottom 40 percent of earners pay no income tax, meaning proposals by Jeff Bezos would not benefit this group. He adds that the revenue Bezos proposes to forego could ...
Reforming bankruptcy law could deter private equity deadbeats, Dean Baker argues
Dean Baker suggests that reforming bankruptcy law could be an effective approach to addressing issues with private equity firms that fail to meet their obligations. He argues that while efforts ...
Dean Baker: U.S. taxpayers could benefit from windfall profits tax on oil
Dean Baker suggests that U.S. taxpayers could recover money generated from oil profits through a windfall profits tax. He points to this tax mechanism as a potential way for the public to share ...
Non-oil import prices increase 0.8% in April, Dean Baker notes
Dean Baker highlights that non-oil import prices rose 0.8% in April and were up 2.9% compared to the previous year. He added that exporters did not absorb U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs as ...
Dean Baker: AI unlikely to trigger mass unemployment or disrupt capitalism
Dean Baker argues that concerns about AI leading to mass unemployment are overstated. He emphasizes that capitalism is often highly effective at generating waste, using the financial industry as ...
Economy expanding at double pace of U.S., Dean Baker notes
Dean Baker, industry influencer, observes that at present, an economy is expanding at twice the rate of the U.S. economy. This statement highlights a significant difference in economic growth ...
Dean Baker: Insider trading on oil futures by Trump associates is a tax on oil
Dean Baker, industry influencer, alleges that insider trading on oil futures by U.S. President Donald Trump's family and associates effectively serves as a tax on oil. Baker points to potential ...
Credit card debt increase is decelerating, Dean Baker notes
Dean Baker, industry influencer, challenges recent statements about credit card debt trends, asserting that growth in this area has actually slowed. Baker directly calls out misleading commentary ...
Dean Baker: Tariffs present challenge for U.S. auto industry
Dean Baker, industry influencer, points to tariffs as a significant problem for the U.S. auto industry. He suggests that industry stakeholders should recognize the negative impact of such trade ...
Factory construction plummets and consumer confidence drops, Dean Baker notes
Dean Baker, industry influencer, claims that factory construction is sharply declining and consumer confidence has reached a record low. He also asserts that supporters of former president Donald ...
Dean Baker: U.S. factory construction drops 21.7 percent from 2024 peak
Dean Baker, industry influencer, highlights a sharp decline in factory construction rates in the U.S. economy. According to Baker, factory construction fell at a 22.8 percent rate in the first ...
$25 trillion valuation requires $1.25 trillion annual profits, Elon probably has difficulties with arithmetic, tweet author notes
Elon probably has difficulties with arithmetic, industry influencer, questions the feasibility of a $25 trillion valuation for a mature company, pointing out the arithmetic involved. According to ...
