Matt Sedlar

2 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Matt Sedlar |Peter Hart

Elon Musk put his tail between his legs and apologized to Donald Trump. In a tweet on X, Musk said, “I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far.”For those who missed it, Musk said that Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” was a complete disaster. He also said that Trump was withholding the full release of the Epstein files because he was in them.

2 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Emma Curchin |Dean Baker |Matt Sedlar

In a recent CNBC interview, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said the people who lose Medicaid coverage under the Republican-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” will merely transition to employer-sponsored health care: “It’s not kicking people off Medicaid. It’s transitioning from Medicaid to employer-provided health care.

3 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Matt Sedlar |Sylvia A. Allegretto

The rate of job growth slowed somewhat in May, as the economy created 139,000 new jobs. The prior two months’ numbers were revised down by 95,000, bringing the three-month average to 135,000 jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 percent, keeping the unemployment rate in the narrow range between 4.0 percent and 4.2 percent that it has been in since last May. Healthcare Adds 62,200 Jobs, Again Leading GrowthThe healthcare sector has led employment growth throughout the recovery.

3 weeks ago | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Matt Sedlar |Dean Baker |Madison Belo

IntroductionThe story of Southern Louisiana’s relationship with the Mississippi River — both the good and the bad — goes back to pre-colonial times. The fertile floodplains around the Mississippi River helped indigenous people thrive for centuries, shaping their cultures and lifestyles. But elevation was also key to survival. The river posed a significant threat; its floods and shifting courses could destroy settlements and disrupt established community life (Mehta & Rodning, 2022).

Mar 24, 2025 | cepr.net | Data Bytes |Dean Baker |Brandon Novick |Matt Sedlar

That seems like a good question to pose about the person who is leading up the “Department” of Government Efficiency (DOGE). After all, it would be reasonable to expect that a government agency committed to increasing efficiency in government would go about its work in an efficient manner. It would be pretty hard to make that case about DOGE.