AngryBear.blogspot.com
KudlowsMoneyPolitics.blogspot.com
A staple of public television -- and cable news, before it blew up in the Bush era -- dueling commentators from the political left and the political right used to be the chief expression of political partisanship in the media: "From the left, I'm so-and-so." "And from the right, I'm the-other-guy."
That collegiality -- however exaggerated for effect -- is not nearly as common in recent years as it was, say, a decade ago. But it is with that sentiment that I present a pair of blogs about money, the economy, and finance that may be of interest to traders, speculators, and investors of a particularly partisan political bent. Sure, we all know as speculators that we are more often far better off leaving our politics at the door of our trading room. And I suspect as many Republicans have lost money betting that the markets wouldn't go up under Democratic rule as have Democrats gone broke trying to fade the effects of a GOP-sponsored dividend tax cut.
But the fact of the matter is that even those of us who don't have a political axe to grind need be wary of those who do. Harry S Truman famously asked for a "one-armed economist" who would not provide, basically, two answers for every question. So here we provide instead two "one-armed" economists and their blogs, representing a view of the financial world through blue- and red-state filters, respectively: Angrybear.blogspot.com and Kudlowsmoneypolitics.blogspot.com.
DOES AN ANGRY BEAR SHORT IN THE WOODS?
As of 2007, Angry Bear had three main contributors, all three with doctorates in economics, with three areas of specialty. The Angry Bear himself is trained in microeconomics, and his two colleagues are trained in macroeconomics and finance. While there are other contributors, these three have made up the core of Angry Bear's content since August 2004 (the blog was originally launched in February 2003).
Angry Bear bills itself as "slightly left of center economic commentary on news, politics and the economy." A quick scan of the recent posts hints strongly at this, with posts titled "If We Only Had a Baker-Hamilton Commission on Fiscal Policy" and "A Global Warming Denier Turns ‘Economist.'" Below the listing of recent posts is the obligatory blogroll of other blogs that readers of Angry Bear may find worth visiting.
Angry Bear's list is particularly dizzying, ranging from more specifically political blogs from those heavy on the economics and finance to those light on the politics where politics are barely covered at all. A set of archive links is below the blogroll, making it easy to access everything that the Angry Bear has had to say on economics and politics since the early days of the invasion of Iraq. (Coincidence? Browse over to Angry Bear and find out for yourself.)
Recent posts in their entirety run down the center of the page, and many of them come equipped with extensive quoting, as well as tables, charts, and graphs to illustrate (or debunk) some topic, theory, or mere meme of the day. The left side of the main page has a small information section where readers can send email to Angry Bear contributors, or find links to the contributor's own blogs and webpages. Below that also on the left is a helpful index of sorts that groups together posts written about a common topic such as the US health-care system, the housing market, or for the historians among you, "Kash's reasons to vote for Kerry."
Angry Bear is not a "trading blog" -- so come for the trenchant economic analysis, but don't bother staying for the "Stock Pick of the Week" because there isn't one. Angry Bear is also not a blog for the uninitiated. Most of the time, the contributors assume that the reader has at least a basic passing knowledge of economics and finance. And at times, Angry Bear can get downright wonky -- such as during their multipart discussion on dividend taxation.
It is in these pieces that Angry Bear truly earns its audience with in-depth analysis of topics that often the reporters covering them for prestigious, mainstream newspapers like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal fail to grasp. The fact that these topics are filtered through a liberal or left-wing or progressive viewpoint is, in the age of political partisanship, more a feature than a bug, as far as I'm concerned.
As is also the case with blogs on economics and finance that take a conservative perspective, there is a value in reading and understanding how the "other side" sees things, a value that has been pretty readily discarded in our "take no prisoners" political environment. And for those who feel (or merely fear) that the only two words that need be known about left-leaning economists and market watchers are "tax" and "spend," Angry Bear does a good job of filling out the rest of the lexicon.
PUTTING THE "K" IN CAPITALISM
The biggest rap on right-wingers in the Bush era was that for all their political power, for all their campaign know-how, they were clueless about using the Internet. Among some left-leaning types, mocking the hokeyness of the average (read: stereotypical) right-wing web presence -- be it website or blog -- appeared to be the most fun you could have on a message-board.
While this image no doubt persists, the fact of the matter is that many a red-stater has come a long way from the days of pooh-poohing the "Internets" as just a decadent plaything for black-clad Generation Xers. And whether Larry Kudlow, author, former Reagan administration economic advisor, and host of CNBC's Kudlow & Company, deserves credit for helping along this new state of affairs, those who are as committed to the "pro-growth, strong defense, virtuous values" cause as they are without a doubt grateful for another right-wing, pro-capitalist voice in the blogosphere.
Did I mention that Larry Kudlow -- who launched the most recent version of his blog, Kudlow's Money Politic$, in the spring of 2006 -- was "pro-capitalist"? While there is no mistake from the sorts of posts that adorn both the main page and the list of previous posts on the right side (for example, "When You Tax Profits, You Tax People" and "Liberal Bias?"), it can be hard to appreciate the exceptional passion Kudlow holds for late 20th century early 21st century capitalism.
In fact, if there is one failing to Kudlow's Money Politic$ -- at least from somebody who has been reading, watching, and listening to Larry Kudlow for the past several years -- then it might be that Kudlow's passion for capitalism too often seems subsumed by the political complaint of the day. Angry Bear avoids this (when it does) by diving deep into wonk, reminding me of the story that conservative economist Bruce Barlett told of being chased around a social function by a Clinton administration official back in the 1990s who had been searching for evidence to refute a point Bartlett made in a conversation Bartlett had since forgotten about.
Unfortunately, wonk is no refuge for Kudlow (though he does encourage readers to tune in to his television show where, presumably, the details, tables, and philosophical underpinnings of his pro-capitalist crusade are more thoroughly reviewed). Even by comparison to the columns Kudlow writes for National Review magazine, more posts than I'd like at Kudlow's Money Politic$ left me wanting more. Other writers, from Ayn Rand to Jude Wanniski, have done an excellent job not only critiquing the "anti-capitalist" movement, but also of explaining -- occasionally in rapturous prose -- just what is so powerful, scary, and wonderful about free markets. Knowing that Kudlow is a talented communicator and a passionate defender of market economies, I found it hard not to wish that Kudlow's Money Politic$ were not filled with more of that same fire.
All that said, the blog remains one of many ways that those on the right side of the political spectrum can get quick, easy-to-digest takes on how a given policy or politician may encourage or discourage growth, incentivize or disincentivize capitalists and either contribute to making the United States an even greater economic power or aid and abet in the shackling of the world's sole superpower at a time when, according to many on the political right, a superpower is sorely needed.
In addition to a modest archive, Kudlow's Money Politic$ has a blogroll of links that every right-leaning investor or speculator should carefully review, including links to right-wing political bloggers like Instapundit, right-wing news and opinion websites like TownHall and the Drudge Report, and fellow half-political/half-financial blog travelers like Donald Luskin of the colorfully named blog The Conspiracy To Keep You Poor And Stupid.
A quick last note: One thing that would make Kudlow's blog a must-read for conservative and liberal speculators alike would be a You Tube-like embedding of the interviews he does for Kudlow & Company. I have no idea if this would be legally possible, given copyright issues. But I'm convinced that if Kudlow could provide video clips of some of those debates and conversations, the number of hits at Kudlow's Money Politic$ would go through the roof.
--David Penn, Technical Writer* Angrybear.blogspot.com
* KudlowsMoneyPolitics.blogspot.com
* See Editorial Resource Index
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Originally published in the April 2007 issue of Technical Analysis of STOCKS & COMMODITIES magazine. All rights reserved. © Copyright 2007, Technical Analysis, Inc.