by RebeccaCross posted from Newsneconomics These are interesting times in global economics, especially from the policy perspective. And although there was a sense of global urgency across the G7 (Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, UK, and US) and the G5 (Brazil, People’s Republic of China, India, Mexico, and South Africa) late in 2008 and early […]

by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Medicaid Dilemmas – Part 1 Medicaid is a federal/state program covering poor people, with general services for all ages and long-term care (nursing home) services for the indigent elderly. State budgets are extremely tight, and many states are cutting reimbursements, including nursing home reimbursements. The majority of long-term nursing home […]

rdan The Logan Act has remained almost unchanged and unused since its passage. The act is short and reads as follows: Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any […]

Robert Waldmann I’m not sure whether (more likely wherE) this has been noted in the literature, but wage differentials not due to differences in workers’ skill are enough to generate a business cycle. A verbal “model” after the jump. update: additional model with fixed capital added. The key reference from which this is not quite […]

Mark Cuban gets the FTC’s artificial distinction between bloggers and journalism exactly correct. Full disclosure: I had a Press Pass to the Clinton Global Initiative, and got things such as a disc copy of Financial Football* and a video ostensibly about the Rwandan National Forests (sadly, not so interesting) as a result. *It’s not my […]

The Epicurean Dealmaker notes that the stock market “game” is irrevocably rigged against the individual investor, and the best thing anyone can do is realise that is so: I believe [Leo E. Strine Jr, vice chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery]’s analysis should conclusively disabuse participants in the current debate over financial regulatory reform […]

Robert Waldmann One strange thing about the health care reform debate is that insurance companies claim to support reform. I have tended to suspect that they are just playing possum. Now I find positive proof that WellPoint is willing to do what it takes to make sure health care reform passes — they sued the […]

by Linda Beale(cross posted with ataxingmatter) What’s Your Top Ten List for Tax Reforms? Tax Prof’s ongoing discussion of potential tax reforms to be suggested to the Volcker Commission got me thinking what my own “top ten” would be. I’ll list them here, but I invite readers to provide their own as well. (Much of […]

rdan Trent Lott demonstrates pretty normal behavior for people who think they are prepared and are not…I guess he did not need to sign a waiver of never regretting not buying public backed insurance. Of course, how that gibes with the rhetoric of no public option and ‘taking responsibility’ is very human…it tends to change […]