Bruce Bartlett: “Prediction–EVERY Republican senator will whore himself or herself to pass this tax monstrosity. They should all go to Hell.” Bruce Bartlett: “Prediction–Democrats will stay home on Election Day 2018 because that’s what they always do best(last word is mine)” Predictions

AARP notes a planned reduction in Medicare funding.  I have not hear much from them as in times past. If you read through the umpteen pages of the Senate tax bill, you won’t find a clause that says it dramatically cuts Medicare spending. But the effect of the legislation being debated this week would be […]

Brian Down from Focus Economics was looking for a response on cryptocurrencies…could make an interesting thread! I’m emailing you today because I am putting together a piece on cryptocurrencies and it would be great to get a comment from you on the subject. While some believe that cryptocurrencies are the future, the prevailing view appears […]

Must read A modest proposal: time to rethink the impact of US tax reform Jason Furman &Lawrence Summers

Propublica has a story on waste in the medical industry: Experts estimate the U.S. health care system wastes $765 billion annually — about a quarter of all the money that’s spent. Of that, an estimated $210 billion goes to unnecessary or needlessly expensive care, according to a 2012 report by the National Academy of Medicine […]

I read with great hope that the junior senator from Kansas has learned from the Kansan tax cut disaster and will, maybe, possibly, have enough courage to vote against the horrible Republican tax cut for our Donors bill. I have a message for Republicans who know better, but are afraid of breaking with the president […]

I am so thankful that I am an economic blogger A few days late for Thanksgiving, but … like a lot of people, I woke up to a real nightmare one year ago.  One decision I made for mental health purposes was to focus like a laser beam on the economy rather than have my […]

by Biagio Bossone (Biagio BOSSONE is an Italian national,  currently advises international financial organizations on financial sector development issues and technical assistance programs in several countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, and Northern Africa and the Middle East. He is a consultant to private-sector organizations. He has taught at various universities in Italy.) (Warning…wonkish) […]

Tolerance And Terrorism In Saudi Arabia On the one hand this past week, Thomas Friedman at the New York Times has written a praising column about Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman (MbS). He is going to bring a new “wave of tolerance” into Saudi Arabia, along with more generally modernizing it. This claim is not […]