Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

GDP and Personal Income by State, 4th Quarter 2023 and Preliminary 2023

First, this report (GDP and Income) is almost three months old. The latest release: will be June 28, 2024. “Gross Domestic Product by State and Personal Income by State, 1st Quarter 2024.” Some detail establishing a base for the June 28, 2024 report which will cover 1st Qtr. 2024. Briefly: The BEA has updates on […]

Post-pandemic Latin American immigration and the unemployment rate

Post-pandemic Latin American immigration and the unemployment rate (and it’s implications for the economy)  – by New Deal democrat One week ago, in analyzing the jobs report, I noted the continuing severe disconnect between the Establishment Survey, which continues to show strong growth, and the Household Survey, which has been downright recessionary. I expanded on […]

Borrowers Using Payday Lenders Will Be Much Safer in 2025

Yeah, it is another legal/court commentary. This one is about borrowers using Payday lenders. The ruling is expected to take effect in 2025. In the meantime, borrowers might want to explore non collateral loans as a more flexible and potentially less costly option compared to payday lenders. I am sure borrowers having to use Payday […]

Payment Reform is key to better health

by Merrill Goozner GoozNews Hospitals are pushing back on an experiment that would put providers on budgets. CMS should ignore their lobbyists and consultants playing games with numbers. Changing the way hospitals and doctors get paid is central to reforming our dysfunctional health care system. Payment reform can achieve better health outcomes, improve the patient […]

Top Supreme Court Health Cases to Watch

by Lawrence O. Gostin and Sarah Wetter MEDPAGE TODAY — A slew of cases this term could reshape health policy. Undecided Issues still before SCOTUS which should be decided this month. The Justices will then take off for a bit to reconcile the decisions they made causing issues amongst the population. Nothing unusual here, it […]

“We must not let our Rulers load us with perpetual debt”

Extract from Thomas Jefferson to “Henry Tompkinson” (Samuel Kercheval) “I am not among those who fear the people. they and not the rich, are our dependance for continued freedom. and to preserve their independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt . . . if we run into such debts as that we […]

Is increased carbon dioxide good for trees?

One of the climate change denialist memes is that, since plants inhale carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen during the day, then increased CO2 will be *good* for trees. Setting aside the facts that increased desertification and increased coastal flooding are decidedly *not* good for trees, a recent study suggests that it more CO2 doesn’t necessarily […]

Supreme Court didn’t end access to Mifepristone

Today, the Supreme Court released its opinion in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. Here’s a little background—you can be forgiven if you’ve lost track of how this case has evolved since I first wrote about District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s order granting a nationwide injunction banning mifepristone in April of 2023. In April of 2023, Matthew Kacsmaryk, a federal district […]

Initial jobless claims now in a clear uptrend – but is it unresolved post-pandemic seasonality?

 – by New Deal democrat Initial jobless claims rose significantly last week, up 13,000 to 242,000, the highest level since last August. The four-week moving average rose 4,750 to 227,000, the highest level since last September. And with the usual one-week delay, continuing claims rose 30,000 to 1.820 million, the highest since this January: There […]