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

Guest post: Mark Provost Why the Rich Love High Unemployment

Guest post by Mark Provost Why the Rich Love High Unemploymentvia Truthout Christina Romer, former member of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, accuses the administration of “shamefully ignoring” the unemployed. Paul Krugman echoes her concerns, observing that Washington has lost interest in “the forgotten millions.” America’s unemployed have been ignored and forgotten, but they […]

Tax Rates and Economic Growth Over Ten Year Time Horizons, plus Why a Flat Tax Would Result in Much Slower Economic Growth

by Mike Kimel Tax Rates and Economic Growth Over Ten Year Time Horizons, plus Why a Flat Tax Would Result in Much Slower Economic Growth Last week I had a post looking at the the real GDP growth maximizing income tax rate using both top marginal income tax rates and and “average marginal” “all-in” tax […]

The Historical Relationship Between the S&P 500 and the Economy, Part 2: The Abrupt Rise of Short Term Investing

by Mike Kimel The Historical Relationship Between the S&P 500 and the Economy, Part 2: The Abrupt Rise of Short Term Investing Last week I had a post looking at how long it takes for events in the economy (in the guise of real GDP) to affect the stock market (represented by the S&P 500), […]

Optimal Tax Rates for Generating Economic Growth According to Barro-Sahasakul Tax Data

By Mike Kimel Optimal Tax Rates for Generating Economic Growth According to Barro-Sahasakul Tax Data This piece is a bit more wonky than what I normally post. I recently re-read “Macroeconomic Effects from Government Purchases and Taxes” by Barro & Redlick. I was struck by how different the conclusions they make about taxes are from […]

The Difference Between Defending DOMA and Neo-Nazis and the ACA

by Beverly Mann The Difference Between Defending DOMA and Defending Neo-Nazis and the ACA A post via Blog of Legal Times on Wednesday titled “King & Spalding Offers New Details on Marriage Mess,” which summarizes a report that day in one of its sister ALM (American Law Media) publications, the Atlanta-based Daily Report Online by […]

Health Care Thoughts: Accountable Care "Smackdown" Part II

by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care Thoughts: Accountable Care “Smackdown” Part II While the feds were developing regulations for Medicare ACOs, both the feds and the American Hospital Association were developing cost numbers for ACO start-ups. Today the AHA published its preliminary numbers, listing 23 major competencies to form and operate a hospital-based ACO […]