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

Boomer (LACK OF) Business Ethics

by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt BOOMER (LACK OF) BUSINESS ETHICS I recently had lunch with a friend of mine, one of the most sophisticated financial planners in the country. He has an interesting practice, about half wealthy executives and entrepreneurs, and the other half labor union pension plans. He made a huge ton of money […]

Inflation expectations are jointly falling?

by Rebecca Wilder As a global economic slowdown is very likely underway, inflation expectations are being watched closely. David Beckworth comments on inflation expectations in the US using the Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) market (he commented previously on an alternate measure of inflation expectations at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland). He argues that the […]

Tax cuts and Republican leaders

CBS News reports: Wallace asked Kyl on “Fox News Sunday”: “At a time Republicans are saying that they can’t extend unemployment benefits unless you pay for them, tell me, how are you going to pay that $678 billion to keep those Bush tax cuts for the wealthy?” Responded the Arizona senator: “[Y]ou should never raise […]

Wilder on the radio

Rebecca Wilder and Ian Masters on Radio KPFK Daily Briefing have a conversation on economic policy and social consequences (July 13, about 43 minutes into the show).

HEALTH CARE: Bureaucrats Gone Insane

Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt HEALTH CARE: BUREAUCRATS GONE INSANE (topic update) President Obama wants health care provider to invest in electronic medical records networked in electronic health records systems. President Obama put funds in the the stimulus bill to subsidize providers’ large capital outlays. President Obama wanted “meaningful” EHR utilization, and only providers meeting the […]

Dodd-Frank Bill closer to passage as Republicans Sign On

by Linda Bealecrossposted with Ataxingmatter Dodd-Frank Bill closer to passage as Republicans Sign On Senators Brown (R-MA), Snowe (R-ME) and Collins (R-ME) have indicated that they will support the financial reform package. Along with Maria Cantwell, who had hesitated because of the bill’s relative weakness at correcting the key problems that caused the financial crisis, […]

More than an election message

George Lakoff offers his take on some of the mistakes Democrats are making currently in their overall message to the nation compared to the Republicans, with the backdrop and rulings from Rush Limbaugh on proper behavior for the Republican political leadership: Why conservative lies_spread_and what progressives can do to fight them Fit matters. The brain […]

HEALTH CARE: Can Mom Live Forever?

by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt HEALTH CARE: Can Mom Live Forever? Many of us have had the experience of losing a parent. It is a life passage that is impossible to completely prepare for. Problem is, mom is not going to live forever, and at some point aggressive care makes no sense – except to […]