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

AUGUST 11, 2023, Letters from an American

AUGUST 11, 2023, Letters from an American, Prof. Heather Cox Richardson As I try to cover the news tonight, I am struck by how completely the Republican Party, which began in the 1850s as a noble endeavor to keep the United States government intact and to rebuild it to work for ordinary people, has devolved […]

Rethinking the Relative Value Scale Update

Rethinking the RUC, Center for American Progress, Maura Calsyn and Madeline Twome The point being made in this commentary is the purposeful inaccuracy of the RUC. Much of the time determined for treatment too large which in turn drives the patient fees charged and the prices in Medicare Advantage to which CMS adds a percentage, […]

What Happened to America’s Shopping Experience?

The American Shopping Experience has changed over the years with people abandoning in person shopping to internet shopping. What has evolved with the use of the internet is major malls and stores closing their doors and increases in warehouse shopping via the internet. Some History An Austrian-born émigré and architect in 1948, Victor Gruen was […]

Tiny Homes Improve the Economy and Are More Than Just Backyard Gimmicks (Edited)

Downsizing was the way to go as we got older and are kid free. Doing so had nothing to do with maintaining our larger house (2600 sq. feet) sitting on over 1/2 acre. I kind of liked maintaining it. It got me outside. In the new community, we are on a city-sized lot and ~1500 […]

Railroad unions are winning paid sick leave for workers

From December 2022, Angry Bear has been covering parts of the railroad workers efforts to achieve better conditions for conductors’ engineers and labor in general. It appears all of the work by the union is coming to pass. Railroad unions are winning paid sick leave for workers, The Stand, July 11, 2023 WASHINGTON, D.C. (July […]

How Pharma Avoids Paying US Taxes

Delightful story on how US pharmaceutical companies shift profits overseas. And US citizens are paying the highest prices globally for lifesaving meds which other countries our paying roughly one third. Pharma is also shifting their profits overseas and minimizing US taxes or tax avoidance. One way to avoid taxes is to move intellectual property to […]

Free Medicine Distribution Impact on Health Care Costs

This is an abbreviated version of a Canadian trial which examines whether eliminating out-of-pocket costs would improve the health of people taking the medications by making drugs less costly. The greater impact was amongst lower income participants who may not take drugs as prescribed to lengthen a refill timetable. The elimination of out-of-pocket medication costs […]

Handicapped Man Dies from Lack of Heathcare

“About 90 minutes before the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Monday the cuts in payments to healthcare givers of badly injured motorists don’t apply to those injured before June 2019, one of those survivors died in a Farmington Hills hospital following a two-year struggle to maintain his quality of life and health. Sixty-four year old Brian […]

Healthcare in the US from a Global Perspective. Are we that good?

AB: This a good coverage on healthcare in the US as compared to other countries. It is long. It also has many charts and graphs rather than words. This is why I posted this at Angry Bear. It is easy to grasp the implications. U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022, Commonwealth Fund, Munira […]

Akorn Pharma calls it quits and closes all US sites

Earlier this year, one company’s closing is adding to national pharmaceutical shortages and capacity in its bankruptcy. The closing can be construed as more than just allowing a laissez-faire economic policy. There are greater healthcare implications for the US. The nation can rescue banks, companies such as AIG, and those gambling with CDS, countering naked […]