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

One of the tallest trees in the economic forest has fallen:  Bob Solow has died at the age of 99.

Kevin Quin at Econospeak brought this to our attention. In Memoriam: Robert Solow      One of the tallest trees in the economic forest has fallen:  Bob Solow has died at the age of 99. The modern study of economic growth could not have happened without his work, of course.  He was also one of the […]

In-Box Topics Which May Be of Interest

Each day, I get an array of emails in my In-Box offering up articles, what they think can be interesting reads, or junk. Some are hawking subscriptions too. I like to subscribe to news letters and magazines. The problem being, I never get a chance to finish reading them all. SCOTUS Billionaire Gifts to Thomas: […]

Slowing Down to Urban Speed Limits Impacts the Climate

Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism posted this Yale Climate Connections commentary on vehicle speeds impacting urban climates. Where I live in AZ, speed limits, stop signs, and stop lights are just suggestions. They are not followed religiously and the accidents are often tragic. Quite a few crosses marking accident spots line the highway out of […]

“the battle for democracy will be fought—and won”

December 21, 2023, Letters from an American, Prof. Heather Cox Richardson The Washington Post editorial board today wrote that “the battle for democracy will be fought—and won” by “explaining to the world why freedom matters to everyone, every day.” So, on an evening when our power has finally been restored, but too late for me to do […]

trump aligning supporters with global far-right movement to destroy democracy

December 17, 2023, Letters from an American, Prof. Heather Cox Richardson It seems that former president Donald Trump is aligning his supporters with a global far-right movement to destroy democracy.  On Saturday, in Durham, New Hampshire, Trump echoed Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s attacks on immigrants, saying they are “poisoning the blood of our country”—although two […]

The Overpayment of Medicare Advantage

In “2022 Overpayment to Medicare Advantage? Somewhere between 22% and 35%,” Angry Bear, we featured Kip Sullivan’s article, “Medicare Advantage is a money grab by big insurers,” Minnesota Reformer. Besides his own words on the topic, he also used data from MA Overpayment Report, Physicians for a National Health Plan report. Joel led me to this […]

Choosing FFS Medicare after Enrolling in Medicare Advantage Plans

After doing some quick scanning of articles on the topic of Medicare Advantage plan disenrollment, I found many leave Medicare Advantage because of complex healthcare conditions. Either a change in health leading to such or an inability to get the care they need. Medicare Advantage plans notoriously deny care as a method to delay care […]