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

Coronavirus dashboard for March 28: testing falls further behind

Coronavirus dashboard for March 28: testing falls further behind- by New Deal democrat Here is the update through yesterday (March 27) In order to succeed in containing the pandemic, I believe that the US needs 2 weeks of China (nearly complete lockdown) followed by at least a month of South Korea (very aggressive and widespread […]

Coronavirus dashboard for March 27: (unsurprisingly) voluntary distancing appears to be failing

Coronavirus dashboard for March 27: (unsurprisingly) voluntary distancing appears to be failing Here is the update through yesterday (March 26) In order to succeed in containing the pandemic, I believe that the US needs 2 weeks of China (nearly complete lockdown) followed by at least a month of South Korea (very aggressive and widespread testing). […]

Self Quarantine in Rhode Island Like it or Not

This came up on the radar this morning. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island is questioning the constitutionality of Gov. Gina Raimondo’s directive allowing state police to stop vehicles with New York license plates to collect information from drivers and passengers in an effort to slow the spread of […]

Coronavirus dashboard for March 26: southern “red” States resist effective measures

Coronavirus dashboard for March 26: southern “red” States resist effective measures Here is the update through yesterday (March 25) In order to succeed in containing the pandemic, I believe that the US needs at least 2 weeks of China (nearly complete lockdown) followed by at least a month of South Korea (very aggressive and widespread […]

Congress and the Fed Could Ensure Universal Protection During the Pandemic

Congress and the Fed Could Ensure Universal Protection During the Pandemic No matter how well or poorly the federal government addresses the overall economic crisis, millions of vulnerable people will be left unprotected.  Homeless people, incarcerated people, immigrants, people in fringe, off-the-books employment like day labor—unless steps are taken that specifically target them, they are […]

Hydroxychloroquine update

A clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine with 30 patients (15 treated 15 controls) has been completed in Shanghai. It is the first genuine randomized trial. It reports no evidence that hydroxychloroquine works at all. It is true, that given the principal outcome measure defined in advance, the trial has no power. Not low power, 0 power. […]

Business interruption insurance and pandemics

Not surprisingly, many business owners are upset to discover that their business interruption policies do not cover losses due to pandemics.  Although it is easy enough to understand their frustration, it is important to understand the underlying economics.  (Full disclosure, I worked in the property casualty industry for many years.) The main business of insurance […]

Patent Protection vs Orphan Drug Market Exclusivity

Massive Scandal or a Massive Misunderstanding of Regs and Laws for Orphan Drugs Most of you know, I have been writing on healthcare for a long time and much of it has been negative about healthcare and the costs. I am not defending Gilead’s marketing of Remdesivir; but, a few articles (Common Dreams, The Intercept, […]