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

High taxes for thee but not for me

Everybody knows that California is a “high-tax” state, right? Well, yes and no. Depends on where you are on the food chain. If your household is the top 1%, then California tax rates are 2nd highest, while Texas and Florida are 43rd and 50th, respectively. OTOH, if your household income is in the second quintile […]

Medicare reimbursement for 2025 is lowest since 1993

On 1 July, I retired from my 37-year faculty gig. Among other things, this meant shifting from private insurance to Medicare. I haven’t yet used my Medicare coverage, but my wife, who retired two years ago as a faculty at a different university, has had no difficulties with her transition to Medicare. So far. The […]

Why Did the US give away $52bn to corporations like Intel?

A counter argument by Robert Reich about Pres. Joe Bidens 2021 CHIPS Act. Why Did the US give away $52bn to corporations like Intel? by Robert Reich The Guardian Congress will soon put final touches on the Chips Act, which will provide more than $52bn to companies that design and make semiconductor chips. The subsidy is […]

Kyle Rittenhouse Changes his mind about not endorsing Trump after online pile-on

Not sure if he started to cry while the trump supporters were taking him to task. Must be the heat was to great and he was not armed. “Kyle Rittenhouse” reverses course on not endorsing Trump after online pile-on The Guardian Man who killed activists in 2020 questioned Trump’s gun rights bona fides before backing […]

$3 Billion Shortfall in VA Benefits for Disability and Education

It figures. Just about the time they accept me in for full benefits due to my being at Camp Lejeune, the VA is starting to rund short on cash to pay for the Pact Act. What is said further down in this report, medical care is running short on funds too. That shortage is ~$9 […]

The Truth Social poll and Trump’s market value

While I do check in from time to time at 538, it turns out that Truth Social share prices are a useful metric for Trump’s popularity, at least where it matters: “The value of Trump’s stake in the corporate owner of Truth Social has dropped by $900 million since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the […]

He’s a Racist

by Joyce Vance Civil Discourse  By now you’ve probably seen clips from the interview Donald Trump gave on stage at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago today. It was appalling. The only thing worse than the overt racism that came out of his mouth was his apparent belief that he could get […]

July 31, 2024 Trump’s Melt Down

by Prof. Heather Cox-Richardson Letters from an American Yesterday, from a Harris campaign event in Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta reporter Tariro Mzezewa noted that the crowd of 10,000 people “was ecstatic. There was chanting, cheering, singing, and dancing for hours in the lead-up to and throughout the event,” Mzezewa wrote today in Slate.  Mzezewa reported that rapper […]

Commentaries by Two of My Fav Writers

Two interesting commentaries up next. One by Prof. Heather Cox-Richardson (Letters from an American) and the other from Joyce Vance (Civil Discourse). I read them both after I read the commentaries from our own writers. The topic by both should not be surprising. Both are discussing Trumps breakdown when asked questions about his beliefs on […]