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

Medicare Advantage Battling CMS over Compensation

Introduction: It appears HHS and CMS are taking action with Medicare Advantage plans and their payments to brokers selling Advantage plans. They allowed Kaiser Family Foundation healthcare to republish a Modern Healthcare article. I am lucky enough to have access to and republished at Angry Bear. According to the article, “insurers increasingly not only pay […]

“Trump’s latest notion is both economically and fiscally illiterate”

July 31, 1789, the U.S. Congress passed the last of three acts providing for administering customs tariffs and collecting duties. On the nation’s birthday, the Tariff Act of July 4, 1789, had been passed by Congress followed by the Duties on Tonnage statute on July 20. Mainly, they provided operating revenue for the government. From […]

Elections are about trust, blame, and identity.  Here’s how to use that against Trump.

According to one well-known theory of electoral competition, voters care about policies, and candidates pick policies to maximize their appeal to voters.  This suggests that campaigns will try to appeal to the median voter.  There is obviously something to this model, and this year, as always, it is a safe bet that each side will, […]

Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Bill Takes on Private Equity Milking Hospitals

Finally, someone of stature is taking a look at private equity acquiring hospital chains, milking their funds, and leaving a shell of what the original hospital was earlier. I am hoping Elizabeth Warren can force the issues with these take overs private equity takeovers. In the end, many communities depending on these hospitals are left […]

Wage Growth Is Declining Across Sectors, but Not at the Same Rate

This particular graph was pulled from an April 2024 Morning Star article. The source of it being the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It depicts wage growth before during and after the Pandemic. In particular I believe the government did quite well in providing for and protecting its citizens during the pandemic when many people could […]

Are the conservative Justices playing politics?

Probably, and that’s bad for straightforwardly political reasons.  Arrogant, naively moralistic Justices would be much less effective. Last week the conservative court preserved access to the critical abortion drug mifepristone.  But they relied on a procedural technicality and thus preserved their ability to limit use of the drug after the upcoming election.  Refusing to reach […]

Amicus Presenting to Judge Aileen Cannon Next Week in the Trump Case

Taken from Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse I thought perhaps the argument going on in front of Federal Judge Cannon about Jack Smith’s appointment to prosecute XPres. Donald Trump might need some explanation. I am borrowing from Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse as a subscriber. This is kind of a sideshow to the real issue of trump […]

FDIC: Number of Problem Banks Increased in Q1 2024

by Bill McBride Calculated Risk, May 29, 2024 The FDIC released the Quarterly Banking Profile for Q1 2024: Reports from 4,568 commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) report aggregate net income of $64.2 billion in first quarter 2024, an increase of $28.4 billion (79.5 percent) from the prior quarter. A […]

The “Wayback Machine” and Rescuing Problem Banks

It is unfortunate we do not possess a “Wayback Machine” to fix the issues we are experiencing with banks since 1986. Instaed we bumble again and again, making the same mistake over and over with banks. In a cartoon series called Peabody’s Improbable History, Mr. Peabody and Sherman would open the door to the past, […]