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

Considering Alternatives to Patent Monopoly Financing of Drug Development

There is more to this story than just making technology open to the public so others can manufacturer it. Think about what is being said here. The manufacture of face masks went overseas. When many were needed, foreign manufacture could not keep up and the prices were ridiculous. We are in a situation of whether […]

Deficits, Debts, Surpluses, Borrowing, Budgets, etc. Processes

Federal Budget, Why Should you Care About the Federal Budget, (nationalpriorities.org) It appears, we need to better understand what we are talking about. Or at least establish a foundation for our words which I believe we take for granted. I took the liberty of pulling this up from a site. It is pretty basic. Borrowing […]

Open Thread July 9, 2023 US Debt

Differences between Japan and the US Debt. Explain how Japan can manage twice the debt/GDP with no problems but the US is headed to a crisis. Or is the issue really about unnecessary deficit spending due to tax breaks skewed to upper income brackets? Open Thread July 2, 2023 Partisan SCOTUS, Angry Bear, angry bear blog

How the Super Rich Are Killing Social Security

How the Super Rich Are Killing Social Security, Robert Reich Blog, Robert Reich Since Angry Bear has a well known expert on Social Security in the name of Dale Coberly, I like to post other commentary on the topic. Robert Reich suggests increasing the salary limit well beyond 2023’s $160, 200 cap. He proposes eliminating […]

A Pittance Offered Up for National PFAS Cleanup

What is being offered up by 3M, etc. (NYT article below) is a pittance of what will be necessary to clean up lakes, wetlands associated with the lakes, rivers, and streams. I lived in Michigan. The reported contamination from PFAS, etc. in Michigan is massive and then there is a potential Lake Erie cleanup, the […]

CMS and CBO consistently overestimated the growth in health care spending

National Health Expenditure Projections, 2022–31: Growth To Stabilize Once The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Ends, Health Affairs, National health expenditures are projected to have grown 4.3 percent in 2022, slower than nominal gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 9.2 percent, leading to a decrease in the projected health spending share of GDP from 18.3 percent in 2021 to […]

Delivering a New Deal to the American People

This is taken from Prof. Heather’s June 15, 2023, Letters from an American. It begs the question of why can there not be another New Deal for Americans? When he accepted the Democratic nomination for president in July 1932, New York governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt vowed to steer between the radical extremes of fascism and […]

Who bears the responsibility for the East Palestine train disaster?

No one has accepted real responsibility for the East Palestine disaster, The Guardian, Zsuzsa Gyenes A noticeable chemical odor three months later – yet the town and surrounding residents still has to fight for accountability from Norfolk Southern as told by Zsuzsa. The Ohio Republican governor Mike DeWine is sitting back waiting for the East […]

The Post Office Can Bring People-Centered Public Banking to Every ZIP Code

The private banking industry either can’t or won’t do what needs to be done to stop preying on vulnerable people. The Post Office Can Bring People-Centered Public Banking to Every ZIP Code, Inequality.org, Anni Norman, Aditi Sen, May 2023. The need for a public banking option is urgent. Nearly 10 million households, a disproportionate number […]

Debt Ceiling Agreement better than House Bill, Harmful Provisions still Remain

There are many things which could be cut in the present Debt Ceiling bill which alleviate the unnecessary need to cut assistance to those who need it. Food assistance for very low-income older adults is not one of them. A million or so of older adults aged 50-54 will or are now at risk of […]