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

Pediatrics in America Part 1: Need a pediatrician?

If you want to make the big bux as a physician, you need to do procedures (e.g., endoscopies, colonoscopies, surgery). Among the most poorly compensated branches of medicine are pediatrics and geriatrics. And yet: “Pediatricians attend the same medical schools as those who enter other specialties, and education is expensive. Almost half of those who […]

June manufacturing rebounds, May construction spending declines to (only) slightly negative

 – by New Deal democrat As usual, the month starts out with important data on manufacturing and construction. There was bad news and good news. The bad news is that both were negative. The relatively good news is that they were so slightly negative as to be essentially flat. First, the ISM report on manufacturing […]

Extending the Legacy of the 2001, 2003, and 2017 Republican Tax Breaks, Part 2

After Decades of Costly, Regressive, and Ineffective Tax Cuts, a New Course Is Needed, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Part 2 Steps to Creating a Better Tax System (a given) Instead of doubling down on the flawed trickle-down path of the Bush and Trump tax cuts, there are opportunities to work toward a tax […]

Extending the Legacy of the 2001, 2003, and 2017 Republican Tax Breaks

AB: I am always looking for these types of articles. They offer up explanations on how certain government policies and acts impact the nation’s economy and its citizens. Been a while since I looked at the 2001 and 2003 tax breaks. Steve Roth and I were exchanging emails on the more recent Republican 2017 tax […]

Real income and spending in May a nice rebound, but watch the caution flags in manufacturing sales and goods spending

 – by New Deal democrat Personal income and spending, in addition to the jobs report, has become one of the most important monthly reports I follow, mainly because I am looking for signs that the contractionary effects of Fed tightening are finally taking effect. To cut to the chase, this month’s report was mainly positive, […]

The economics of rare disease therapies

I came of age scientifically at the beginning of the cloning era. As various genes associated with human genetic disorders—sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s—were cloned, the papers reporting these successes always ended with some statement that now the door was open to therapy. These prophecies proved to be wildly optimistic. Now, with […]

House prices – especially for existing homes – compared with wages remain near or at all-time highs, so existing homes make up less of the market

 – by New Deal democrat One item I meant to address with this week’s existing and new home sales data was the relative difference in price in the two, and the effect on the relative share of the market.  I am following up now because yesterday Kevin Drum put up a post yesterday in which […]

The Rising Burden of Government Debt

By Daniel Bergstresser Econofact Second of two commentaries on Government Debt. This commentary does mention tax policies since 2000 which reduced revenue. The latest passed in 2017 as advocated by trump and supported by Congress. It passed under Reconciliation. The failure to balance out the debt created by the tax reduction with revenue achieved through […]