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

Clinton admits she failed to do her homework, and therefore misunderstood, when she stated at the February debate that Dodd-Frank already authorizes the Treasury Dept. to force too-big-to-fail banks to pare down and that therefore no further legislation authorizing it is necessary. That’s quite an admission by her, and the New York Daily News editorial board (and the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza) should take note.

A notion is rapidly crystallizing among the national media that Bernie Sanders majorly bungled an interview with the editorial board of the New York Daily News.His rival, Hillary Clinton, has even sent a transcript of the interview to supporters as part of a fundraising push. A close look at that transcript, though, suggests the media may […]

Zero-Sum Foolery 2 of 4: Doomsday Climate Machine

by Sandwichman Zero-Sum Foolery 2 of 4: Doomsday Climate Machine We have met the doomsday machine and it is us. The “doomsday machine” became a household word after Herman Kahn speculated about building such a device in his 1960 book, On Thermonuclear War. Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove: How I learned to stop worrying and love […]

Senator Elizabeth Warren in committee

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren Senate Republicans held a Banking Committee hearing today to talk about why we should roll back the rules on mortgages and credit cards because they’re just too costly for the banks. One of their witnesses, Leonard Chanin, had helped lead the Federal Reserve division that refused to regulate deceptive mortgages — […]

Oh, Dear.

[GLENN] THRUSH: When [Sanders] puts his head on a pillow at night, do you think he goes to sleep a Democrat? CLINTON: [Laughs] Well, I can’t answer that, Glenn, because he’s a relatively new Democrat, and, in fact, I’m not even sure he is one. He’s running as one. So I don’t know quite how to characterize […]

The Problem That Clinton Should See and Solve: Her misconception of what, for a huge number of voters, this year’s presidential campaign is about

And for me, it’s all about getting results. When I joined with parents and doctors and community leaders to take on the epidemic of children’s asthma right here in Harlem, it wasn’t about making a point; it was about making a difference. — Hillary Clinton, speaking at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, Mar. 30 When […]

Welfare Reform Reform

I have been promising to write something constructive and forward looking about how to undo the damaging effects of the 1996 welfare reform (which recently struck again). I don’t really have anything original to say. Mainly I endorse the proposal made by Irwin Garfinkel, David Harris, Jane Waldfogel and Christopher Wimer in a Century Foundation […]

An interesting coincidence: Cruz beat Trump and Sanders beat Clinton in Wisconsin by identical percentages

Each won by 13.2%. ____ UPDATE: I posted his when 99% of the vote in each primary was counted.  Now, with 100% in both primaries counted, Cruz’s victory margin remains at 13.2%.  Sanders’s is 13.3%. Added 4/6 at 10:32 a.m.