“Five Questions with Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows,” Civil Discourse Shenna Bellows is Maine’s 50th Secretary of State and the first woman to serve in that role. She’s led implementation of reforms like automatic voter registration and online voter registration in her state and has taken strong stands against Donald Trump—she ruled that he wasn’t […]
Healthcare is expensive as it is. You have copays, etc. to shell out money for when required. It becomes even more expensive if you do not have healthcare insurance of some type. Even if you have healthcare insurance, it may not cover everything. The plus side of the insurance being, you will pay the negotiated […]
– by New Deal democrat Twenty years ago, Prof. Edward Leamer gave an important speech at the Fed’s Jackson Hole, WY, retreat called “Housing IS the Business Cycle.” In that speech he discussed the fact that, historically, private residential construction as a share of GDP on average peaked 7 quarters before the onset of recessions, followed […]
As my AB peeps know, I loves me some prophecy. As a consumer, not a producer. My wife and I play this little game. If I make a prediction, she grabs a post-it note and writes it down, then dates it and makes me sign it. She saves them and we review them periodically. The […]
The Fed has two jobs: (1) control inflation and (2) maximize employment. So how’s that going? “That’s a change in tone from last week, when most Fed policymakers voted to leave their influential interest rate unchanged for the fifth time this year. Fed officials had been content to wait and see how tariffs were moving […]
In support of Alan Collinge of Student Loan Justice, I have been writing in support of his efforts to seek loan forgiveness which commercial business enjoys as well as US citizens. Student loan debt is the second-highest consumer debt category after mortgages. Student loan debt in the United States totals $1606.7 trillion; annual growth resumed in 2024 following […]
This is stuff I do not even think about. I am on the precipice of it happening as I age into it more and more. I am already there. “How Dangerous Design in our cities and homes is killing our olders,” Carbon Upfront! The Wall Street Journal recently published Seven Ways to Track Your Risk of […]
Or you can talk about something else. We used to do this in the past and sometimes it was very successful. As a subscriber. I am posting part of a Paul Krugman commentary. It may interest you. You can always use your own topic. as a start of a discussion too. ~~~~~~~ Part of a […]
– by New Deal democrat As I wrote earlier this week, the positive trend in initial jobless claims is one of the most important data points indicating there is no imminent threat of recession. That continues, but what is increasingly disconcerting is the completely contrary signal from continuing claims. Let’s deal with the weekly numbers first. […]
You will read more on the profitability of healthcare plans as detailed by KFF. A brief introduction to this issue in an article by KFF. In 2023, per enrollee gross margins were highest in the Medicare Advantage market, and medical loss ratios were lowest in the individual insurance market. While both gross margins and medical […]