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

Endocrines, excitoxins, and foresight

OMB Watch comments on a part of the new 2009 budget. In my opinion, any cuts in research in this area is cause for alarm. If anything, someone has to take the lead. We are just beginning to be able to measure impacts as sophistication in genetic reseach increases. And current toxic levels and measurements […]

TAXES AS A % OF INCOME

This is a chart of your data on personal taxes as a share of personal income. See what I mean by how stable it has been until recent years.

Pffffffffft!!!!

Pfffft (hat tip to dxc for the expression) for the template for now until issues are resolved. The fixed px settings made the site appear and behave differently depending on the browser and the resolution of the screen. I was also unable to get haloscan to function in that template. We have signed up as […]

Propaganda from Texas

NYT carries this op-ed from the Federal Reserve people in Texas. WITH markets swinging widely, the Federal Reserve slashing interest rates and the word “recession” on everybody’s lips, renewed attention is being given to the gap between the haves and have-nots in America. Most of this debate, however, is focused on the wrong measurement of […]

It has begun

This is a test. A liberal economic blog and conservative talk show host face off….listen to find out the result! Clash of the talk show and blog!!!!! And go to Presidential Performance to obtain some really fun election items for your next caucus or primary, or your next economic discussion with friends.

OSHA

This chart was published the Division of Labor Blog and is getting a lot of references in the libertarian blogs.http://divisionoflabour.com/archives/004409.php But it is an example of the danger of a little knowledge. OSHA was created under Nixon as part of his “Simplifying Government Initiative”. The creation of OSHA was just a bureaucratic reorganization that involve […]

Modernizing the html

This weekend I will be changing AB from classic blooger to New Blogger, along with template and design changes. Nothing should be noticed if all goes well except for the new look next time you log in. Please send corrections, broken links, and advice to my link at rdan instead of in comments so as […]

Kash in 2004 and blowing bubbles

Kash added this note in 2004. Friday, December 10, 2004More on House PricesStephen Roach is apparently unconvinced by those who argue that there is no housing bubble. From today’s Financial Times (subscription required):Five years after the bursting of the equity bubble, America has done it again. This time, it is the housing bubble. But this […]

Two weeks of health care

MA Health Connector hooks people up to health plans as part of the mandatory aspect of Romney’s health program. As far as I can tell, the prices are simply what is currently being offered. The following premiums are for a family plan, with and without Rx. Find Insurance: Individuals & FamiliesStep 3 of 6 – […]

Red and Blue foreclosures

Forbes Magazine has an article on the top twenty counties suffering from large per centages of house foreclosures. Cleveland was not part of the stats. Most counties were in California, Florida, then GA, AZ, and CO. Interesting. The usual suspects top the list. Wayne County, Mich., home to Detroit, is first, with 10,622 homes in […]