“What will be the consequence of losses of over $1 trillion and, possibly, as high as $2 trillion? That would wipe out most of the capital of most of the US banking system and lead most of US banks and mortgage lenders – that are massively exposed to real estate – to go belly up. […]

Counterpunch reports this item: A psychiatrist who has treated former military personnel at Guantánamo prison camp is telling a story of prisoner torture and guard suicide there, recounted to him by a National Guardsman who worked at Guantánamo just after it opened. Dr. John R. Smith, 75, is a Oklahoma City psychiatrist who has done […]

The other point from my earlier chart on health care spending worth noting is that in the PCE data health care accounts for around 20% of consumer spending. In contrast, medical care only has a weight of 6.2% in the CPI. Since health care prices generally rise some two to three percentage points faster then […]

I was looking at some data yesterday and encountered a big surprise. I suppose like almost everyone I was under the impression that health care spending was growing much faster then the economy and absorbing an ever growing share of resources. This theme dominates much discussion of health care issues, particularly projections of the federal […]

At the bottom of the post section is a widget that allows you to fill out and print a registration form to vote next November. I thought it might be useful for some to do now if needed. This has been a public service announcement.

The Union of Concerned Scientists has just published a paper on science and governmental regulatory bodies and policy advisory panels. The United States has enjoyed prosperity and health in large part because of its strong and sustained commitment to independent science. As the nation facesnew challenges at home and growing competitiveness abroad, the need for […]

A fantastic example of productivity! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei9LlLLZwAU

My apologies for simply punting on the thread on Iraq, but I was not going to spend the time to evaluate each comment and post a note on why it was deleted. The policy was designed for individual and relatively infrequent use, not half the comments and taunts. Hence comments were deleted en mass, and […]

Bill Polley noticed that stats are getting worse. The news isn’t good. The PPI is on the rise. (MSNBC) WASHINGTON – Battered by bad economic news, consumer confidence plunged while wholesale food, energy and medicine costs soared, pushing inflation up at the fastest pace in a quarter century.The Labor Department said Tuesday that wholesale inflation […]