The NYT pretends that the Cuomo/Rattner battle is about personalities, but briefly let’s the mask slip: Neither side seems willing to budge, each insisting he is the wronged party: the attorney general feels deceived and affronted, and the Wall Street money manager feels persecuted for conduct he views as standard business practice. “‘Feels’ deceived and […]

by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care: Yes, No , Sorta, Kinda, Maybe Medicare rates for physicians have been, supposedly, regulated by the SGR* formula since 1998, but the formula is so wretched and lobbyists so strong the formula has been repeatedly postponed. The Obama administration has been determined to do a one time catch […]

by Mike Kimel The Effect of Changing Top Marginal Tax Rates – an op ed free to a good homeCross posted at the Presimetrics blog. I wrote most of what follows in the anticipation of trying to get it accepted as an op ed at a newspaper, but I guess the deal cut the other […]

Well the answer is in the above figure, or actually answers because the post title actually hides multiple questions depending on your view of Social Security generally. This is going to get kind of long so I will take it below the fold right away. There are actually three lines represented in the figure: scheduled […]

Nearing agreement says NYT An administration official said that in the emerging deal, the “Making Work Pay” credit would be replaced with a one-year reduction in payroll taxes for workers. In addition to a two-year extension of the income tax rates enacted under President George W. Bush, the deal includes a one-year extension of jobless […]

The Financial Times reports this news: The US Supreme Court is to decide whether the largest class action employment lawsuit in US history can proceed against Walmart, the discount retailer, in a case that is being closely watched by other large corporate employers. Walmart appealed to the highest US court in the summer after a […]

by Tom aka Rusty Rustbelt Health Care: Really, Really Bad Idea(?)The Food and Drug Administration has approved a proposal to liberalize the guidelines for lap band weight loss surgery (much to the delight of the company making lap bans). Previous guidelines required a very high level of severe obesity OR severe obesity combined with hypertension […]

by Mike Kimel Ireland – The Questions Nobody Seems to be AskingCross-posted at the the Presimetrics blog. Talk about deja vu all over again. Here’s Tyler Cowen talking about the Ireland bailout, and linking to Megan McArdle discussing the same. Its deja vu, for me, because it seems just about everyone commenting on the issue […]

Robert Borosage writes a warning about when bipartisan elites come to a consensus on solving the “problem”. Today’s elite consensus — that deficits are at crisis levels, that budgets must be brought into balance immediately — is equally wrong-headed. It slights the real crisis we face, and is foreign to the spirit that made America […]

Revolving door continues. Citigroup (C) is rumored to be in advanced talks to hire Peter Orszag, who served as budget director for the Obama administration until he stepped down in July 2010. Sources said Orszag might take a job in Citi’s I-banking division and an announcement could come as soon as today. Citigroup, which is […]