It looks like Bush is going to spend a fair bit of his State of the Union address talking about rising health care costs. I’ve argued for a long time (yes, I realize that I’m not the only one) that health care is probably the biggest domestic problem that the US will face over the […]

The graph showing the ratio labor compensation to national income serves a couple of purposes. First, let’s begin with a Bloomberg discussion: Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) – American workers have rarely taken home a smaller share of the nation’s prosperity, a condition that is undermining bipartisan support for free trade and creating friction between President George […]

For those who are curious: I’ll be on at 5pm EST on Kudlow and Company. Kash

Kevin Drum reports on the willingness of Justices Roberts, Scalia, and Thomas to overturn a state law in deference to something the Bush Administration wanted to do. William Branigin reports: The Supreme Court delivered a rebuff to the Bush administration over physician-assisted suicide today, rejecting a Justice Department effort to bar doctors in Oregon from […]

The Washington Post ran an interesting story this morning about bankruptcy filings since the new bankruptcy rules came into effect in October of 2005. Some highlights from the article: The law requires debtors to see credit counselors before they file for bankruptcy protection. It is a prerequisite that banks and credit card issuers hoped would […]

Gore gave a speech in Washington today addressing the concentration of power in the executive under the Bush administration in general and the NSA’s domestic spying program in particular. Former Clinton impeachment manager Bob Barr was to introduce Gore, by video rather than in person, but that fell through due to technical difficulties (or perhaps […]

In one of his typical defenses of tax cuts, Lawrence Kudlow claimed: There are a couple hundred billion dollars in farm and corporate-welfare subsidies that can easily be scrapped. It does seem these Bush minions were for pork barrel spending before they were against it, but I have to wonder as to Larry’s undocumented claim. […]

The National Retail Federation (NRF), citing tough comparisons, high energy costs and a slowing housing market, is forecasting retail spending to grow 4.7% in 2006, compared to 6.1% in 2005. Facing new economic challenges in 2006, consumers may be forced to find new sources for spending power. The National Retail Federation (NRF) released its 2006 […]

I am shocked… SHOCKED… to find that the Bush administration is unable to competently manage a federal government program. From today’s NYTimes: With tens of thousands of people unable to get medicines promised by Medicare, the Bush administration has told insurers that they must provide a 30-day supply of any drug that a beneficiary was […]

Apparently, I was not the only one reading this paper by Matthew Higgins, Thomas Klitgaard, and Cédric Tille: Although the United States has seen its net liabilities surge in recent years, its investment income balance has remained positive—largely because U.S. firms operating abroad earn a higher rate of return than do foreign firms operating here. […]