It should come as no surprise to anyone that, partly as a result of a persistently higher-than-average rate of inflation in medical care, consumers have been spending a larger and larger fraction of their income on medical care. So how much of household spending actually goes to health care? Well, that depends on whom you […]
Kevin points to the latest GOP attack on my party’s interest in national security – delivered by none other than Karl Rove: “The United States faces a ruthless enemy, and we need a commander in chief and a Congress who understand the nature of the threat and the gravity of the moment America finds itself […]
While John Tamny does not explicitly have Dark Matter in mind, his criticism of Martin Feldstein largely rest on the thesis: When he served under President Reagan as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, Martin Feldstein called for a weaker dollar to reduce the U.S. deficit in the current account … Nearly twenty years […]
Some members of the FOMC are indicating that the Fed will be raising interest rates a little, but only a little bit more: LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve has lifted interest rates to more appropriate levels amid solid economic growth, policy-makers said Thursday in remarks that hint the U.S. central bank will raise […]
In keeping with my New Year’s resolution, let me say that I agree with Mallory Factor & Phil Kerpen with respect to at least part of the following: Currently, the long-term fiscal-policy outlook is bleak. A report issued last month by the Congressional Budget Office shows that federal spending as a percentage of the U.S. […]
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 […]