“Servers, labourers, and workmen of different kinds make up the far greater part of every great political society. But what improves the circumstances of the greater part can never be regarded as an inconveniency to the whole. No society can be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor […]
The NYT has an article that offers some insight in Whitehouse thinking and wishes. On one side, according to people familiar with the deliberations, is a powerful group of pragmatists, including Henry M. Paulson Jr., the treasury secretary; Joshua B. Bolten, the White House chief of staff; and Ed Gillespie, counselor to Mr. Bush. They […]
Fiscal stimulus? All sorts of numbers being tossed around, not sure where they are coming up with them from. But, if we are looking to drive a consumption based economy, it seems to me we have to get money into the hands of the most consumers on a regular basis. Here is what has to […]
The NYT reports that there is: Strong evidence is emerging that consumer spending, a bulwark against recession over the last year even as energy prices surged and the housing market sputtered, has begun to slow sharply at every level of the American economy, from the working class to the wealthy. The abrupt pullback raises the […]
Andrew Leonard at Salon takes the savvy and well educated, knowledgeable movers and shakers to task for their whining about free markets and oversight. It reminds me of: 1. Too big to fail, which may be true, but stay with the same management? 2. DolB can sell discounted flowers to all the readership using their […]
The New England Journal of Medicine reports this abstract about unreported clinical trials of pharmaceutical companies. Background Evidence-based medicine is valuable to the extent that the evidence base is complete and unbiased. Selective publication of clinical trials — and the outcomes within those trials — can lead to unrealistic estimates of drug effectiveness and alter […]
OMB Watch has an article on talk of a stimulus package and what it should not do. Actually, it does propose an idea, but I left that out. To quote: “During his speech at the Union League Club of Chicago on Jan. 7, Bush reiterated the importance of continuing his current policies to address what […]
Psychological Kevlar Act of 2007 introduced by Patrick Kennedy was to help PTSD and brain trauma research expand. It has come to my attention that the DoD is thinking about using propranolol as a prophylactic to help reduce ptsd symptoms during conflict and after. I had found this articlefrom a wife of a soldier who […]
The Asian Times carries an article and opinion about democratizing the ME. This week, coinciding with President George W Bush’s two-day trip to Saudi Arabia, the Bush administration is expected to notify Congress about an arms package for Saudi Arabia. The sale is part of an overall package that was announced at the end of […]
My hunt for Obama’s econ advisor lead me to a paper that incorporates a review of a book: Does Atlas Shrug? The Economic Consequences of Taxing the Rich. It caught my attention because the paper is written by a tax lawyer.: Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, the Irwin I. Cohn Professor of Law and director of the […]