Excellent recital on Russia by “Infidel at Infidel753“ Very often, those who understand an empire best are those who are subjugated by its power, or until recently were so. A slave has a strong incentive to know the master’s whims and cruelties and strengths and weaknesses; he may well suffer greatly if he misjudges those […]
– by New Deal democrat No economic news again today. Tomorrow we will get the CPI report for November. As to which, I have read a few posts in which the claim is made that inflation, especially core inflation, is picking up again. It certainly could happen, but in my opinion the evidence for such a […]
I’m old enough to remember Russia as the mother country to the Soviet Union. While the USSR was never a world-class economic power, it did punch above its weight as a military power under Stalin and for a couple decades after. Russia under Putin has been described as a gas station with an Army. Its […]
The Big 3 PBMs are Countersuing the FTC. Does Their Argument Have Any Teeth? MedCity News After the FTC filed a lawsuit in September, accusing the three major pharmacy benefit managers of anticompetitive rebating practices related to insulin, the defendants reversed roles and became plaintiffs. In November, they countersued the agency, arguing that its lawsuit […]
The Trump-Muskrat plot to kill Social Security, Robert Reich Sorry to intrude on your inbox for a second time today, but Elon Musk has revealed the truth about what he plans to do with his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE): Gut Social Security and Medicare. Musk retweeted a series of posts by Utah’s Republican […]
10 programs that could be on the ‘government efficiency’ chopping block, Washington Post The programs without separate spending authorization that Ramaswamy would do away with represent more than $516 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The 10 largest make up $380 billion. Here’s a look at what some of those programs do (click on […]
– by New Deal democrat Most of the commentary about Friday’s jobs report for November was positive. By contrast, my summary – in which I averaged the two last reports to take into account the hurricane whipsaw – was much more cautious, as were the takes by a few other commentators I respect, like Ernie Tedeschi. […]
CBO: Not extending IRA subsidies will cause 3.8M to lose coverage, ~7.9% avg *additional* premium hike | ACA Signups, Charles Gaba Not that this should surprise anyone, but it’s good to have the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) formally chime in: It’s important to keep in mind that the 4.3% average premium hike in 2026, as well […]
RFK Jr continues in his crackpot crusade against fluoridated water. There is *zero* evidence that artificial fluoridation of water at or below the approved level (0.7 mg/liter) has any pathological consequences. Why do we fluoridate public water? “Bacteria in the mouth that serve to break down food also create acids that degrade the enamel on […]
I believe it was about 4-5 years ago, we decided to move from our of 2600 square feet on 2/3rds of an acre. We also wanted to get to some place warmer. We did eventually do both and not exactly where we wanted. The first year we went exploring in the areas around Phoenix and […]