Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Dietary fructose and cancer

High fructose corn syrup has been linked to fatty liver disease, high triglycerides, insulin resistance, high blood sugar, cancer and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. It is added to many foods: candy, condiments, beverages and various snack foods. A recent paper in the journal Nature highlights the mechanistic link between dietary fructose and […]

Questions to A Congressman

Five Questions with Congressman Dan Goldman – by Joyce Vance Civil Discourse Dan Goldman represents New York House District 10, which includes Brooklyn and Manhattan. He starts his second term as a member of Congress in January. Readers of Civil Discourse will remember the Congressman from before he was elected because we watched him serve […]

A Fiscal Policy in a Global Context?

This is a good take on what has been happening with United States Fiscal policies impacting its economy. It does mention former President Trump’s 2017 tax break which targeted the upper 5% of taxpayers with substantial breaks. We should look further to the 2001 and 2003 Bush’s tax breaks which Obama extended for two years […]

Jobless claims: neutral

Jobless claims: neutral – with an extra grain of salt  – by New Deal democrat As I cautioned last weekend in my “Weekly Indicators” update, we have entered that period of the year where Holiday seasonality means take everything with at least a little grain of salt. For example, this year Thanksgiving was almost one […]

Yes, they’re coming for Social Security

During his campaign, Donald Trump “promised” not to touch Social Security and to veto and law that modified the program. That “promise” is about to be tested. “Lee’s attack has four basic components. One is to bemoan the fact that Social Security is funded mostly by a tax, which he asserts the government can use […]

The contrarian addiction

If you can tolerate a long commentary about Trump’s nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration, this is a good read. It would be hilarious if it were not true. Kind of like a joke? Except, it is for real. The contrarian addiction – by Merrill Goozner GoozNews Dr. Marty Makary, Donald Trump’s nominee […]

Solutions for a salty future

One of David Zetland’s students who posts to his Blog The one-handed economist. Each year Prof. Zetland allows some of his students to write on various topics and he posts their words on his site. You can either comment here on AB or post to David Zealand’s site. The link is above. Pleease be polite. […]

The Minnesota 340B Report Is Out

Explanation: The 340B Drug Pricing Program was designed to help patients access more affordable medicines. Since 1992 manufacturers have provided billions of dollars in steep discounts on outpatient medicines to safety-net clinics and qualifying hospitals expecting that those entities would use the savings to ensure vulnerable patients have access to needed medicines. But the 340B […]

Uncertainty is nothing new for DACA recipients

The population is on a path to shrink and the majority of the population will be elderly in some fashion or another shortly. US productivity is based on inputs from Labor without which there could be declines in such without younger Labor. The nation populated in the past is not on a path of replacement […]

Trump vs Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac

Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac are the nicknames for two mortgage giants that back about 70% of U.S. mortgages and have been under government conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis. “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don’t issue mortgages directly. They purchase loans from lenders and package them into securities sold to investors. This process ensures […]