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

Another Legal Challenge of the ACA Coming Out of Texas and the Fifth District

Cost-Free Preventive Care Under the ACA Faces Legal Challenge, JAMA | JAMA Network, Gregory Curfman, MD; Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo. The same federal Jackass judge in Texas who struck down the entire ACA (2018) has risen again. In this particular instance, he is taking aim at a core protection of the ACA or Cost-free preventive care. These […]

Survey: Toyota, Honda, GM Supplier Working Relationships

A story . . . Supplier working relationships were always tough in automotive. A lot of politicking going there, lunches, dinners, etc. Kind of difficult to walk a straight line with them and maintain an ethical standard. Yet, I did and was known for doing what I said I would do. I worked for several […]

New home sales and prices: yet another confirmation of a bottom in sales, while prices continue to decline YoY

New home sales and prices: yet another confirmation of a bottom in sales, while prices continue to decline YoY  – by New Deal democrat The last of the monthly updates for new home construction, new home sales, was reported this morning. And it continued the theme from the other data (permits, starts, existing home sales); […]

Piercing the myth: How privatizers got their mitts on Medicare

Piercing the myth: How privatizers got their mitts on Medicare, The Stand, Kip Sullivan Insurance companies decried Medicare’s fee-for-service model. But then Congress let them replace it with something much worse. (May 4, 2023) — Congress enacted Medicare in 1965 as a fee-for-service system because the insurance industry did not want to insure the elderly […]

14th Amendment, Debt Ceiling & Perpetual Bonds

When I read this (third article below), I thought of an earlier commentary by one of our peer-reviewed economists. This is what Robert Waldman had to say: “Investors are glad to pay the Treasury to keep their wealth safe. Now consider the US Federal Government intertemporal budget constraint — the present value of spending must […]

The debt ceiling end-game

What should President Biden do if Republicans refuse to raise the debt ceiling?  What should he say he will do, in advance, to avoid a catastrophe and gain leverage in negotiations?  The answer to these questions is far from clear. Krugman and Klein on unorthodox legal strategies Paul Krugman argues that the administration should do […]

The budget ceiling and the Gephardt Rule

The so-called Gephardt Rule (in honor of Representative Dick Gephardt who introduced its first version) provided that when the House agrees to a budget resolution, the Clerk shall prepare a joint resolution suspending the debt limit for the fiscal year covered by the budget resolution. It was repealed at the beginning of the 107th Congress, […]

Labor has gained and Corporations have been sucking up the lion’s share of all gains

Labor has gained since the pandemic, but corporations have been sucking up the lion’s share of those gains . . .  – by New Deal democrat I neglected to add a link to my Weekly Indicators piece at Seeking Alpha on Saturday, so here it is. Also, I’ve been trying to understand why, with all of the […]

Insurance Carriers Are About To Rebate Another $1.1 Billion To Policyholders Thanks To The ACA

My old Michigan standby on the PPACA. If there was something I needed to know, I could always count on Charles knowing the answer. I believe some of the state and federal politicians also relied on Charles for information. What is also kind of cool is Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issuing a directive on Medicaid […]

You can move the people to a better environment, or you can move the polluting facilities

I had read the JAMA Network version of this report although I could not get into the Full Text version. You can find a more open version by using a New in Private Window. Cliff notes . . . the polluting company paid for moving the people. In which, the health of the people, the […]