This commentary came by way of ltr a reader at Angry Bear. A pretty solid review of how drug prices and the resulting costs after insurance are still impossible to pay. That is, if the insurance, Medicare, Medicaid even pay for them in entirety or a portion. If the former is not the case, a patient is left with what they will not pay. Then there is the yearly deductibles and co-pays. Some will decide not to take these potentially life-saving...
Read More »Properly measured Inflation is no longer a significant issue . . .
CPI less shelter up only 0.7% in last 11 months (0.8% annualized rate) – by New Deal democrat Let me cut to the chase right from the outset: except for the very lagging measures of shelter; motor vehicle parts, repairs and insurance; and to a lesser and waning extent, food; consumer inflation is now well-contained and close to the Fed’s target rate. First, let’s look at the headlines, with the monthly and YoY rates of change: Total CPI...
Read More »A Slightly confusing headline . . .
Pluralities of Americans support second Trump indictment, say charges are politically motivated: POLL, ABC News, Brittany Shepherd. According to Commenter Fred Dobbs; A Slightly confusing headline . . . ABC News – June 11 There are sharp partisan differences, according to the survey. A plurality of Americans think that former President Donald Trump should have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to his handling of...
Read More »Recycling Plastics releases Microplastic pollution in the Water and Air
Having purchased healthcare, automotive, etc. components from various molding manufacturers, I can definitely testify to the amount of scrap created from each part. There is no way of avoiding the scrap left from a molded component. Much of this ends up in regrind and what ever is sorted may go into other uses. The story touches on micro particles occurring during the regrinding of the scrap. Some so small, it is difficult to see. The little-known...
Read More »How is Labor in Europe? Check out Switzerland
Not so long ago, I was working in Riethem-Weilhem Germany for the Germans, of course. A smaller ($1 billion) automotive company. My US position was in Cazenovia, NY where the Rockefellers used to hang out in their mansion on the south end of Lake Cazenovia. It is now called the Brewster Inn. While in Germany, they gave me a car and I would go touring all over southern Germany and into Switzerland. They would send me to the Czech Republic to visit...
Read More »Are personal consumption expenditures a helpful forecasting (or even nowcasting) metric? An overview
Are personal consumption expenditures a helpful forecasting (or even nowcasting) metric? An overview – by New Deal democrat As I’ve noted a number of times recently, in addition to payrolls the other positive datapoint keeping the economy growing is real personal spending. Here is what it looks like in total, plus broken down by goods and services for the past several years: The trend in both, at least since last June, is definitely higher....
Read More »Narrowing the scope of the 1972 Clean Water Act
One would have to be totally unknowing or have a ignorant disregard for wetlands near streams, rivers, and lakes. Wetlands purify our water by removing sediments and other pollutants including chemicals. Wetlands also filter and process excess nutrients that may runoff from agricultural and development sites. Wetlands hold on to the water long enough to allow the sediments and other pollutants to settle out and the purified water then enters...
Read More »Open Thread June 12, 2023 SCOTUS on Wetlands
Alito pretends physics does not exist. Nearby wetlands do not matter unless they have a surface connection to a stream, river, or lake. The notion a wetland can only be linked to streams or lakes by a continuous surface connection—presumably visible to the justices themselves—is fundamentally at odds with hydrology or the science of water. The movement of water beneath the surface (groundwater) connects water bodies in ways that are just as or more...
Read More »The Thought running Through my Mind was “Who will be the Judge in Florida?”
The second question; Why do Repubs get to pick the judges they wish to appear before? And the third question? Why do Dems get whatever is available? I was thinking about this happenstance on Friday when I read trump would appear in Federal Court in Florida. And yes, trump appointee Judge Aileen Cannon came to mind. Here we are once again . . . How does Judge Cannon get to be the assigned to oversee the classified documents case against former...
Read More »Still
Meanwhile, Trump is on the campaign trail busily trying to foment another insurrection/revolution a la Jan 6th. Can’t but still wonder if there isn’t something darker than the documents driving this desperation.
Read More »