Tag Archives: Taxes/regulation

Let Trump Continue To Fail To Appoint People There has been much moaning and wailing and gnashing of teeth by many commentators and politicians over the failure of President Donald Trump to appoint people to fill numerous now vacant positions within the executive branch of government, with the State Department often being put forward as one of many agencies with many empty chairs in official positions.  However, the other night I heard Lawrence O’Donnell...

by David Zetland (originally published at Aguanomics) Lead poisoning, gasoline lobbies and crime Most of you have probably heard how the residents of Flint, Michigan were exposed to unhealthy levels of lead in their water (actually, any level is considered unhealthy) due to political and managerial incompetence.* Then I read this article on the “lead-poisoned generations of New Orleans,” which pointed out two things. First, there’s a very heavy...

by David Zetland (originally published at Aguanomics) So what now, America? I was going to call this post “I told you so, America,” but I want to change people’s perspectives and motivate action more than be right. First of all, let’s all agree that the flood damages to Houston were worse due to poor planning that paved wetlands and allowed the city to sprawl into flood plains. Second, subsidized flood insurance (or the lack of a requirement for...

If you have been in a 401K like I have over the decades, you know this has been helpful in reducing tax on your income. If you do not know this, you do now. The GOP is making eyes on your 401k contributions with the intent of removing the upfront deduction which lowers your taxable income. The GOP would like to go to a Roth type of 401k. Either way, I would be ok. The problem I have with this idea is it is being presented as a way to help holders of a...

Trickle-down, with the emphasis on “trickle” Since the turn of the Millennium, a torrent of corporate tax cuts has resulted in a trickle of investment growth. This morning Dean Baker objects to: the argument … that reducing corporate taxes will lead to more investment and thereby greater wage growth in the future. The data from the last seventy years show there is no relationship between aggregate profits and investment. As can be seen, there is no...

Bruce Bartlett’s twitter comments offer a look at one of this September’s issues.

Reader Dan sends along this one: (this was my newbie persona ten years ago http://angrybearblog.com/2007/05/reader-dan-on-insurance.html) ——————- My insurance in MA was cancelled on property due to ‘limiting risk exposure’ by my insurance company. While near the coast, my investment property is not on a flood plain and well protected as well as being higher by far (40 ft.) than downtown. I wound up having to buy from a MA backed plan at 1.5 multiplier for...

Via New York Times comes this information on flood insurance, which I believe is the predominate cause of storm damage in the Houston area and beyond: Private homeowners’ policies generally cover wind damage and, in certain cases, water damage from storm surges. But for almost half a century, all other homeowners’ flood coverage has been underwritten by the National Flood Insurance Program, a federal program that itself faces financial uncertainty....

Notes on Harvey: if Karma could bring her litter to visit the Texas GOP First of all, as many of you already know, the M.I.A. proprietor of Bonddad blog, Hale Stewart, resides in the Houston area.  I traded messages with him on Saturday, and as of then, he was doing OK. Secondly, when Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey and New York, Texas Republicans were prominent among those who opposed aid.  Ultimately aid was provided — but not until 75 days after the...

I met Cathy in Cambridge when she spoke at MIT a few years ago. This is  re-posted from Naked Capitalism.  Cathy’s whole TED Talk can be watched after the fold. Data Scientist Cathy O’Neil: “Algorithms Are Opinions Embedded in Code” Cathy O’Neil has a PhD in mathematics from Harvard and is the author of the best seller Weapons of Math Destruction. She is also involved in Occupy Wall Street. In this TED talk, she describes how algorithms routinely...