Tag Archives: US/Global Economics

I live halfway between Phoenix and Tucson. Pretty much what you would call desert if you were new to the area like I am. Water is an issue as much of it comes from the Colorado river. The limits to draw water from the Colorado are still being determined or in a flux. The states are jockeying for more to insure growth. Nothing is stopping our small city from issuing more building permits. Irrigation efficiency for who? – The one-handed economist,...

Little doubt, economic policy will be one of the things experiencing the greatest change due to Global Warming (Climate Change). Always a construct, economic policies have, heretofore, in the main, been determined by the powerful. Seldom, if ever, have they been based on how it should be. If we are lucky, in the very near future, that determination will become a democratic one based on how should it be. If not, we haven’t a snowball’s chance in hell...

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...

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...

“This success can translate to a more transformative and permanent paradigm shift for US energy policy, but the DOE’s success paves a clear path to future successes.” The SPR strategy being, “how long can the US hold out against a hostile Middle East?” The Saudis appear to favor trump over other US politicians. Maybe appeasing trump is easier than satisfying a real president focused on the nation they represent rather than himself and ego. In any...

Along with getting paid what you are worth is the story, you need a college degree in order to get paid more. That is kind of true if you complete higher education in a field which pays more. What if you do not pick the right field and you are burdened with debt? Your pay is low and it may take a decade, or two or even three to dump the student loan. And if you do not get a degree? Some education “may” be better than no education. The pay may be...

A grouping of eclectic topics spread across various subtitles supposedly giving them some organization. These show up in my In-Box and I leave them their till I clean up the collection Energy and Business A Beginner’s Guide to Plastic-Free Living, treehugger.com, Katherine Martinko. “You need to write a step-by-step guide to giving up plastic.” Electric Vehicles Have a Public-Charging Problem, The Atlantic, Patrick George. Driving from...

The following definitions I found in the article “What Kaiser’s Acquisition of Geisinger Means For Us All,” Forbes, Robert Pearl M.D. May 31, 2023 There are a couple of terms within the article which I would like to point out. Fee For Service and Fee For Value. For clarity, Traditional Medicare uses Fee For Service methodology and Medicare Advantage uses Fee For Value methodology. The following paragraphs were pulled from the Forbes article...

I agree with the author’s reasoning for domestic supply manufacturing. I have battled the issues with pharma, medical supply, and also food manufacturing. Batches are problematic as well as the USDA and FDA labeling requirements. You wait for approvals. As of August 2019, 28 percent of the manufacturing facilities producing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs – drug substances formulated into tablets, capsules, and injections) to supply the...

The deal is much better than I expected for Democrats, and much worse for Republicans (preliminary summaries by Dayen and Stein).  Of course, the whole thing was destructive and pointless and the deal is bad in the way one would expect – it includes work requirements for some food stamp and TANF recipients.  On the plus side, these requirements are crafted to limit the number of people affected while letting the Republicans claim a “win”. Over the...