Tag Archives: US/Global Economics

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...

Two articles here, each on the same topic about extreme wealth going untaxed or taxed less than those in lower income brackets. The first story is about a letter sent to World Economic attendees sent by a bunch of millionaires. The second story is about historian and correspondent Rutger Bregman having a moment at Devos in 2019. Rutger claims he delivered a blast about taxes. If you listen to the clip, it sounds like he had a conversation with them....

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 be less than or equal to the present value of revenue. What is the present value of revenue ? It is calculated by...

SWP Report 2023 | United Nations Population Fund, unfpa.org) In November 2022, the world population eclipsed 8 billion people. For many of us, it represents a milestone the human family should celebrate. A milestone of people living longer, healthier lives, and enjoying more rights and greater choices than ever before. If you have not noticed India eclipsed China in population. At the bottom of the chart, each area of Earth is color coded to...

To be clear, our national debt problem is due to revenues insufficient to cover expenditures. More than anything else, for the past 40 plus years, this accumulated deficit is due to Republican opposition to tax increases coupled with their eagerness to cut taxes on the wealthy given the opportunity to do so. Most, if indeed not all, currently serving Republican US Senators and Representatives, and State legislators have signed a pledge to never vote...

Llyod Alter formerly of Treehugger was the one I would always read on Treehugger. I would say this goes back a couple of decades. I was writing my stuff in the comments section of Slate’s Moneybox or The Best of the Fray. Somehow Treehugger became associated with Slate and I picked up on them and Lloyd. In a most unceremonious way Lloyd was riffed out of Treehugger after many years. For all of his years at Treehugger Lloyd was let go in a rather...

by Joseph Joyce The Costs of the Defragmentation of the Global Economy The integration of markets across borders has slowed down, and in some cases, reversed. These changes come in the wake of the global financial crisis, Donald Trump’s embrace of trade restrictions, Great Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, the disruptions in global supply chains during the pandemic, and the invasion of Ukraine. President Biden has shown a...

The History of Earth Day, treehugger.com, Jenn Savedege. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970. The event and which some consider to be the birth of the environmental movement. Founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson. Nelson chose the April date to coincide with spring while avoiding most spring break and final exams. Politics Iowa Senate Pulls All-Nighter to Roll Back Child Labor Protections, vice.com, Julia Roscoe. The...

Thank you Fred Dobbs and a Happy Mother Earth Day to You also. International Mother Earth Day, United Nations Mother Earth is clearly urging a call to action. Nature is suffering. Oceans filling with plastic and turning more acidic.  Extreme heat, wildfires and floods, have affected millions of people. Even these days, we are still trying to get back on track from COVID-19, a worldwide health pandemic linked to the health of our ecosystem....