This graph* shows the net value to society of a person as they age. Initially, a child costs money for food, health and education. During the working years, they generate more value than they consume. In retirement, living and health …
After the election, I concluded that Trump won with three appeals: Bring back jobs Drain the swamp Build the wall and that I approved of the first two. (It’s now clear that all three are unlikely to happen.) Many people …
Nice article in Salon suggesting that Republicans adopt a religious mantle to capture voters in the South for whom religion is so important that it trumps their economic interests.
The NYT has a good article on how patents enable drug companies to keep prices high – far higher than in other countries. For example, with the patent for the older oral contraceptive Loestrin 24Fe about to expire, the company …
A paper by two Boston University researchers puts the annual cost of patent trolls at $29Bn.
A speaker from San Clemente was quoted as saying “We are one of those people that make over $250,000 a year, and I don’t agree that that makes us rich.” The median household income for California is $54,000; for San …
Intersting column by Michael Kinsley claiming to prove that privatising Social Security won’t work. He makes a similar point to one that I have claimed several times, only to get blank stares: that whether a dollar of earnings is spent …