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Purely from a policy standpoint, today was a terrible day to be "against" Medicaid. For the first time, reported The New York Times, a large-scale study of the impact of Medicaid found that
When poor people are given medical insurance, they not only find regular doctors and see doctors more often but they also feel better, are less depressed and are better able to maintain financial stability. . . .
After the sudden demise of the News of the World today, tabloid editors will surely think twice before drawing on illegally obtained information. But other unethical practices – used by a range of print, broadcast, and online media businesses – will continue, like paying sources for dubious information (“cash for trash”) or fabricating juicy stories outright to boost circulation or ratings.
With a proposal over future fuel economy standards expected in September, it’s shaping up to be a long summer of wrangling between the Obama Administration and the auto industry over the specifics. While negotiations proceed, the fate of the American car industry may hang in the balance.
In an online article for The New Republic, Michael Kazin unintentionally reveals why Pat Buchanan is probably right about the debt ceiling negotiations. For the last two days, Buchanan has argued on Morning Joe that “President Obama will fold,” settling for a short-term extension and giving Republicans another victory. He bases this view on the belief that Republicans have the upper hand politically, but his evidence is mainly speculative.
One of the more bizarre features of political life over the past two years has been the sense on Wall Street that it has been unfairly demonized in the wake of the financial crash. Top bankers have famously soured on President Obama because of his occasional criticisms of Wall Street -- despite the Administration's record of going easy on an arrogant financial elite who blew up the economy.
It is no secret that government regulators often mete no more than a slap on the wrist for corporate wrongdoers guilty of serious crimes. As I have written here and elsewhere, federal authorities routinely reach settlements in which corporations do not actually acknowledge doing anything wrong and agree to financial penalties.
Looking at the corporate misconduct that led to last year’s terrible mining disaster in West Virginia, a few words spring to mind. And while "repugnant" might be an understatement, at least it’s printable.
Republican lawmakers in Minnesota have forced a government shutdown in that state by refusing to agree to any revenue increases at all to help close the state's $5 billion budget deficit. Governor Mark Dayton, in contrast, has offered a mix of steep spending cuts and a modest tax hike on high earners.