What Was Comey Thinking?

He went against all advice and prior practice in his letter to Congress. Once you think about it, there is virtually no chance that the emails found on Weiner's computer haven't already been seen by the FBI. There is also virtually no chance that we'll know this for sure until after the election. Comey has already provided unnecessary partisan editorializing regarding Mrs. Clinton's use of a private server--just the facts ma'am. He has tarnished his own reputation and that of the FBI. 

Paul Krugman: Working the Refs.

Cargo Cult Economics

Brad DeLong: Would Higher Interest Rates Boost Economic Growth?

The Supreme Court

Texas Leads the Country in the Percentage of Children Who are Uninsured

From the Texas Monthly: A recently released report by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families shows that Texas accounts for an astounding 20 percent of the nation's uninsured children with a staggering 682,000 kids without health insurance coverage in 2015. But, as the Texas Tribune notes, Texas is improving a bit. There were 888,000 uninsured children in the state in 2013, and the rate of uninsured kids has dropped from 16.6 percent in 2009 to 9.5 percent in 2015, though that's still double the 4.8 percent national average. The only state with a higher rate of uninsured children in 2015 than Texas was Alaska. According to the Georgetown Center's executive director, the blame falls on Texas' shoulders. “I think it speaks to this ongoing resistance and reluctance to embrace the coverage agenda,” Joan Alker told the Tribune. “We know that just because we’re talking about kids doesn’t mean that all states will do the right thing.” 

Clinton and Trump Surrogates Debate Energy Policy

Summary of the debate.

More on the Problems With Obamacare

Most people are unaffected--if you have employer subsidized healthcare, if you have Medicare or Medicaid or if you qualify for a subsidy on the exchange. Some well functioning exchanges don't have this problem (California). Others have been managed by their state governments to maximize this problem.

These "problems" are easily fixable.

Saving Obamacare

Congress crippled the Affordable Care Act by eliminating a public option. There is no reason a public option cannot work alongside private insurance. Private insurers oppose it because it would reduce their profits and make it difficult to pay exorbitant salaries to their CEOs. Medicare has been instrumental in lowering costs (and could do more if Congress allowed Medicare to bargain with pharmaceutical companies). Why not make Medicare available to anyone who wanted it. Pre-65 subscribers might have to pay more than retirees, but costs would likely be cheaper than private insurance, especially if everyone was required to enroll in some plan. The same subsidies that low income subscribers receive now on the exchanges could be used to make costs reasonable.

Jacob S. Hacker: The Best Way to Save Obamacare

O Canada!

Do you suppose we can apply for annexation? Maybe the Northeast, Great Lakes and the Pacific Coast?

The Economist: Liberty Moves North

Is the Financial System Still Dangerous?

We still haven't solved our problems with regulating the financial system. In a lot of ways the complexity of Dodd-Frank made things worse by hiding the real problems behind a confusing curtain. Banks are not less risky than they were before 2008 abut we've made it seem that way.

Anat Admati: It Takes a Village to Maintain a Dangerous Financial System

Federal Reserve Independence Is an Attribute Worth Keeping

Anyone who thinks Congress can do a better job with monetary policy than the Fed, raise your hand. The Fed has always been audited, both by independent internal auditors and an outside firm. Today's "audit the Fed" push is no more than an attempt by Congress to meddle with something they know almost nothing about. If you don't believe me, take a look at some of the questions they've asked Janet Yellen during her recent testimony.

The Fed has been the primary bastion against descent into the kind of troubles Europe is now facing. When the ECB tightened, the Fed loosened and we are much better off because of it. Now, if only Congress had done their half of the job and used fiscal policy to stimulate the economy beyond the first (and only) paltry attempt...


Alan Blinder: Hands Off the Fed