Treat Yo Self, 2011!

It's the last day to Treat...Yo...Self - 2011. So enjoy it everyone and have a Happy New Year!

 

This is how Republicans govern

Clock in, clock out. Not like they have any bills to discuss. It's all in a hard day's work in the U.S. Congress run by people who don't believe in it.

Rest in peace Hitch

The great Christopher Hitchens has died. The columnist was a great advocate for freedom, reason and atheism. He is probably most known for his support of the Iraq War and had the strongest argument for it. Even though to this day I remain opposed (the war officially ended yesterday - yay!), Hitch always forced me to reconsider my view. He was also known for his fervent atheism and his belief that the modern world would be vastly better without religion and its influence. Whether we're religious or not, we pray for Hitch. He is neither in heaven or hell, but we hope that Mr. Hitchens' great acerbic wit lives on forever.

Long live Hitch.

I guess Keynesianism is dead after all. Wait...what?

Six major central banks, including ours, announced that they would coordinate their efforts to increase liquidity in the European market, to stave off the economic collapse of Greece, Italy, and Portugal and thus halt spreading the contagion to stronger parts of Europe and the world as a whole. Yet conservative politicians worldwide (and especially in the U.S.) want us (the economy) to jump off the top of the building (Keynesian counter-cyclical stimulus), hoping that we'll bounce all the way across to the building rooftop across the street.

However, confronting a true worldwide economic collapse just for the sake of moral superiority, would look like this. (Hint: We're Neo)

 

Essay of the Day

"In the aughts, Republicans held more power for longer than at any time since the twenties, yet the result was the weakest and least broadly shared economic expansion since World War II, followed by an economic crash and prolonged slump."

Quote from the must-read essay by former speechwriter and adviser to President Bush, David Frum.

U.S. Supreme Court to hear arguments on ObamaCare

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear the case concerning the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) commonly known to teabaggers and Americans alike as "ObamaCare." It will be interesting to see what this ideologically divided court does with the rulings. The court has instructed the parties to prepare briefs surrounding three main questions:

1. Is the requirement to purchase insurance (individual mandate) allowable under the interstate commerce clause?
2. Did the federal government overstep its bounds by only making Medicaid funds available upon states' acceptance of the new laws and regulations in the ACA?
3. If only the individual mandate is struck down (which is a legal option), does the healthcare law become de facto null and void as it is the primary funding mechanism for getting rid of pre-existing conditions, recission and young adult regulations?

Overall, I feel like the ACA will be held as constitutional. Most appellate courts have held it to be so, including the D.C. Court of Appeals. Here's Reagan's Solicitor General, Charles Fried explaining while, although in a democracy we may disagree on this politically, this law is surely constitutional.



I'm going to do the layman's argument.
Q. Can a government force you to buy something through regulation?
A. Yes, most state governments force people who have cars to purchase car insurance, so that when people get in accidents the costs to both health and property are borne by the people and not the state.
Q. A-ha! I have two points. One that's state governments have more lee-way to impose regulations; and two, I can opt out of the car insurance mandate by not having a car!
A. Here's the crux of why the mandate matters and is legal. Everyone has a body. NO ONE has the ability to opt out of the healthcare market. And if people promised never to move outside of their state, then maybe we could have health insurance administered on a purely state level, but the market of American people move frequently between states and thus the costs and risks of accidents, disease, and age are spread across the nation so it's not outside the bounds of Congress to consider national solutions to national problems. You may disagree with the solution, but that does not make it unconstitutional.

Boo f'n hoo...

Welcome to the economy fellas...you got a three year head start. Hope you like your new digs in Williamsburg.