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America whether under Eisenhower or under Truman, Johnson or Reagan embodied some measure of fairness and good sense. How this was lost when it comes to pharmaceutical pricing under Bush in 2003 and Obama in 2008 is shown here in a WSJ podcast. Bush and Republican allowed Medicare to pay for pharmaceuticals yet taking away its right to negotiate prices. Obama and Democrats in 2008 this podcast shows allowed the Bush introduced violation of good financial common sense to continue in exchange for support for Obamacare from the manufacturers. Over 15 years by 2019 pharmaceutical costs soared and remaining goodwill withered, this podcast shows. During this same period the financial industry went through a similar cycle and with it the ideas of a free market economy. The free market economy like everything else in life depended on good common sense, and a sense of how it benefits all, as both Adam Smith and the country's principal founders constantly reminded people.      ...

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On the first days of her campaign Kamala Harris addresses the American Federation of Teachers. One of the big issues is learning loss for children during the pandemic. How to address reading loss, learning loss of children who are falling behind? Harris supports teachers in many ways. She wants to see the hard work of teachers respected and compensated by increasing teacher pay. Lyrarc's Movement for Global Literacy is focused on this same issue how to address reading comprehension loss among children in the US, that was weak to begin with and is now in trouble with the pandemic learning loss. Lyrarc is a useful tool and essential tool following serious learning loss from the pandemic, for increasing literacy and reading comprehension of children and young people in the US, UK, India and other countries. With NAEP test scores showing two thirds of children in 8th grade failing Reading Comprehension, and 75% failing Civics comprehension Lyrarc is an essential tool for addressing this problem. ...

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Potential Treasury nominee Kevin Warsh is given the possible role at Treasury plus appointment as Fed chairman after 2026 when Jerome Powell retires. At 35 years Kevin Warsh was the youngest governor of the Federal Reserve, America's central bank, appointed in 2006 by George Bush. At the time his appointment was criticized for lack of experience- Warsh comes from upstate New York and went to school at Shaker School in Latham, then Stanford, in economics and a JD at Harvard, followed by 7 years at Morgan Stanley. He was executive secretary of the National Economic Council in 2002. During the bank financial crisis of 2009 the lack of macro regulation led to failure of investment banks. Warsh was able top save Morgan Stanley and he acted as an avenue of information from banks to the Fed.

Warsh left the Fed in 2011 and returned to public service in 2016 when Trump made his first run for president as an adviser to DJT. 

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Kamala Harris says she will tackle immigration head-on at the Arizona rally August 10, 2024. She said she would Pass the Lankford- Biden Immigration Bill and sign it into law. It is the bill that passed the Senate and was given no chance in the House because of it being opposed by Trump for use as an election issue.

Harris said-

“I was attorney general of a border state. I went after the transnational gangs, the drug cartels and the human traffickers. I prosecuted them in case after case and I won, so I know what I’m talking about.”

“He talks a big game about border security but he does not walk the walk."

“We know our immigration system is broken and we know what it takes to fix it: comprehensive reform. That includes strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship,” 

 

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Bill Clinton campaigns for Kamala Harris in small towns in rural America. Jonathan Martin of Politico talks to the former president  during his campaigning in Rocky Mount, eastern North Carolina. Bill Clinton says- “I think that what she ought to do is to pick the things that she cares the most about and she believes and go beyond what’s been done." “I still don’t think most people know the Democrats favored the immigration bill. I think if they did know it would make a difference.” Bill Clinton says work together, be inclusive, work across party lines, and with an open hand- "I think that for her, her message is she wants to be inclusive and open a new era of working together. I think it’s really important because I think people are basically sick of all this paralyzing bad-mouthing.” ...

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Republican orthodoxy means Republican platforms and policy calls for less government which goes against the facts on the ground and the needs of the Nation, and the People. This WSJ report shows Republican counties are more dependent on government aid by a factor of 10 to 1 compared to Democratic counties, and this is increasing every 4 years since 2000. It was 1 to 1 in 2000 and went up to 1 to 5 by 2016 and accelerated since to 1 to 10. Why is this important? It is important because as is true also for the trillions of dollars of funds allocated in the Biden legislation in the Inflation Reduction Act, for Infrastructure, and for Chips and Science. Much of this funding goes to Republican states and counties. Not just in this but in environment regulation for health this vastly benefits Republican counties as shown in the WSJ exclusive below on Mooresville, NC, on coal ash cancer causing soil fillers use in the wealthiest suburbs.   ...

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Little of what John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy fought hard for comes through in the next generation of Kennedys. Looking at Profiles of Courage and Kennedy's speeches one finds something authentic in its conversations about America past and present, about the world past and present. This authenticity is missing in the next generation and the passion for the themes of the day in Kennedy's time is long gone. Did Kennedy come in too early, too soon, Harry Truman would have him wait, giving Humphrey or others a chance. Profiles of Courage and its author would still have made a mark on America in the seventies and eighties. The examples JFK gives of people who put country before party are genuine and real, and they are relevant to today as others including Republican Lankford of Oklahoma who authored the immigration bill in the Senate -that Harris gave a pledge to sign in the nomination speech -are modern day embodiments of that courage They will join the list Kennedy covered. ...

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Jeannie Rice runs Marathons at 77 years and has amazing physiology. Aerobic fitness and endurance capacity of a 25 year old. Her inspiration is Joan Benoit Samuelson who won gold at the inaugural Olympic women's marathon in 1984. Joan Benoit who is 67 says now it is she who is inspired by Rice. When exercise is done at a good level over the adult lifespan it results in cardiovascular and physical endurance and capacity to perform at a high level.  Jeannie Benoit's diet- avoid sweets and fried foods and eat lots of salads, fresh vegetables, rice, fish and nuts., some cheese. Her passion: loves running and wants to inspire young people. She also goes out socially to have fun and relax. Her personal goal - to inspire older runners. She says- “I feel as young as when I was 50, and I’d like to be doing this well into my 80s. That’s my personal goal." ...

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Differences between the Christian Democrats and the CSU over immigration and Merkel's open door policy are only one of the issues for a new Merkel government. There are differences between the CDU and the Free Democrats. Add to this the difference between the Greens and the Free Democrats on environment and business policies.  As a result 2 months after the German election no clear agreement has been reached for a new government made up of the CDU, CSU, Free Democrats and the Greens.  It looks like a difficult coalition to form requiring all the skills of chancellor Merkel and her allies, and in uncharted territory. The FDP leader Lindner sees a 50-50 chance for the talks. The Greens do not want a new election. Merkel's CDU party won about 33% of the vote. To not form a minority government she needs the FDP and the Greens to get over 50% of voters represented in the new government.

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New Yok has a mandatory foreclosure mediation program, with a 3rd party mediator working with the homeowner and the bank to achieve a loan modification. Of the 42,256 mortgages in New York approaching foreclosure since Jan 1, 2010, 75% went into the mediation process. Of this 80% achieved permanent modifications. In Connecticut 70% of 29,000 mortgages went into mediation with over 60% achieving permanent modifications for the same period. Where the mediation was optional as in New Jersey, only 20% of 50,713 mortgages went into mediation. In Nevada, another optional state, only 11% of 62,593 mortgages went into mediation. Mediation rates rocket when it is mandatory. One expert says that this is because mandatory mediation brings accountability and humanizes the process. By reducing the interest rate and making for lower payments the borrower stays in the home, and the bank continues to get its lower but consistent income stream compared to a default in payments. Today 20 states offer some form of mediation but only 2 states and 2 cities make it mandatory. This is happening in the disturbing context of a decline in troubled homeowners receiving assistance or modifications. About 470,000 homeowners received loan assistance in the 3rd quarter, down 17% from the second quarter, and down 32% from the same quarter a year earlier. The paradox is that one way to stimulate the economy that is not being tried is to mitigate losses in the housing market for homeowners and lenders. Spain's financial sector is doing modifications routinely and this is one way it is softening the impact of losses from the housing market. See Spain and residential mortgages....

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Walt Mossberg's detailed review of the capabilities of the third generation iPad released by Apple in March 2012. He reviews its screen display. LTE capabilities, camera, and other features such as dictating email.

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55% of Chrysler cars went to corporate and rental fleets in Septemeber and incentives are higher than ever, both warning signs for Chrysler. New Fiat models are not due for another 2 years.

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Cathay Pacific incurred a $979 million loss on hedging contracts as oil prices went down sharply. Southwest Airlines also had large losses and Delta had $200 million loss to wind down hedging contracts.

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The educated reader does touch on something the automakers should hear- its not just the carmaking skills that count its making something thats cool, that younger people want.

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Mike Atherton on India vs England Test cricket series in June-July 2025. It is seen as a Test series for the ages, India vs England 2025. Looking back at the series Australia vs West Indies in 1960 when the Test ended in a tie when Gary Sobers and Richie Benaud were players for their teams, one finds this one drawing the same level of excitement and suspense. The whole series of 5 tests was filled with suspense, Pant's theatrics, Gill's brilliant batting matching world records set by Don Bradman and Jadeja's all rounder performance with bat and ball matching that of Gary Sobers. Bowling was not far behind with Bumrah, Siraj and Stokes.  The England team and the Indian team were evenly matched with Ben Stokes,Root and Woakes, Atkinson, English players giving it their all. Woakes was injured dislocating his shoulder in an effort to save a boundary, such was the fielding effort on the Oval grounds in the final test. Woakes turned up to bat in much pain, but did not face any balls thanks to Atkinson. Stokes bowled overs almost to exhaustion to miss the last Test.  ...

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European stock markets outperformed the DJIA and the S&P 500 in the U.S. in 2015. Stoxx Europe 600 went up by 7.3%, France's CAC 40 up 9.5%, Germany's DAX up 6.9% excluding dividends. In the early part of the year the DAX went up 20% before being affected by the worries over China and the VW emissions scandal. Italy's FTSE MIB up 13%. Britain's FTSE down 4.45% in 2015 being affected by declines in commodity producers. Experts still see 2016 as a good year for European stock markets, as conditions remain much the same as in 2015 with support from the European Central Bank and eurozone economic recovery in southern Europe.

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Negotiations between European leaders, especially Germany's Merkel and the Obama administration on climate change at G8 meeting. The U.S. and Europe try to work out differences. The U.S. is vague about some language such as the starting year against which emissions reductions will be measured, and has resisted the European pressure to set strong goals over the next 10 years. Europe wants 1990, while the USA, Australia and Japan prefer 2005. Europe wants to see language in aformal document that is being developed for the G-8 meeting, which also includes developing countries, for limiting the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above pre-industrial levels.

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A study by AARP of 514 brand name and generic drugs between 2005 and 2009, shows that generic drug prices went down an average of 31% during this period, and brand name drug prices went up by 41%. One of the authors of the report says that it is important to look at individual drug prices and not studies showing total spending on drugs, because this is a significant cost for people paying out-of-pocket, It drives up insurance premiums, and pushes retirees into coverage gaps in Medicare Part D drug program. Analysts indicate pharmaceutical companies are increasing prices on drugs before patent expiration to get as much profit before the patents expire.

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Many of the one million veterans get their care at VA hospitals. Between 2018-2021 Medicare paid insurance companies $44 billion for Medicare Advantage plans that many of the 1 million veterans covered did not use as they went to VA hospitals for care, according to this story in the WSJ. During that time VA paid $46 billion for veterans care.

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Germany's views on DJT Putin meeting in Alaska- proceeding to next step of peace talks with European efforts to ensure a peace that holds. A failure by Ukrainian leaders to build a consensus for the foreign affairs of their country bordered by language and cultural ties to the east but wanting to be open to the west, its unique position after 1990 similar to how Austria navigated German language ties to Germany after 1945 but was outside NATO and carried on with an independent foreign affairs friendly with all sides. The Bush, Obama and Merkel administrations did not pay attention to this and made serious errors, leading to further wrong turns by Ukrainian leaders and Russian leaders for prolonged wars. This led to destabilization in the Middle East, in Latin America, and in Europe and the US around migrant flows, refugees, and local wars, with Russia, US and Europe local regimes acting as adversaries that had not happened in this way in the 1960's -1990 period. This is the mess that DJT and Merz are now having to untangle with the help of countries that suffered huge losses in the war Russia and Ukraine who now may have realized what went wrong and offer their cooperation to end the war. ...

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Reagan words taken out of historical context by Ontario ad- Lighthizer as Reagan's USTR negotiating with Japan experienced Japan's efforts to unfairly capture world markets. It was only after years of negotiation that Lighthizer was able to get Japan to play by fair rules of world trade. In 2025 Jamieson as US Trade Representative for the US is Lighthizer's deputy in prior negotiations with Asian trade partners who have unfairly gamed the system to their advantage. Canada, Mexico and China are misrepresenting the facts to show they play by the rules when they clearly and blatantly flout world fair trading practices that lead to losses for American workers. The reality is that the Smoot Hawley tariffs by the senators of states that were not industrial states in the US inthe 1930's were adopted by the reckless atitude of Herbert Hoover as president and by senators who had no grasp of world trade. Senator Harry Truman from Missouri as president made correcting these mistakes a top priority in the late 1940's. Today's abuse of the system by Asian countries and Canada, Mexico have nothing to do with the tariffs of the 1930's- America wants all nations to play by the rules which over time will create a stronger world trading system. ...

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NATO takes on a new role with the Quad countries as it sees China's growing assertiveness as a "systemic challenge to the rules based international order and to matters relating to alliance security." Biden says he wants to create international blocs of democratic nations.

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Even after repeated problems with cement used to seal wells, Halliburton went ahead and used it anyway- possibly without alerting BP- according to a federal investigation of the BP Oil Spill. That cement eventually failed.

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The behaviour of the people at private equity in destroying jobs in the midst of the worst job market in decades. In this case the private equity names are Cerberus, Sun Capital, and Lubert-Adler and the jobs are the 30,000 jobs at Mervyns in 2004 when it was acquired by private equity firms for $1.2 billion from Target. All of these jobs are gone. Target bought Mervyns in 1978 for $300 million, but neglected Mervyns even as it focussed on the Target franchise using Mervyn's earnings to do that, it then sold Mervyn's in 2004 to private equity firms. The private equity firms took out $400 million in cash from the firm even as they burdened Mervyns with $800 million in debt. After the acquisition they formed two companies, one with the retail business and the other with the real estate assets of Mervyns, which they went out and sold to get cash out of the company. The real estate was then rented back to Mervyns by the new owners at twice the rent, as Mervyns had a lower rent negotiated many years ago. All that debt and the higher rent and the underinvestment in the brand put Mervyns into a death spiral, with the economic downturn killing the company and pushing it into liquidation, with workers losing even their vacation pay. What does this mean for the rest of the economy? According to Standard and Poors /LCD Group, from 2005 through the third quarter of 2008 private equity firms loaded a huge $741 billion of debt onto their companies'balance sheets. Its not that private equity firms operate without taking on debt, but in the low interest and high liquidity environment of recent years the debt levels soared. Now in the credit collapse lenders are pulling back and debt heavy companies cannot refinance, and fear has set in. According to Capital IQ, of 105 big USA companies that have filed for bankruptcy in 2008, 66 are owned by private equity buyout firms or spun off by them. Investors are nervous about these companies and loans made for these deals are trading at 33 cents on the dollar. ...