With the world’s attention focused on Covid-19 and potential therapies and vaccines, it might be a good time to reflect on the quality of discourse relating to how the issues created by the pandemic might be resolved. It is difficult for investors, the media, and others to evaluate “scientific” commentary for accuracy in the absence … Continued
Wikipedia defines Federalism in the U.S. as “the constitutional division of power between the U.S. state governments and the federal government.” Federalism is complicated in practice and has been an area of contention since the beginnings of the U.S. Over time, power has shifted away from the states and toward the national government. While still … Continued
This is the title of a successful 1973 film starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. The movie focused on how a mutual attraction in college changed during and after WW2, giving rise to the fundamental premise that the two were no longer the way they were. Today we are in the middle of a serious … Continued
This question is derived from the British 19th century fairy tale, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” and is now very relevant to the concerns of potential travelers. Most leisure travel usually involves one or more nights away from home. As long as consumers are concerned about who will have previously occupied the room they are … Continued
Now that baseball is in a health hiatus, second guessing, also known as, I told you so, 20/20 hindsight, etc., has become the national pastime. The fact that we have a national election in less than six months may have something to do with that. But this blog is not about politics. It is easy … Continued
It is no secret that Congress is currently very polarized and seemingly unable to do much in a truly bipartisan manner. But Congress is made up of politicians, and in the words of Otto von Bismarck, “politics is the art of the possible, the attainable – the art of the next best.” Political polarization is … Continued
This is a line spoken by Puck in Shakespeare’s play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Argentina recently announced its ninth sovereign debt default. That Argentina defaulted should not have been a surprise, but that the country had an opportunity to default a ninth time makes one wonder just who lends money to a serial defaulter after … Continued
China has lent billions to poor countries, and now they can’t pay it back. Perhaps China should have heeded J. Paul Getty’s observation, “If you owe the bank $100 that’s your problem, if you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem.” China’s global lending spree, which, over the last two decades, showered less … Continued
Bob Bilkie, my husband and co-conspirator in both my home and work life, wrote a blog in late March regarding my mom’s health and her fighting spirit. As a recap, my mom was admitted to St. Joseph Mercy hospital in Ann Arbor in early February. She fought her way through five abdominal surgeries and a … Continued
Yes, but it is also a country comprising 50 states. States’ rights is a complicated issue, but sufficed to say, state Governors have considerable powers, specifically enumerated in the U.S. Constitution, and do not have to always march in lock step to edicts from Washington. This may prove to be a good thing in assessing … Continued
Much is being written on the potential psychological effects of social isolation. This is not the place for an extensive review of all of the possible impacts of a lack of normal social interaction. However, it is important to recognize that we have evolved to be social creatures. For all of history, people have been … Continued
We have previously discussed proposals by economists and political scientists that would substitute universal basic income (UBI) policies as credible alternatives to existing social programs such as unemployment insurance. (See blogs titled Universal Basic Income, Universal Basic Income Revisited, Universal Basic Income – A Setback?, Universal Basic Income: Now India? and Universal Basic Income for America?). … Continued
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