| Sandy's destruction in New York turns life in Lower Manhattan on its head Oct 31st 2012, 00:21 Ordinarily, veteran New Yorkers don't like to be caught looking up. But when a power center loses its power, it's no ordinary tourist sight. Residents stared open-mouthed Tuesday at the darkened, sodden outline of the Manhattan financial district left by Hurricane Sandy. A triangular shard of glass hung, shivering, from a blown-out office window, revealing an empty brown desk. The steps of the mighty JPMorgan Chase building looked like a muddy shore. Strings of stoplights swung in the wind, dead as fish eyes. Read full article >>   |  | Home prices rise in August Oct 30th 2012, 23:34 Home prices saw broad gains at the end of the summer selling season, with values rising even in hard-hit regions of the country such as Detroit, Las Vegas, Phoenix and South Florida, according to new data released Tuesday. Read full article >>   | | Beware of scam attempts by 'storm chasers' Oct 30th 2012, 21:55 In the aftermath of fires, blizzards, tornadoes, earthquakes or hurricanes, the crooks come out to play. As the East Coast begins to recover from Hurricane Sandy, the "storm chasers" — as the Better Business Bureau calls them — will be trolling for victims. Read full article >>   | | Obama cuts FEMA funding by 3 percent. Romney-Ryan cuts it by 40 percent. Or more. Or less. Oct 30th 2012, 20:43 Whether President Obama or Republican nominee Mitt Romney wins the election, one thing seems clear: FEMA funding is likely to go down next year, but by very different orders of magnitude. The president has proposed cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for 2013 that would reduce overall funding by about 3 percent, with $1 billion trimmed from the Disaster Relief Fund but more money given to state and local programs. Read full article >>   | | The Nate Silver backlash Oct 30th 2012, 19:14 It seems to happen every few weeks. The race tightens or widens or simply continues on exactly as it's been, and some pundit or reporter declares it a staggering humiliation for the burgeoning world of election quants. Read full article >>   | | Deficit hawks: Austerity later! Oct 30th 2012, 18:36 A bipartisan "grand bargain" isn't the only way to reduce the nation's long-term deficit: Going off the fiscal cliff would also do the job. But the deficit hawks pushing for a big, bipartisan compromise argue that their preferred solution is better precisely because it would phase in deficit cuts later—and they say they'd consider stimulus like a payroll tax holiday to help the economy in the short term. Read full article >>   | | What Canada can teach us about fixing Medicare Oct 30th 2012, 18:17
There are a lot of big differences between health care in the United States and Canada. But when you look at how the two countries provide care for the elderly, it's actually pretty similar. Both countries run an insurance plan for those over 64 that covers a defined set of benefits. Read full article >>   | | Weather fatalities in one chart Oct 30th 2012, 17:16 Hurricane Sandy has claimed casualties across the Eastern seaboard, with a death toll of at least 33 at last count. This, sadly, is part of a broader trend of increasing weather-related fatalities since the 1980s. While traditional weather-related dangers, such as lightning, have decreased in salience, heat waves and hurricanes are inflicting heavy casualties. Read full article >>   | | Mitch McConnell and John Boehner's strategy worked Oct 30th 2012, 16:20 I've spent the morning reading various endorsements of Mitt Romney for president, and they all say the same thing: Mitch McConnell and John Boehner's strategy worked. Okay, that's not quite how they put it. But it's precisely what they show. In endorsement after endorsement, the basic argument is that President Obama hasn't been able to persuade House or Senate Republicans to work with him. If Obama is reelected, it's a safe bet that they'll continue to refuse to work with him. So vote Romney! Read full article >>   | | Mitt Romney's voodoo spending cuts Oct 30th 2012, 13:41 Thirty-two years ago, George H.W. Bush called the idea that tax cuts would pay for themselves "voodoo economics." He was right, but his party decided he was wrong: Bush was exiled from conservatism after raising taxes as part of the 1990 budget deal, and every Republican presidential nominee after him has offered huge tax cuts as a matter of course. Read full article >>   | | What Hurricane Sandy means for the economy Oct 30th 2012, 13:35 The devastation of Hurricane Sandy is likely to create big distortions — though not lasting effects — in a wide range of U.S. economic measures. If past major storms and forecasts by economists are a guide, look for industrial production to have taken a dip in October as factories from the Carolinas to New England suspended activity and for housing starts to slow as builders postpone new construction. Retail sales may take a hit but are likely to benefit in November and December, when people buy the supplies they need to rebuild. There could be downward pressure on November employment should some of the employers affected (Atlantic City casinos, for example) be unable to get back to full speed quickly. Read full article >> | |
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