Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Wall Street, Venture Capital Drive High Drug Prices

How the government enables drug company grifting via giving them the store while funding reserch.

About That Bipartisanship…

What kind of bipartisanship do we want? Smooth-as-silk to grow our Pentagon and Praetorian Guard? Or disruptive to fight against all that?

2:00PM Water Cooler 4/12/2023

~ Today’s Water Cooler ~

I Tried to Pay My Taxes in Cash – Here’s What Happened, and Why the IRS Should Make It Easier To Do So

A shaggy dog story on trying to get the IRS to accept cash….

Links 4/12/2023

Vaccine Effectiveness and Scientific Communication During COVID-19

Scientists and public health officials didn’t do a great job of explaining Covid vaccine efficacy. Laziness? Arrognace? Obfusction?

James K. Galbraith: The Gift of Sanctions – An Analysis of Assessments of the Russian Economy, 2022 – 2023

Galbraith debunks conventional wisdom on sanctions against Russia.

Trouble in Multifamily CRE: Two Big Messes, and Investors Are on the Hook, Not Banks

Data about who holds CRE loans is incomplete, but more is owned by investors than the media generally acknowledges.

2:00PM Water Cooler 4/11/2023

~ Today’s Water Cooler ~

Agrivoltaics: The Farm-to-Solar Trend That Can Help Accelerate the Renewable Energy Transition

Using the same land for the production of both agriculture and solar energy is a win-win for the climate and farmers.

Links 4/11/2023

Austria’s Third Largest Lender, Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), Is Trapped In Russia, Its Most Lucrative Market

Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is one of the few large European banks that continues to conduct business more-or-less-as-usual in Russia. But as the profits from its Russian operations surge, the associated risks and costs are also rising. 

For Uninsured People With Cancer, Securing Care Can Be Like Spinning a Roulette Wheel

Contending with cancer is horrific enough. Fighting to get care is scary, demoraizing, and can be fatal.

Saudi- U.S. Relations Sour Further On Huge OPEC+ Surprise Cut

Yes, sports fans, the Administration blew it with Saudis. Dealings may have been set to sour, but Team Biden accelerated the process.

Why Did Covid Daily Case Counts and Covid Wastewater Readings Diverge in March 2022?

CDC turns out to be superb at scientific communication….