Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Unlawful Pricing Practices by a Major Corporation

Walmart Fined $1.64 Million by NJ for Unlawful Pricing Practices, New Jersey Digest New Jersey has fined Walmart Inc. $1.64 million for repeated violations of state pricing laws. The penalty follows an investigation that revealed Walmart’s pricing discrepancies made comparison shopping difficult for customers. New Jersey’s Division of Consumer Affairs found that Walmart frequently displayed […]

The Robert’s Supreme Court flips Chevron

What Chief Justice Roberts is saying is the justices know more than the scientists and engineers know. This was done in a decision which the agency experts immediately criticized. The issue being potentially undermining decisions by scientists and the very same agency experts. The 6-3 and 6-2 decisions brought by fishing operators in New Jersey and Rhode […]

Extending the Legacy of the 2001, 2003, and 2017 Republican Tax Breaks, Part 2

After Decades of Costly, Regressive, and Ineffective Tax Cuts, a New Course Is Needed, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Part 2 Steps to Creating a Better Tax System (a given) Instead of doubling down on the flawed trickle-down path of the Bush and Trump tax cuts, there are opportunities to work toward a tax […]

Extending the Legacy of the 2001, 2003, and 2017 Republican Tax Breaks

AB: I am always looking for these types of articles. They offer up explanations on how certain government policies and acts impact the nation’s economy and its citizens. Been a while since I looked at the 2001 and 2003 tax breaks. Steve Roth and I were exchanging emails on the more recent Republican 2017 tax […]

Recent Supreme Court (SCOTUS) Decisions

Recent end-of-session SCOTUS Decisions. In no particular order. Still, some are left to be decided. SCOTUS Decisions by Amy Howe SCOTUS Blog (except where cited from elsewhere) Are there no Union workhouses? The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigor? Compliments to Scrooge . . . Grants Pass v. Johnson was decided in […]

The picayune approach to statutory interpretation and the war on the regulatory state:  the case of bump stocks

Imagine that Congress wants to address some social or economic problem by prohibiting certain undesirable acts.  One approach Congress can take is to specifically describe the undesirable behavior and prohibit it.  This approach sometimes works well – it is the basis of traditional criminal law – but it has two great disadvantages.  First, in many […]

CEOs Salary Up nearly 200 times what workers were paid last year – 2023

It appears upper management is running away with most of the compensation. Adding to this is the lowered taxes resulting from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which was passed using Reconciliation. The TCJA is due to reverse in 2025. I am sure President Biden will reverse it for the upper 20% at least. […]

Borrowers Using Payday Lenders Will Be Much Safer in 2025

Yeah, it is another legal/court commentary. This one is about borrowers using Payday lenders. The ruling is expected to take effect in 2025. I am sure borrowers having to use Payday Lenders are thrilled to wait till March 2025. Supreme Court ruling in May, the federal government is expected to get tougher on regulating payday lenders […]

Auto Insurance Rates Jump 11.2%

There are many comments about the increasing costs of automobile insurance. In Michigan, once the no fault insurance was dropped and catastrophic injury insurance was cut, the care of long-term care was edecimated. Many people with serious lifetime injuries were left to fend on their own after reduced payments to caregivers. Past payments to medical […]

The business of pot

When I was in high school and college in the 1970s, marijuana was (a) illegal and (b) plentiful. I may or may not have inhaled, but people I knew were certainly growing, drying, selling and buying dope at the time. From a public health standpoint, marijuana is more benign than alcohol and tobacco. I’m happy […]