Monthly Archives: March 2021

March 31, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/31/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Getting a Prescription to Die Remains Tricky Even as Aid-in-Dying Bills Gain Momentum
  by Yves Smith 9:55 am

• Links 3/31/2021
  by Yves Smith 6:55 am

• A Covid Tragedy: “Wholesale Discrediting of Our Health Science Institutions”
  by Yves Smith 6:50 am

• Chicago School Economists Got it Wrong. Strong Antitrust Policy Boosts the Economy.
  by Yves Smith 6:37 am

• Will Biden’s Central American Plan Slow Migration (or Speed It Up)?
  by Yves Smith 12:09 am

March 30, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/30/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Godzilla vs. Kong: A Functional Morphologist Uses Science to Pick a Winner
  by Yves Smith 9:55 am

• Links 3/30/2021
  by Yves Smith 6:55 am

• It’s Time To Talk About Ivermectin
  by Nick Corbishley 6:15 am

• We Have to Consign the Era of Financial Engineering to History
  by Yves Smith 5:20 am

• Philanthrocapitalists: The Pied Pipers of ‘Modern Slavery’?
  by Yves Smith 4:30 am

March 29, 2021

• Is Dr. Fauci Trying to Steal the Credit for All the Vaccines Delivered by Operation Warp Speed?
  by Lambert Strether 6:55 pm

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/29/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Ponzis Go Boom!!!
  by Lambert Strether 11:58 am

• Links 3/29/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:58 am

• Our Collective Long Covid
  by Yves Smith 6:30 am

• Austerity Raises Covid Deaths
  by Yves Smith 12:51 am

March 28, 2021

• Where the Beltway Mainstream Thinks Obama’s Performance Could Have Been Improved
  by Lambert Strether 3:55 pm

• Links 3/28/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:58 am

• Need Amid Plenty: Richest US Counties Are Overwhelmed by Surge in Child Hunger
  by Lambert Strether 6:45 am

March 27, 2021

• Links 3/27/2021
  by Yves Smith 6:55 am

• Russia and China Are Sending Biden a Message: Don’t Judge Us or Try to Change us. Those Days Are Over
  by Yves Smith 6:00 am

• Utopian Socialism Brings About Toilet Paper Shortages Maybe In The Near Future, or A Short Ideological History of the Suez Canal
  by Yves Smith 4:36 am

March 26, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/26/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Incomplete and Indecisive USPS Board Flounders and Awaits Direction
  by Yves Smith 9:55 am

• Links 3/26/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:55 am

• Ships, Chips, and IPs: The High Costs of Tight Coupling
  by Yves Smith 6:54 am

• Why Won’t Doctors Take Cash?
  by Yves Smith 6:53 am

• U.S. Joins “Rules-Based World” on Afghanistan
  by Yves Smith 5:49 am

March 25, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/25/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• CalPERS Shoots Itself in the Foot: Undermines Its Position in Insolent Letter Demanding JJ Jelincic Drop His Case Against Secrecy Abuses
  by Yves Smith 10:18 am

• Links 3/25/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:58 am

• Sick Unicorns: America’s Broken Start-Up System
  by Yves Smith 6:49 am

• Rising Temperatures, Melting Ratings
  by Yves Smith 6:35 am

• Revealed: Doctors Worldwide Offer ‘Dangerous’ Treatment to ‘Reverse’ Abortions
  by Yves Smith 6:20 am

March 24, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/24/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Democrats Continue to Prop Up High Cost Medical System by Buying Health Insurance
  by Yves Smith 9:55 am

• Links 3/24/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:55 am

• Bitcoin, Easter Island-ism, and the Cowardice of Green New Dealers
  by Yves Smith 6:00 am

• Medea Benjamin: 10 Things Wrong With Biden’s Foreign Policy
  by Yves Smith 5:55 am

• Postal Service Saboteur Louis DeJoy Is Making Biden And Congress Look Impotent – Or Worse
  by Yves Smith 5:32 am

March 23, 2021

• Why Can’t the IRS Just Send Americans a Refund – or a Bill?
  by Yves Smith 8:58 pm

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/23/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Links 3/23/2021
  by Yves Smith 6:58 am

• The Ultimate Grenfell Betrayal: UK Government Leaves Victims of Cladding Crisis Holding the Bill
  by Nick Corbishley 6:41 am

• End Vaccine Apartheid Before Millions More Die
  by Yves Smith 5:22 am

• Will Clean Energy Kickstart A New Resource War?
  by Yves Smith 5:06 am

March 22, 2021

• How the New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik Played His Readers for Chumps on Outdoor Dining and Aerosols — Including Me
  by Lambert Strether 5:25 pm

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/22/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• The Ancient Roots of “Doing Nothing”: Is Idleness a Form Of Resistance — Or Just an Indulgence for the Lucky Few?
  by Lambert Strether 12:06 pm

• Links 3/22/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:58 am

• The Bullshit Economy Part 2: Payday Loans 2.0, aka Early Paycheck Apps
  by Yves Smith 4:39 am

• Cabin Fever: Americans (of Means) Keen to Travel. How Many Will Play it Safe?
  by Yves Smith 3:54 am

March 21, 2021

• Covid Is Airborne (on Airplanes)
  by Lambert Strether 5:55 pm

• Links 3/21/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:58 am

• The End of Closed Democracy?
  by Lambert Strether 6:45 am

March 20, 2021

• Links 3/20/2021
  by Yves Smith 6:55 am

• New CDC Guidelines to Reopen Schools, Based on Outdated, Cherry-Picked, and Misinterpreted Data, Put Students, Teachers, and Communities at Risk
  by Yves Smith 5:47 am

• How Employers Punish Workers for Forming Unions
  by Yves Smith 4:28 am

March 19, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/19/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• We May Be Living in a Moment of Misplaced Optimism
  by Yves Smith 9:55 am

• Links 3/19/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:58 am

• Scoring the $1.9 Trillion Stimulus Plan and Earlier Covid Relief Programs
  by Yves Smith 5:53 am

• Another Blow to Tax Evasion and Money Laundering: UK Targets Art Market After US Goes After Anonymous Shell Companies
  by Yves Smith 5:25 am

• Stock Market Leverage Spikes in Historic Manner: Another WTF Chart of a Zoo that Has Gone Nuts
  by Yves Smith 2:02 am

March 18, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/18/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• CalPERS Laughingstock: Marcie Frost, Who Previously Pursued Non-Existent Dual Bachelors/Masters Degree, Designates Herself Law School Grad and Bar Member; Investment Committee Chair Theresa Taylor Admits Not Knowing What SPACs Are
  by Yves Smith 9:46 am

• CalPERS Board Member Theresa Taylor Outs that a Staff Member Has Committed Fraud; When Will Giant Pension Come Clean?
  by Yves Smith 9:45 am

• Links 3/18/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:55 am

• Patent System Often Stifles the Innovation It Was Designed to Encourage
  by Yves Smith 5:06 am

• The Free Press versus Facebook and Google
  by Yves Smith 4:46 am

• The Full Case Against Ultra Low and Negative Interest Rates
  by Yves Smith 1:17 am

March 17, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/17/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Legalise It: Prohibition’s Repeal and Its Unintended Impact on Public Health
  by Yves Smith 9:55 am

• Links 3/17/2021
  by Yves Smith 6:55 am

• Michael Hudson and Paul Craig Roberts: It Is Time To Remove The Debt Barrier To Economic Growth
  by Yves Smith 6:15 am

• Yanis Varoufakis: Draghi’s Outrageous Deployment of McKinsey, Europe’s Predicament, DiEM25’s Proposals
  by Yves Smith 6:14 am

• The Long Term Damage of Economic Downturns
  by Yves Smith 5:03 am

March 16, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/16/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Why Would Anyone Buy Crypto Art – Let Alone Spend Millions on What’s Essentially a Link to a JPEG File?
  by Yves Smith 9:55 am

• Links 3/16/2021
  by Yves Smith 6:55 am

• Spain’s Labor Office Hit by Massive Ransomware Attack As Unemployment Hits Four-Year High
  by Nick Corbishley 6:53 am

• New York City Lost a Record 631,000 Jobs to the Pandemic in 2020. So What’s Next?
  by Yves Smith 5:55 am

• Biden Stimulus Plan Shores Up Weakest Multi-Employer Pension Plans Rather than Taking on Private Equity Abuses
  by Yves Smith 4:43 am

March 15, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/15/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Indian Vaccine Manufacturers: U.S. Use of Wartime Export Controls Threatens World Vaccine Production
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 12:55 pm

• Links 3/15/2021
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 6:58 am

• ‘Disturbing’: Rich Nations Vaccinating Person Per Second While Blocking Effort to Share Recipe With Poor Countries
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 6:55 am

• New Zealand’s Feeble Attempt to Curb Sky-High Housing Prices
  by Yves Smith 6:17 am

• Nomi Prins: To Build or Not to Build? The Infrastructure Question
  by Yves Smith 4:11 am

March 14, 2021

• For the Birds: Lights Out Philly
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 12:25 pm

• Links 3/14/2021
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 6:58 am

• Meet the “New Koch Brothers” – the Hedge Fund Activists Wrecking America’s Green New Deal
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 6:55 am

March 13, 2021

• Links 3/13/2021
  by Yves Smith 6:58 am

• The Productivity of Working from Home: Evidence from Japan
  by Yves Smith 6:57 am

• Brazil’s Catastrophic Management of COVID-19 Threatens the Entire World
  by Yves Smith 6:50 am

March 12, 2021

• By Declaring March 11 “Our” Covid Anniversary, the Press Erases Covid’s Origin Story in the U.S.
  by Lambert Strether 6:25 pm

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/12/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Links 3/12/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:58 am

• $1 Million Nurdle Spill Settlement Shines Light on Plastic Pollution During Shipping
  by Lambert Strether 6:45 am

• Mayberry v. KKR: Pitched Battle as Attorney General and Defendants Try to Block “Tier 3 Plaintiffs” Pursuing Claims Aggressively
  by Yves Smith 5:15 am

• Failed COVID Strategy Leaves Sweden Deeply Divided
  by Yves Smith 12:15 am

March 11, 2021

• Sports Desk: DoJ Files Amicus Brief in Support of College Athletes, While Congress Mulls Giving Them Rights to Their Names, Images, and Likenesses
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 4:25 pm

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/11/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Links 3/11/2021
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 6:58 am

• Woodlands and Wetlands Could be Worth More When Left to Nature Than When Farmed
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 6:50 am

• Why the U.S. Manufacturing Renaissance Is Essential for U.S. Survival
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 5:25 am

• Resurrected Politically, Lula Goes After Bolsonaro’s ‘Moronic’ Handling of Covid-19 Pandemic
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 3:55 am

March 10, 2021

• Work in 2021: What Makes a “Good Job” Good?
  by Yves Smith 2:46 pm

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/10/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Former Board Member JJ Jelincic Sues CalPERS Over Illegal Secret Board Discussion After CIO Ben Meng’s Abrupt Departure and Hiding of Records Related to $583 Million Overstatement of Real Estate Assets
  by Yves Smith 11:25 am

• Unsafe at Any Speed: Don’t Park Your Kia Sportage or Cadenza in the Garage, or Near Your House, for That Matter
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 9:55 am

• Links 3/10/2021
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 6:58 am

• Wolf Richter: Signs Are Everywhere: Businesses Have Changed Permanently as a Result of the Pandemic
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 6:25 am

March 9, 2021

• H.R.1 (the “For the People Act”) Legitimizes WaPo’s McCarthy-ite PropOrNot “Reporting,” Institutionalizes Ballot Marking Devices, and Cripples Minor Parties
  by Lambert Strether 6:25 pm

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/9/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Links 3/9/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:55 am

• Global Transformation: The Precariat Overcoming Populism
  by Lambert Strether 6:50 am

• SoftBank-Funded Fintech Upstart Greensill Crashes, Carnage Ensues
  by Nick Corbishley 6:40 am

• DSGE, the Standard Economic Paradigm, is Based on Bad Modeling
  by Yves Smith 12:41 am

March 8, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/8/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Consider This Pineapple: Some Thoughts on Food Waste
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 9:55 am

• Links 3/8/2021
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 6:55 am

• California Wildfire Smoke Harms Respiratory Health More than Fine Particulates from Any Other Source, Including Vehicle Emissions
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 6:54 am

• ‘We Must Deliver on This Issue’: Jayapal Vows to Fight for $15 Minimum Wage
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 5:25 am

• New Report: U.S. Dams, Levees Get D Grades, Need $115 Billion in Upgrades
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 4:25 am

March 7, 2021

• Waste Watch: Europeans Get Right to Repair for Some Consumer Electrical Goods, While John Deere Reneges on Promise to U.S. Farmers to Make Diagnostic Software Freely Available
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 9:55 am

• Links 3/7/2021
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 6:55 am

• Yes, Export Bans on Vaccines Are a Problem, But Why Is the Supply of Vaccines so Limited in the First Place?
  by Jerri-Lynn Scofield 5:55 am

March 6, 2021

• Links 3/6/2021
  by Yves Smith 6:55 am

• Pointless Pain Is What We’re Enduring. And All for the Sake of Accepting That Money is Not a Constraint on Our Potential, and Never Will Be
  by Yves Smith 4:49 am

• The Jobs Recovery, Compared to the “Good Times” Trend
  by Yves Smith 4:30 am

March 5, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/5/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Economists’ Rx: “Sick? Stay Home!”
  by Yves Smith 9:55 am

• Links 3/5/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:58 am

• Covid Deranges the Immune System in Complex and Deadly Ways
  by Yves Smith 6:13 am

• Covid Baby Bust Has Governments Rattled
  by Yves Smith 4:43 am

• The U.S. Grid Isn’t Ready For A Major Shift To Renewables
  by Yves Smith 12:39 am

March 4, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/4/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• GOP Voting Rights Act Position Falls Apart in SCOTUS Arguments
  by Yves Smith 9:55 am

• Links 3/4/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:58 am

• Bad Stimulus: Government Payments to Individuals Are a Terrible Way to Solve America’s Structural Economic Problems
  by Yves Smith 6:30 am

• Facebook and Google vs the Free Press
  by Yves Smith 3:50 am

• RIP Gold. Killed by Bitcoin
  by Yves Smith 2:31 am

March 3, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/3/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• How the NATO Alliance Is Fighting Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine With Subsidies From State Budgets and the Gates Foundation, Hidden by bhe Financial Times
  by Yves Smith 9:45 am

• Links 3/3/2021
  by Yves Smith 6:55 am

• The Bullshit Economy: Homebuying “Help”
  by Yves Smith 5:31 am

• Department of Pre-Crime: Left-Wing Protester Arrested by FBI for Being on a “Path to Radicalization”
  by Yves Smith 4:58 am

• A Big Fiscal Push is Urgent, The Risk of Overheating Is Small
  by Yves Smith 3:55 am

March 2, 2021

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/2/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Elder Care Company “Home Instead” Transfers Reported Thief to Another Client; Endangers Client Welfare and Violates Own Contract
  by Yves Smith 9:45 am

• Links 3/2/2021
  by Yves Smith 6:55 am

• Pfizer’s Sordid Vaccine Sales Practices in Latin America Could Be a Big Boon for China and Russia
  by Nick Corbishley 6:31 am

• US ‘Excess Savings’ Are Not Excessive
  by Yves Smith 5:37 am

• Neoliberal Finance Undermines Poor Countries’ Recovery
  by Yves Smith 5:13 am

March 1, 2021

• Since Google Suppressed My Post on the CDC, School Reopening, and Aerosols, I’m Re-Posting It
  by Lambert Strether 5:25 pm

• 2:00PM Water Cooler 3/1/2021
  by Lambert Strether 2:00 pm

• Analysis: How Exxon Is Being Forced To Accept The Reality Of Bad Fossil Fuel Investments
  by Lambert Strether 1:45 pm

• Links 3/1/2021
  by Lambert Strether 6:58 am

• Recent Judge Rakoff Decision May Curb Private Equity Leverage Abuses By Pinning Liability on Directors of Selling Company
  by Yves Smith 6:03 am

• How Does the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Compare to Other Coronavirus Vaccines? 4 Questions Answered
  by Yves Smith 6:02 am