Good news: since before the pandemic, Americans’ wealth is way up, and inequality is down.
A positive view of doctor assisted suicide. (NYT)
55 percent of E.R. doctors say they have been physically assaulted, almost all by patients.
New test says it can find cancer for $949. Why do some doctors think that is not a good idea? (WSJ)
Was there a single pronouncement by the WHO or CDC that wasn’t initially wrong before it was reversed? It makes me want to question the few positions that haven’t yet been reversed.
Count me skeptical about that increase in household wealth.
If you took the increase in federal debt and assigned it to each household, the wealth effect would disappear.
Bob, despite the fact Tyler Cowan buys the conclusions of the Fed report, I have the same skepticism as you. It’s amusing to think The Federal Reserve has somehow proved that an entire community can incur enormous new debt and yet, at the same time, most individuals in the community are better off. Will no one ever have to pay off our national debt? Will it just evaporate at some magical time in the future?
But I have another, different, and more personal reason for skepticism. CPI rose 17% between January 1, 2021 and September 1, 2023. My SS kept pace, barely. My private pension, net of cola, certainly did not. And my savings, net of returns, also lost value. So how am I not worse off financially – even aside from federal debt – compared to January 2021?
Yet the Federal Reserve seems to be telling me I should be grateful for all the improvement to my personal finances. I’m not buying it.
btw, remind me. Who is head of the Federal Reserve? Who is her boss?