Roy Moore Once Again Leading in Alabama
After briefly dropping in the polls following sexual misconduct allegations, Roy Moore is once again leading Doug Jones in the Alabama race for senator. Naturally this reminds me of an old Doonesbury cartoon:¹ The flip side of this, of course, is that bad news can be disclosed too soon. After a month or two, supporters…
Comcast Is Already Ditching Net Neutrality
Ars Technica reports on Comcast’s statement of net neutrality: Starting in 2014, the webpage, corporate.comcast.com/openinternet/open-net-neutrality, contained this statement: “Comcast doesn’t prioritize Internet traffic or create paid fast lanes.” That statement remained on the page until April 26 of this year. But on April 27, the paid prioritization pledge was nowhere to be found on that…
Chart of the Day: The US Economy Has Finally Caught Up
I’ll be damned. Wonkblog’s Andrew Van Dam points out today that GDP has finally closed the huge gap with potential GDP that opened up after the Great Recession. He’s right: I’m not sure I ever believed this would happen, even though CBO predicted exactly this a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, there’s some bad news…
Killing the Individual Mandate Will Probably Kill Obamacare
Does the individual mandate work? CBO estimates that if it’s repealed, 13 million fewer people will buy insurance. That’s something like two-thirds of all Obamacare enrollees, which means that CBO thinks it has an enormous impact. Without it, Obamacare collapses. A few weeks ago I linked to a study of traffic fines that suggested the…
Lead and Dropout Rates: An Itsy Bitsy Mystery
In a meandering post yesterday that ended up on the subject of lead and crime, I posted some charts showing the correlation of childhood lead levels with crime, teen pregnancy, and high school dropout rates. Here’s the dropout chart: This correlation should come as no surprise. The connection between lead and crime may still be…
Republicans Working Hard to Make Tax Bill Even Stupider
Alex Edelman/CNP via ZUMA From CNBC: Sen. Bob Corker said Tuesday a “backstop” to curb future budget deficits could help to win his crucial vote for the GOP tax bill. The Tennessee Republican and others are seeking the protection in case the nearly $1.5 trillion in proposed tax cuts do not meet the GOP’s expectations…