Economic outlook an important factor in middle-aged white ‘deaths of despair’: Daily Bullshit, March 23-26, 2017

benfell

Updates

  1. March 25, 4:37 am:
    • I have located Anne Case and Angus Deaton’s draft paper[1] that is the topic in Austerity and Suicide.
    • Republicans are abandoning, for now, the effort to repeal and replace Obamacare.[2]
  2. March 25, 1:42 pm:
    • Niall Stanage demonstrates that one can have a horse race even when there isn’t an election.[3] (Obamacare)
  3. March 26, 2:19 am:
    • Andrew Prokop has another take on what happened to the Obamacare repeal and replace effort[4] while Matt O’Brien argues that Republicans were unduly hasty in seeking to reduce taxes for the rich at the expense of the poor.[5]
  4. March 26, 2:26 pm:
    • More on the fight over subsidizing wealthy and powerful interests in the name of ‘health care.’[6] (Obamacare)
    • Democrats make it plain they are a party of war, lusting after nuclear Armageddon, just as surely as their Cold War Republican anti-communist predecessors in calling alleged Russian interference in last year’s election an “act of war.”[7] (Golden Showers)
    • A Lawfare blog entry praises a Virginia ruling upholding Donald Trump’s revised Muslim Ban, even if the author opposes the Muslim Ban itself.[8]

Austerity and Suicide

Julia Belluz, “Why the white middle class is dying faster, explained in 6 charts,” Vox, March 23, 2017, http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/3/23/14988084/white-middle-class-dying-faster-explained-case-deaton

Anne Case and Angus Deaton, “Mortality and morbidity in the 21st century” [draft], Brookings Institute, March 23, 2017, https://www.brookings.edu/bpea-articles/mortality-and-morbidity-in-the-21st-century/

Alana Semuels, “Is Economic Despair What’s Killing Middle-Aged White Americans?” CityLab, March 23, 2017, https://www.citylab.com/politics/2017/03/economic-despair-killing-middle-aged-white-americans/520554/

Obamacare

It appears Obamacare may live on. But badly needed fixes will also not occur.[9] And if the Republicans ever settle their differences, the outcome might be even worse.

Peter Sullivan, “CBO releases new score for ObamaCare repeal bill,” Hill, March 23, 2017, http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/325535-cbo-releases-new-score-for-obamacare-repeal-bill

Scott Wong, “Trump threatens to leave ObamaCare in place if repeal bill fails,” Hill, March 23, 2017, http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/325568-trump-tells-gop-to-take-it-or-leave-it-on-obamacare-repeal

Brian Bennett, “After the GOP healthcare bill fizzles, Trump blames the Democrats and says he ‘learned a lot about loyalty,'” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2017, http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-house-again-postpones-obamacare-vote-1490376174-htmlstory.html

Stephen Collinson, Dana Bash, Phil Mattingly, Deirdre Walsh, Lauren Fox, and M. J. Lee, “House Republicans pull health care bill,” CNN, March 24, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/24/politics/house-health-care-vote/index.html

Siobhan Hughes and Kristina Peterson, “GOP House Leaders Pull Their Health Bill,” Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2017, https://www.wsj.com/articles/gop-postpones-house-vote-on-health-bill-1490384577

Lisa Mascaro, “House GOP gives up on healthcare bill as Trump suffers first legislative defeat,” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2012, http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-house-again-postpones-obamacare-vote-1490376174-htmlstory.html

Lindsey McPherson, “Paul Ryan Concedes on Health Care, Says House Will Move On,” Congressional Quarterly Roll Call, March 24, 2017, http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/ryan-concedes-on-health-care-says-house-will-move-on

Andrew Prokop, “Paul Ryan just canceled the House health bill vote in a major defeat for President Trump,” Vox, March 24, 2017, http://www.vox.com/2017/3/24/15014202/house-ahca-vote-canceled-trump

Matt O’Brien, “Why Republicans were in such a hurry on health care,” Washington Post, March 25, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/25/why-republicans-were-in-such-a-hurry-on-health-care/

Golden Showers

If Democrats are trying to persuade folks they are a more responsible governing party than Republicans, this is completely and totally the wrong way to do it.[10]

Morgan Chalfant, “Democrats step up calls that Russian hack was act of war,” Hill, March 26, 2017, http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/325606-democrats-step-up-calls-that-russian-hack-was-act-of-war

Muslim Ban

Peter Margulies accepts an assumption that “all presidents learn while in office.”[11] This assumes first, that all presidents have the capacity to learn which, given a decline in the quality of presidents beginning with Richard Nixon, seems a dubious assumption; and second, specifically that Donald Trump “learns” and has decided not to be a religious bigot after all in cutting off the admission of refugees seeking to escape the very violence he claims to oppose. Bullshit.

Peter Margulies, “Upholding the Revised Refugee Executive Order: A Virginia District Court Clarifies the Establishment Clause Issues,” Lawfare, March 26, 2017, https://www.lawfareblog.com/upholding-revised-refugee-executive-order-virginia-district-court-clarifies-establishment-clause

  1. [1]Anne Case and Angus Deaton, “Mortality and morbidity in the 21st century” [draft], Brookings Institute, March 23, 2017, https://www.brookings.edu/bpea-articles/mortality-and-morbidity-in-the-21st-century/↩
  2. [2]Brian Bennett, “After the GOP healthcare bill fizzles, Trump blames the Democrats and says he ‘learned a lot about loyalty,'” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2017, http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-house-again-postpones-obamacare-vote-1490376174-htmlstory.html; Stephen Collinson, Dana Bash, Phil Mattingly, Deirdre Walsh, Lauren Fox, and M. J. Lee, “House Republicans pull health care bill,” CNN, March 24, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/24/politics/house-health-care-vote/index.html; Siobhan Hughes and Kristina Peterson, “GOP House Leaders Pull Their Health Bill,” Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2017, https://www.wsj.com/articles/gop-postpones-house-vote-on-health-bill-1490384577; Lisa Mascaro, “House GOP gives up on healthcare bill as Trump suffers first legislative defeat,” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2012, http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-house-again-postpones-obamacare-vote-1490376174-htmlstory.html↩
  3. [3]Niall Stanage, “The Memo: Winners and losers from the battle over health care,” Hill, March 24, 2017, http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/325746-the-memo-winners-and-losers-from-the-battle-over-health-care↩
  4. [4]Andrew Prokop, “Paul Ryan just canceled the House health bill vote in a major defeat for President Trump,” Vox, March 24, 2017, http://www.vox.com/2017/3/24/15014202/house-ahca-vote-canceled-trump↩
  5. [5]Matt O’Brien, “Why Republicans were in such a hurry on health care,” Washington Post, March 25, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/25/why-republicans-were-in-such-a-hurry-on-health-care/↩
  6. [6]Rebecca Savransky, “Lawmakers signal fight for healthcare reform is not over,” Hill, March 26, 2017, http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/325844-lawmakers-signal-fight-for-healthcare-reform-is-not-over↩
  7. [7]Morgan Chalfant, “Democrats step up calls that Russian hack was act of war,” Hill, March 26, 2017, http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/325606-democrats-step-up-calls-that-russian-hack-was-act-of-war↩
  8. [8]Peter Margulies, “Upholding the Revised Refugee Executive Order: A Virginia District Court Clarifies the Establishment Clause Issues,” Lawfare, March 26, 2017, https://www.lawfareblog.com/upholding-revised-refugee-executive-order-virginia-district-court-clarifies-establishment-clause↩
  9. [9]Brian Bennett, “After the GOP healthcare bill fizzles, Trump blames the Democrats and says he ‘learned a lot about loyalty,'” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2017, http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-house-again-postpones-obamacare-vote-1490376174-htmlstory.html; Stephen Collinson, Dana Bash, Phil Mattingly, Deirdre Walsh, Lauren Fox, and M. J. Lee, “House Republicans pull health care bill,” CNN, March 24, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/24/politics/house-health-care-vote/index.html; Lisa Mascaro, “House GOP gives up on healthcare bill as Trump suffers first legislative defeat,” Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2012, http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-house-again-postpones-obamacare-vote-1490376174-htmlstory.html↩
  10. [10]Morgan Chalfant, “Democrats step up calls that Russian hack was act of war,” Hill, March 26, 2017, http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/325606-democrats-step-up-calls-that-russian-hack-was-act-of-war↩
  11. [11]Peter Margulies, “Upholding the Revised Refugee Executive Order: A Virginia District Court Clarifies the Establishment Clause Issues,” Lawfare, March 26, 2017, https://www.lawfareblog.com/upholding-revised-refugee-executive-order-virginia-district-court-clarifies-establishment-clause↩

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