Thanks for replying. I really respect your expertise in this area. Still, I'm eternally skeptical. Didn't used to be that way . . . .

Is it too cynical to ask, "Why the sudden "girlfriend"? Is somebody in MAGA-land worried that this Christian manly-man doesn't have a sufficiently "hetero"- appearing background? Doesn't matter to me, but I'd never vote for him anyhow.

Insurance companies, of which I'm no fan, have so far continued to cover vaccines per the pre-RFK schedules. I bet they'll continue to do that because they know it saves them money.

Thanks for posting this. The only reason I got it was because you said it was hard, which led me to try early on combinations I would normally consider too unlikely.

Who is this guy? Surely we can find out.

Josh Marshall

Naming Cellini twice brings to mind the state room scene in A Night at the Opera -- " and three hard-boiled eggs." Also, I love Gogol's short stories, but I couldn't finish a Russian novel under threat of death. "They take too long to get to the fucking point." (from The Guard).

Couldn't have said it better. The whole thread: 10/10. Thank you.

Does he think the 1960's and 70's were a golden age for the middle class? They weren't. The problems he describes are real and deserve serious thought, which he does not give them.

This guy lists a bunch of legitimate grievances, misidentifies their causes, calls for off-target (therefore ineffective) solutions, then closes with a conclusory assertion that "the middle class dream is dead." That's not cold-eyed realism, it's lazy, melodramatic grand-standing.

you need to accurately identify what's hurting them. Lack of high school Econ is NOT what makes 401(k)s bad; it's the shifting of risk to individuals, who are less able to bear it. Want a better retirement for regular folks? Tax advantage company pensions or, better, increase social security.

For another, stock buybacks return cash to shareholders, just like dividends do. They've been around forever, like dividends.. Companies will NOT raise wages if stock buybacks aren't available; they'll increase dividends. This matters because if your goal is to make regular people better off,

The stuff this guy decries (eg, trickledown, SuperPacs, high housing costs) are bad. But his causal analysis is very wrong. For one, the idea that housing is too expensive because Blackrock owns all the houses is nuts. We need to build more housing and more subsidized housing.

Rupee, Butterbee and Snappea

Elites also have a lot of (money) to lose. Say a pharma company opposes Trump, who directs FDA not to approve the that company's new drug application? His FDA Director just tried to do when a company that let slip that staffing cuts at FDA had delayed approval of its (safe and effective) drug.

Right! That one's been on my list for a while. Glad for the reminder. Starring Hackman and what appears to be a 15 year-old Willem Dafoe.

Well said. What a loss for us all! Would you mind naming the movie where he's got the razor? I can't place it and would love to watch it. I'm planning a Gene Hackman Tribute Night. Thanks in advance.