More evidence about over-use of procedures in health care

Ron Winslow and John Carreyrou have a piece (see here) in the Wall Street Journal about the over-use of angioplasty to clear arteries.  The authors state that:

About 600,000 angioplasty procedures, which almost always involve placement of a tiny metal tube called a stent, are done in the U.S. each year. Roughly 70% of these procedures are performed on patients suffering symptoms of a heart attack and aren't medically controversial. But the remainder are done on stable patients who are suffering mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. Of those, 50% are deemed appropriate, 38% uncertain and 12% inappropriate, the report says.

They have a very interesting graphic that illustrates their main point (click to enlarge).

 

State revenues and the recession

There is an interesting graph over at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities website (see here) about the damage to state budgets caused by the recession (and other things).  Mississippi is mentioned in the post.  The graph is shown below (click on it to enlarge).

Are student loans the next bubble?

Nicholas Pardini over at the blog Seeking Alpha (see here) has a post about something I have mentioned before: student loans.  He says:

America's debt crisis did not end with the subprime mortgage crisis. Mortgages, may set off the trigger, but the student loan debt is an overlooked bond bubble waiting to crash.

He worries that student loan debt is on a trajectory similar to housing.  He concludes:

Overall, the student loan bubble is the next domino along with sovereign debt that will fall as the Western world deleverages. Student loan borrowing is rising at unsustainable amounts, and the combination of a weak employment market and the overpricing of higher education will ultimately bring large-scale waves of uncollectible defaults.

Mississippi River dredging costs at issue

Cameron McWhirter over at the Wall Street Journal is reporting (see here) that the recent severe flooding is causing concern about safe navigation of the lower Mississippi River.  The article states that:

In fiscal 2010, the Corps spent $119 million to keep the lower Mississippi dredged. This fiscal year, the Corps budgeted $84 million. Shippers estimate that dredging to normal river depths and widths could cost more than $170 million.

However, McWhirter reports that because of the current budget impasse, efforts to obtain the required increase to cover the needed dredging are moving very slowly.

What to make of the deficit debate?

James Kwak has an excellent short post (see here) over at The Baseline Scenario ("Long-Term Budget Forecasts for Beginners").  He looks at the Congressional Budget Office's report last month about the long-term budget forecasts and particularly the graph shown below (click on it to enlarge).  His post is definitely worth reading.

111th Congress among "oldest" in U.S. history

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting interactive graphic (see here) that shows that:

The 111th Congress, which convened in 2009, is among the oldest in U.S. history. The average age of members of Congress has risen steadily since 1981, with just a slight hiccup in the early 1990s; the rise is likely the result of a high incumbency rate, the aging of the U.S. population, and the first-time elections of older candidates.

1 in 5 Mississippi residents receiving food stamps

Phil Izzo has a piece over at the Wall Street Journal (see here) about growth in the Food Stamp program.  Using data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mr. Izzo states that:

Mississippi, New Mexico and Oregon were among the states with the largest share of the population utilizing food stamps in April: At least one in five residents in each state were receiving benefits.