MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'households'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:59:56 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676752&cid=t_158271_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2dyd59SbZYU%2F By Mark A. CalabriaOne of the rationales commonly given for massively subsidizing our mortgage market is that without such homeownership would be out of reach for many households.  Such a rationale implies that more debt should be associated with more homeownership.   (Let's set aside the obvious, how are you actually an owner without any equity?) But is that the case.  The chart below compares the homeownership rate with the average debt-to-value ratio of U.S. households.  (Data on debt-to-value is from the Fed's Flow of Funds and homeownership is from the Census Bureau). By 1960, the homeownership rate was already over 60%, yet debt-to-value was less than 30%, half of the current value.  Even in 1990, when homeownership reached over 64%, debt-to-value was still under 40%.  From... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676752 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 20:24:55 +0100 4676752 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2943765&cid=t_158271_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJ08j1EAl2cE%2F According to a Washington Post story today, “the weak dollar is one problem the United States loves to have.” The story reports how the fall of the dollar against the euro and other currencies in the past year has boosted U.S. exports and discouraged imports, cutting the trade deficit and allegedly boosting the U.S. economy. A weaker dollar has spurred complaints in Europe and elsewhere, but here at home the Post story leaves the impression the approval is practically unanimous. Nowhere in the 1,058-word story is the impact on consumers ever mentioned. But it is American consumers who pay the biggest price when the dollars we earn buy less on global markets. We are paying more for oil, which not coincidentally has zoomed toward $80 as the dollar flounders. A weaker dollar means higher ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2943765 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:56:31 +0100 2943765 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2648964&cid=t_158271_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F21KAs7jsxn4%2F There seems to be near universal agreement that the excessive use of debt among both corporations, particularly banks, and households contributed to the severity of the financial crisis.  However, other than the occasional refrain that banks should hold more capital, there has been little discussion over why corporations choose to be so highly leveraged in the first place.  But then such a discussion might lead us to the all too obvious answer — the federal government, via the tax code, encourages, even heavily subsidizes corporate leverage. Cato scholar and banking analyst Bert Ely has estimated that the subsides for debt have historically resulted in an after tax cost of debt of 3 to 5 percent, compared to an after tax cost of equity of 12 to 15 percent.  With differences of th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2648964 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:53:32 +0100 2648964 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2477544&cid=t_158271_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHfQyuzLUvbw%2F Yet again the city of San Francisco is demonstrating its “love” for humanity.  By threatening to fine them for getting their garbage wrong. Reports MSNBC: Trash collectors in San Francisco will soon be doing more than just gathering garbage: They’ll be keeping an eye out for people who toss food scraps out with their rubbish. San Francisco this week passed a mandatory composting law that is believed to be the strictest such ordinance in the nation. Residents will be required to have three color-coded trash bins, including one for recycling, one for trash and a new one for compost — everything from banana peels to coffee grounds. The law makes San Francisco the leader yet again in environmentally friendly measures, following up on other green initiatives such as bannin... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2477544 Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:56:17 +0100 2477544 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2473211&cid=t_158271_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1w2H0Azqqr8%2F As discussed in a recent Bloomberg piece, several U.S. senators from both parties are pushing to almost double the recently enacted $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers to $15,000. The same senators are also pushing to remove the current income restrictions — $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples — while also removing the first-time buyer requirement. The intent of the increase, and the original credit, is to increase the demand for housing and to create a “bottom” to the housing market. The flaw of this approach is that it creates a false bottom, one characterized by government-inflated prices and not fundamentals. It was excessive government subsidies into housing that helped create the housing bubble, additional subsidies to re-inflate the bubble will only pr... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2473211 Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:07:25 +0100 2473211 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=478738&cid=t_158271_87_f&fid=34867&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thediabetesblog.com%2F2007%2F03%2F17%2Fa-clue-to-the-rise-in-type-1-diabetes%2F Filed under: Type 1, Childhood, Lifestyle, Research, Daily News, OpinionThousands of pre-school age children are being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as new figures show a dramatic rise over the past 20 years. Between 1985 and 2004, the study conducted by Bristol University, has seen an increase in cases of type 1 diabetes in children under the age of 5 five times the previous average. Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease in which the body fails to produce insulin or makes only a little. One of the theories leading to the rise in type 1 diabetes is due to infants being exposed to exorbitantly clean households. The researchers found that incidence in all children under 15 had doubled. But the incidence of type 1 diabetes in children under the age of five went from .2 cases per 1,000 to... The Diabetes Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=478738 Sat, 17 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0100 478738 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=487655&cid=t_158271_133_f&fid=35092&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.autistics.org%2Fdemonized%2F%3Fp%3D9 This one jypsy mentioned, part of a blurb for a book (or something, I can’t quite tell what it is) called Fear and Autism. A spirit of autism has held them since childhood. An antichrist alcoholic occultic bind. What devastation it brings to a child to a marriage sometimes to all communication. Well… that’s certainly fear of autism. I can’t say that I’ve ever heard autism called “antichrist” before. The quote stands on its own. (Most autistic Christians would disagree with the above sentiments, I suspect.) (Source: Autism Demonized) Autism Demonized blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=487655 Mon, 27 Feb 2006 19:16:00 +0100 487655