Is The Key To Controlling Health Costs Understanding What Happened To US Medical Costs After The 1981-82 Recession?

From Fred Database, St Louis Federal Reserve, Urban Consumer Price Index For Medical Care (Red) Versus All Items (Blue), January 1947 To April 2017:

Source: FRED, St Louis Fed

US Oil Producers Increase Oil Production To Offset Opec, Russia Cuts

From The Wall Street Journal, "How American Shale Drillers Flipped OPEC’s Script: U.S. output has surged since production deal, leaving cartel with little choice but to extend cuts" by Lynn Cook:

When the cartel reached a landmark deal in November to curtail production to bolster crude prices, it was betting U.S. shale drillers would be too weak to step in and fill the void. It was wrong.
***U.S. oil output has surged since the OPEC deal, and is now on pace to exceed 9.9 million barrels a day in 2018, a record, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.***

Source: The Wall Street Journal

While OPEC, Russia and others have struggled to curb their output by a combined 1.8 million barrels a day since their agreement was announced in November, the U.S. is pumping 750,000 barrels a day more. That has put American production at 9.3 million barrels a day, a level not seen since the summer of 2015, according to federal data.

Good Career Advice Or Survivorship Bias?

From xkcd, "Survivorship Bias:"

Fourth Quarter Gross Domestic Product By State: Chart

From Bureau of Economic Analysis, "Gross Domestic Product by State: Fourth Quarter and Annual 2016: Finance and Insurance Led Growth Across States in the Fourth Quarter:"

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in every state and the District of Columbia in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to statistics on the geographic breakout of GDP released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Real GDP by state growth ranged from 3.4 percent in Texas to 0.1 percent in Kansas and Mississippi (chart 1). Finance and insurance; retail trade; and professional, scientific, and technical services were the leading contributors to U.S. economic growth in the fourth quarter.

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis

Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein Memo To President Trump About FBI Director James Comey

Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein - Comey Memo on Scribd

Income Needed For Daily Happiness Varies Regionally: Map

From Gallup, "Income Buys Happiness Differently Based on Where You Live" by Dan Witters and Diana Liu:

In the U.S., the chances of experiencing three positive emotions or actions -- happiness, enjoyment and smiling/laughter -- on any given day increases with household income. But those chances reach their limit at around $75,000 per year.

This limit varies regionally, however. Some areas maximize positive emotions at much lower income levels than others.

For example, adult residents of the West North Central and West South Central regions both reach their peak emotional potential at around $54,000 per year. Residents of the East North Central region, on the other hand, require heftier incomes -- at least $120,000 per year -- to achieve the same level.

CBO Presentation Of The 2017 US Budget and Economic Outlook

From the Congressional Budget Office, "The 2017 Budget and Economic Outlook" May 5, 2017, Presentation by Jeff Werling, Assistant Director, Macroeconomic Analysis Division:

The 2017 Budget and Economic Outlook from Congressional Budget Office

Just 1 In 3 Homes Have Surpassed Their Pre-Recession Peak Price

From Bloomberg, "Most U.S. Homes Are Worth Less Than Before the Crash: Housing bubble? There are still more losers than winners in this recovery, Trulia says." by Patrick Clark [Based on a Trulia report, "The Housing Recovery That Wasn’t" by Ralph McLaughlin]:

Nationally, just 1 in 3 homes are worth more now than they were at their peak. While tech hubs in the Bay Area and Denver and job centers like Dallas or Nashville have seen home values explode past earlier highs, there are more losers than winners when you look across the country, Trulia’s analysis shows. And it’s really bad news if you live in Las Vegas, Tucson—or Fresno.

Source: Bloomberg

Many of the losers aren’t just losing—they’re getting trounced. There were 28 metros where fewer than 10 percent of homes have recovered their value since the bubble burst. Las Vegas has seen less than 1 percent of its homes returning to or surpassing what they were worth before the recession. The median sales price there is down a full $91,000 from its peak.

***

Source: Bloomberg