Medicaid, the state-funded health insurance program for poor Americans turned 50 on July 30, 2015. The program provided care for some 80 million poor people in 2014. Click to enlarge Source: The CommonWealth Fund Before this program came into effect in 1965, poor Americans depended on charities for healthcare or simply ignored medical care when …
Financial activity by banks and other financial institutions have increased exponentially in the past few decades according to a report by OECD. The authors of the report note that while increased credit is good for growth in the short-term it actually leads to slower growth in the long-term. From an article previewing the report: Over …
Continue reading ‘Too Much Financial Activity And Its Consequences’ »
In a recent article I wrote that most small businesses and start-ups in the U.S. do not survive very long. Even some large-cap companies like the Fortune 500 disappear in the long run due to mergers or bankruptcies. Since the U.S. was founded only a couple of hundred years ago, there are no companies here …
Continue reading ‘10 Ancient Businesses That Stood The Test Of Time’ »
Many years ago I wrote an article comparing tax rates on capital gains across countries. In this post, let us take a look at the Top Marginal Tax Rate on Capital Gains In OECD Countries for 2015. Click to enlarge The US has the sixth highest rate among OECD countries. The US rate is 10% higher …
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Every year Fortune magazine publishes its annual list of Fortune 500 companies which is a compilation of the largest publicly-traded US firms. This year’s list was released last month. Fortune noted the following fascinating fact about these firms: This year’s Fortune 500 marks the 61st running of the list. In total, the Fortune 500 companies …
Continue reading ‘The Domination of the U.S. Economy by Fortune 500 Firms is Growing’ »