Favorites March 7th 2023

February 2023, Pacifica

Matt Darling 🌐🏗️ @besttrousers

Pop that into FRED and it suggests that, if the FOMC was following this rule, it would have raised rates *much* earlier and *much* faster. Rates would have hit 14% last year (rates are 4% now).

This is a summary of why the Fed's hikes haven't crashed the economy so far: they're actually quite small compared to the level of inflation we've seen. The blue line is where the interest rate "should" have been based on a simple calculation from Paul Krugman back in 2010. This also says to me that interest rates could get a lot higher still.

James Pethokoukis @JimPethokoukis

"While the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a rapid expansion of telemedicine in the United States and other western countries, Ukrainian efforts by necessity have been much more aggressive."

ssir.orgTelemedicine in Ukraine Is Showing That High-Tech Isn’t Always Better (SSIR)We’re seeing remarkable advances in telemedicine stemming from the international aid response to the war in Ukraine. What have we learned that could be applied in the United States and globally?

I haven't finished reading the whole thing, but one item that stuck out: simple text conversations with doctors are way cheaper than office visits, and they seem to be very effective, reducing unnecessary emergency room visits by half in one cited study.

M.G. Siegler @mgsiegler

Damnit, just exited the Raffi phase or this would have been perfect. 🍌📱

Threads

• Short thread about recent arguments over lab leak and mask effectiveness. TL;DR: "The full truth is a mess. The lab leak is neither obvious fact nor myth. Poor-quality masks, worn poorly, work poorly, and they're everywhere. High-quality masks, worn properly, work well. Asking people to wear masks often works, except very often it doesn’t work at all." You've gotta just learn to love the mess.

• Thread about why Xi would want to give Putin weapons, considering Russia is not exactly an amazing ally. TL;DR: There aren't many nuclear armed autocrats, and Xi may be worried that if Putin falls, his replacement will be less friendly.