The Hidden History of the Trillion Dollar Coin

As the latest showdown over raising the country's debt limit comes to a close, and as Washington gears up to repeat the fight in December, we're hearing another round of calls for that charmingly cranky idea, the trillion-dollar coin. If the government doesn't have enough money to meet its obligations, the argument goes, it can simply mint a platinum coin worth $1 trillion or more. While the law limits how many gold, silver, or copper coins are in circulation, Congress passed legislation in the mid-1990s that appears to give the Treasury a much freer hand when issuing coins made of platinum. The bill in question was only supposed to cover commemorative coins, but its actual language isn't so narrow, and so the forces gathered under the #MintTheCoin hashtag believe that they've found a loophole.
— (Reason) (October 8)   (Pocket)

Senate passes temporary debt ceiling deal

The Senate voted 50-48 on Thursday night, passing an agreement to raise the federal debt limit by $480 billion through Dec. 3. The bill now goes to the House, where there is a clear Democratic majority.Why it matters: The deal, struck early Thursday by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), would avert the threat of the U.S. defaulting on its debt as of Oct. 18. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had warned that unprecedented move could trigger a recession and have global ramifications. Republican Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) — a mix of moderates, retirees and leadership — joined McConnell in helping reach the 60-vote threshold to invoke cloture and move the Senate toward a floor vote. Cloture passed 61-38. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who is not running for re-election, didn't vote.Schumer, after the vote, announced: "Republicans played a dangerous and risky partisan game, and I am glad that their brinksmanship did not ...
— (Axios) (October 8)   (Pocket)

Congress should raise debt ceiling for the long term, White House economic adviser says

With a new but possibly temporary deal providing a potential pathway out of the impasse between congressional Democrats and Republicans over raising the federal debt limit, Judy Woodruff gets more on the state of play and what's at stake with Jared Bernstein, a member of the president's Council of Economic Advisers.
— (PBS) (October 6)   (Pocket)

What Is Going On with the German Election?

Elections, we are often reminded, have consequences, but those consequences can take time to unravel. Sometimes the result is a marathon of negotiations, which can go in many directions. In Washington, one consequence of the 2020 election is that Democratic control of the Senate can be lost with a single vote, and that of the House with the defection of a relatively small group. These narrow margins have led to a bewildering situation in which the country can simultaneously come close to a federal-government shutdown (because of a failure to fund the government) and to a default (because of a failure to raise the debt ceiling, a statutory limit that serves not as an instrument of financial prudence but of legislative blackmail). Those negotiations happen both within and between the parties, and in both cases they have taken on a tone that veers from fervent and idealistic to unyielding, bitter, cynical, meretricious, and absurd—sometimes at dizzying speed.
— (The New Yorker) (October 1)   (Pocket)

Venture capital and private equity firms pass up Latino-owned businesses despite growth

Less than 1% of funds from the top 25 venture capital and private equity firms wind up in the hands of Latino-owned businesses despite the fast pace of Hispanics opening up new enterprises, a study found.Why it matters: The meager VC and PE investment going to Latinos highlights the lack of capital Hispanics face when trying to launch businesses, and prevents growth in one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy.Details: Fewer than 1% of Latino businesses received any of the $487 billion invested across a sample of the top 500 largest venture capital and private equity deals in 2020, according to a study by Bain & Company, the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative, and the research nonprofit firm Latino Donor Collaborative.That lack of investment comes as Latino entrepreneurs are responsible for about 50% of net new small business growth in the US over the past decade, according to data from 2007 to 2017. Those Latino-owned businesses are growing in annual revenue faster than white-owned businesses, the study said. Yes, but: Researchers found that as Latino-owned businesses approach the $1 million revenue mark, the companies start to struggle with profitability a...
— (Axios) (October 7)   (Pocket)

STAT+: Graduate students launch an entrepreneurship program to bring new faces to biotech

A group of graduate students is expanding a Boston-based biotech entrepreneurship program across the country, hoping to bring in startup founders who might not otherwise have access to training, networking, and mentorship opportunities.
— (STAT) (September 28)   (Pocket)

Merck Sells Federally Financed Covid Pill to U.S. for 40 Times What It Costs to Make

The Covid-19 treatment molnupiravir was developed using funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. The post Merck Sells Federally Financed Covid Pill to U.S. for 40 Times What It Costs to Make appeared first on The Intercept.
— (The Intercept) (October 5)   (Pocket)

John Hinckley, who shot Reagan, wins unconditional release

A federal judge on Monday approved the unconditional release of John Hinckley Jr., who tried to assassinate former President Reagan in 1981. State of play: U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman in Washington ruled that Hinckley can be freed from all court supervision in 2022 if he remains mentally stable and continues to follow rules that were imposed on him after he was released from a Washington mental health facility in 2016 to live in Virginia, AP reports.Catch up quick: Hinckley seriously wounded Reagan. Then-White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded. In 1982, Hinckley was found not guilty for his failed assassination attempt by reason of insanity. He was then sent to St. Elizabeths Hospital, in Washington, until 2016, when he was allowed to live with his mother in Virginia.Hinckley's mother passed away this summer at the age of 95, NPR notes. Last year, the Department of Behavioral Health said Hinckley posed "low risk for future violence," per NPR.What they're saying: Prosecutor Kacie Weston said the Justice Department wanted to monitor Hinckley until June because he is living on...
— (Axios) (September 27)   (Pocket)