What We Read Today 04 December 2014

Econintersect: Every day our editors collect the most interesting things they find from around the internet and present a summary “reading list” which will include very brief summaries (and sometimes longer ones) of why each item has gotten our attention. Suggestions from readers for “reading list” items are gratefully reviewed, although sometimes space limits the number included.

• U.S. healthcare spending growth hit 53-year low in 2013, report shows (Melanie Evans, Modern Healthcare) Hat tip to Dean Baker. The U.S. spent $2.9 trillion on healthcare last year, an increase of 3.6% from the prior year. This was the weakest growth since 1960. The new number was the result of federal actuaries and economists revising recent estimates. U.S. health spending growth fell below 4% in 2009 with the recession that stripped private health insurance from millions of individuals. But the newly revised numbers show an acceleration in 2012 to 4.1% before a slump last year.

• A macro earthquake is building (Houses and Holes, Macro Business) A doom and gloom list from down under. Is the land of Oz about to have an encounter with the Wicked Witch?

• House GOP Wants Omnibus to Block D.C. Pot Law (Daniel Newhauser, National Journal) This is embarrassing.

• Hundreds of Police Killings Are Uncounted in Federal Stats (Rob Barry and Coulter Jones, The Wall Street Journal) This is also embarrassing.

• Articles about events, conflicts and disease around the world

Ferguson

Michael Brown’s stepfather sorry for outburst in Ferguson protests (CNN)

No Indictment in Eric Garner Chokehold Case for N.Y.P.D. Officer (The New York Times)

Ebola

Ebola crisis: Australian aid worker on how Liberian survivors deal with disease’s aftermath (abc.net.au)

American possibly exposed to Ebola being transferred to Atlanta hospital (Reuters)

Nigeria

Boko Haram crisis: Among the vigilantes of north-east Nigeria (BBC News)

Syria

Syria death toll now exceeds 200,000: monitor (Al Arabiya)

Syria “systematically” using chemical weapons (CBS News)

Iran

U.S. and Iran Both Attack ISIS, but Try Not to Look Like Allies (The New York Times)

Iran jets bomb Islamic State targets in Iraq – Pentagon (BBC News)

Ukraine

Ukraine parliament approves foreigners as government ministers (euronews)

How can the West solve its Ukraine problem? (BBC News)

Russia

Russia’s borders: Georgia is still haunted by 2008 invasion (The Conversation)

There are 13 articles discussed today ‘behind the wall’.

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