What We Read Today 02 August 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.

• Argentina blames US mediator for debt default (BBC News) Argentina has blamed the US for its debt default, calling the mediator in failed talks “incompetent”. Argentine Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich said his country was considering opening proceedings at international tribunals in The Hague after it was declared to be in technical default. See also former IMF economist Elliott Morss in GEI Opinion, who thinks that there is no need for a default; he offers his prescription to settle the dispute.

• Obamacare subsidy case could be reviewed by U.S. Supreme Court (Narottam Medhora and Amrutha Penumudi, Reuters, MSN News) The petition has been filed by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which is coordinating and funding the cases, filed the petition, according to the not-for-profit’s website. Reuters says about 5 million people could be affected, about half of all ACA insureds according to recent estimates. See also next article.

• Courts Disagree About Subsidies on ObamaCare’s Federal Exchange (Michael Tennant, New American) Repeated from WWRT ‘behind the wall’ 27 July. Two federal courts have ruled on opposite sides of the same question: Are subsidies legal for Obamacare insurance policies obtained through the federal exchange, Healthcare.gov? The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2 to 1 that “the ACA [Affordable Care Act] unambiguously restricts the … subsidy to insurance purchased on Exchanges ‘established by the State.'” The same day, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Richmond) panel unanimously reached the opposite conclusion that the federal exchange subsidies were permitted under the law.

• WHO: Ebola moving faster than control efforts (Boubacar Diallo, MSN News) The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned the heads of four countries that the Ebola virus outbreak in their countries is moving faster than efforts to control the disease. More than 700 people have died in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia in the past six months and now the first case of infection has shown up in Nigeria. WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said:

“If the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences can be catastrophic in terms of lost lives but also severe socio-economic disruption and a high risk of spread to other countries.”

See also next article.

• Why you’re not going to get Ebola in the U.S. (Lenny Bernstein, The Washington Post) The outcry against the transport of two Americans infected with the Ebola virus back home from Africa has been quite vigorous. But it is misguided. Like HIV transmission of Ebola from one being to another requires specific types of contact. From The Washington Post article:

Transmission of Ebola requires direct contact with an infected person’s blood, vomit or feces during the period that he or she is contagious, something that is extremely unlikely for anyone but health-care workers. The virus is not spread by coughing or sneezing. Nor do Americans bury their own dead family members or friends, as some residents of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea must do with Ebola victims.

There are 10 articles discussed today ‘behind the wall’.

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