Marketplace Scratch Pad

Morning Reading

Scott Jagow Mar 23, 2010

Good morning. A few things to start the day, including more on health care, 10 things we can learn from Michael Lewis and the virtual wallet has arrived:

A primer on the health care bill (Christian Science Monitor)

The lies about health care costs (Bloomberg)

Former (Congressional Budget Office) director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, writing in the New York Times, described the group’s process as “fantasy in, fantasy out.”

CBO rules often preclude common sense. Its forecasters can’t take into account any other legislation when studying the price tag of a proposed bill. That enabled the forecasters costing out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bill to overlook this fact: Medicare spending increases will force tax increases, which in turn will hurt growth.

Having insurance is “going to be like Christmas” (WRAL TV)

“It’s going to be great. You know, no worries (about) the bills. We are going to go ahead and pay our co-pay and be alright.”

10 Things we can learn from Michael Lewis’s new book (Marketwatch)

  1. Never, ever invest in something you don’t fully understand. Ever.

  2. Don’t take credit scores too seriously.

The virtual wallet is here (NPR)

“The convenience is really incredible — the ability to transfer funds on the spot, or look at multiple accounts on the spot — to be able to have almost a virtual wallet at your fingertips.”

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