Author Archive: Glenn Reynolds

HMM: FDA moves to ban drink additive linked to thyroid issues, memory loss. “The FDA has proposed a measure that would ban the use of brominated vegetable oil in the United States in response to evidence revealing the potential for adverse health effects in humans. . . . Vegetable oil modified with bromine has been authorized by the FDA in small quantities to prevent the separation of citrus flavoring in select beverages. However, recent FDA findings have led to a fundamental shift in its safety classification. Findings reveal the accumulation of bromine has adverse impact on the thyroid, a crucial gland responsible for producing hormones that exert significant control over blood pressure, body temperature, metabolism and the body’s response to other hormones.”

UNEXPECTEDLY: U.S. payrolls increased by 150,000 in October, less than expected. “The unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, against expectations that it would hold steady at 3.8%. Employment as measured in the household survey, which is used to compute the unemployment rate, showed a decline of 348,000 workers, while the rolls of the unemployed rose by 146,000. A more encompassing jobless rate that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time positions for economic reasons rose to 7.2%, an increase of 0.2 percentage point.”

SHOCKER: New State Business Tax Climate Index: Blue States Are Worst, Red States Are Best. “One great benefit of America’s federalist Constitution is policy competition among the states. Voters in Florida don’t have to live under New York’s laws, and Americans and businesses can vote with their feet by moving across state lines. That truth came into focus again last week when the Tax Foundation released its annual ranking of state business tax climates, and there’s a yawning gap between the winners and losers. The best performers ease commerce by forgoing major taxes. The worst stack up punishing rates, making new business much more difficult and costly. A gang of Democratic-run coastal states make the bottom of the list.”

LOL: Democrats Unable to Acknowledge Why They are Struggling. “The Democrats know they really should be killing Republicans in the polls right now, except they aren’t for reasons they seem unable to fully understand. I don’t mean that as an insult of their intelligence. It’s probably closer to the opposite actually. It takes a lot of brain power to create the kind of insulated partisan bubble that many progressive live in these days.”

OPEN THREAD: Happy Thursday.