c smith

2010 Investing: A Tale of Two Economies

Since 1979, the hourly earnings for 80% of American workers (those in private-sector, nonsupervisory jobs) has risen by just 1 percent, after inflation.

Yes, but if you ask the average wage earner if he is better off today than his parents in 1979, he'll say definitely. This is because our inflation yardstick is messed up. Hedonic adjustments don't go nearly far enough in areas like medical care (lifespans are 12 years greater than 1979), autos (safety features alone make cares way more valuable) and infotainment. IOW, inflation is WAY overstated, and real incomes are way understated.

Healthcare Profits: Assessing Company Sensitivity to Obamacare

A better measure of sensitivity to ObamaCare is percentage of revenue which is "private pay"; i.e.; that which is not publicly funded via Medicare or Medicaid. Allergan, which derives the great majority of its revenue from elective and cosmetic procedures (which are not paid for w/public dollars) is the hands-down winner by this measure.