Baby It’s Cold Outside.

December 14, 2025

Note: anything that is underlined is a hyperlink.

What’s In Your Wallet?

Social Security benefit statements have been going out. Many people will take home less than last year. Why? Medicare B, C, and D rate hikes.

Not on Medicare? Don’t feel left out. The rest of us will soon feel the pain when the Affordable Care Act subsidies end at the end of the month. This will raise ALL health insurance premiums.

2026 is going to be a blast. Higher prices, lower income - “let them eat cake” feels ambitious.

What to Read

Yesterday in the New York Times, Lulu Garcia-Navarro corralled three senators who’ve fled or are fleeing the asylum—Jeff Flake, Joe Manchin, and Tina Smith—for a roundtable. Flake explains that most of his former colleagues privately loathe what they’re doing but are too terrified of an angry tweet to say so. Manchin dispenses bromides about open primaries and term limits with the serene confidence of a man who will never again face voters in Morgantown. And Smith admits that watch…