Walgreens is about to be taken private by a PE company that will squeeze any remaining “juice” out of the company, leaving us with the pulpy waste.
“Walgreens should be fine. It’s a historic company, and a historically powerful one. In 1901, pharmacist Charles Walgreen created the first Walgreens store, and he was an aggressive and entrepreneurial founder. He did some of his own drug manufacturing, and quickly expanded Walgreens to 100 stores within 25 years. The chain invented the malted milkshake in 1922, and that decade it took advantage of prohibition by selling “medicinal” alcohol. It was also a powerful chain store, not as dominant as A&P, but part of the set of firms that decade who fostered a powerful political backlash from local businesses.”
A bit long but instructive, Matt Stoller looks at the other stakeholders in transactions by pharmacy benefit managers, the pharmacies. The Real Reason Walgreens Collapsed
The current interest rate on credit cards is likely on the wrong side of usurious. Since my fiancé and now long-standing wife took over our finances, we have paid off credit cards in full monthly. Turns out, paying off your balance doesn’t just save money—it earns you a new identity: transactor, the credit card companies’ least favorite customer
“In the credit-card industry, the well-to-do are known as transactors. They pay off their balance in full every month, avoiding late fees and interest charges. They use credit cards as a convenient payment method, and as a way to earn travel points, cash back, airport-lounge vouchers, seat upgrades, and other goodies. Given how valuable these rewards are, transactors make money by spending money.”
The rest of us are revolvers. From the Atlantic, There Are Two Kinds of Credit Cards
Remember the scandal surrounding the parents who tried to bribe their children’s way into USC?
“The professional-managerial class (PMC) comprises highly educated professionals who work in fields like law, medicine, finance, and corporate management. Unlike traditional elites who can pass down family businesses, land, or powerful social networks, the PMC's only transferable asset is often their earning potential–which must be painstakingly re-earned by their children through similarly grueling educational and professional hurdles.”
From Ecumene, The Professional-Managerial Class Has No Future
With March Madness well underway, everyone is interested in the fate of their brackets. Moreover, those brackets often involved a bit of gambling. Today, there are markets in everything; however, gambling is far older than the NBA.
“Here’s how it’s broadly worked since 1059: when a pope dies or resigns, the College of Cardinals (leaders in the church, chosen by the Pope) picks a new leader in an election called a conclave. … Now combine this with the deep gambling culture that existed in Renaissance Rome. Sensali — essentially bookies — took bets on everything from the outcome of pregnancies to the identities of new cardinals. Like a Renaissance version of the Polymarket comments section, newsletters sprang up promising insider information on the Vatican’s current thinking.”
Yes, they placed bets on who would be the next Pope. From No Dumb Idea, Betting on the Pope was the original prediction market
Chuck Dinerstein, MD, MBA
Director of Medicine
Dr. Charles Dinerstein, M.D., MBA, FACS is Director of Medicine at the American Council on Science and Health. He has over 25 years of experience as a vascular surgeon.
