Some Links

Britain, get ready for higher taxes. John Kay, FT. "If a 20 per cent VAT is not a done deal [already], it will be soon..."

Staying healthy raises lifetime health care costs. Center for Retirement Research. The truth about wellness that dares not speak its name.

Are placebos the answer? Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow, Boston Globe (h/t A&L.) . At least they're cheap. How to make them even more effective. Olivia Judson, NYT

Karzai and Obama. Fred Kaplan, Slate. Eikenberry can't help himself. The link to the new RAND study on how insurgencies end is worth following.

Goodyear tires of its tiny factories. Timothy Aeppel, WSJ. A classic Journal A-hed. Sad, funny, and telling. Good photos too. (If it's worth its space on the first page of the print edition--and it is--why is it buried so deep on the website?)