If you're looking to hone your writing chops, Strange Horizons is looking so a slush reader. Slush reading is one of those milestones some people talk about in their writing careers. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
What's the value of cancer treatment? Some inside baseball into the UK's National Health Service. When we talk about "controlling the cost of health care" in this country, all these problems play out here as well. However, it's not negotiated and planned by "experts". There's a handy infographic that sums up the stakeholders and the positions. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
The 10 happiest jobs which also includes a list of 10 most hated jobs. (Grokked from Miranda Suri)
Some private insurance insanity which I have also experienced. Yeah, we don't need to reform that industry, not at all. Because it's not wasteful. Know what major provision of the ACA the insurance industries hate? The requirement that 80% of your premiums must go toward coverage of medical expenses. They're currently lobbying the rule righters to have "marketing" covered in medical expenses. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Sailing cards.
Sarah Palin is not ready to endorse any GOP presidential candidates. Why? Well, she says she just doesn't "feel" it yet. More than likely it's because the race keeps changing and she doesn't know who the winner will be. It's awfully much more convenient to keep your high success rate when you pick the foregone winner from the pack. Don't worry, I'm sure she'll choose sometime right before the RNC nominating convention.
And this way lies tyranny. Seriously, if that just didn't make his history PhD committee say, "maybe we should re-evaluate our decision", I don't know what would.
The Brandeis Tax. And interesting proposal, but I doubt it will ever see the light of day. The top 1% feel "victory" is in their grasp (note equivalent emotion of ultra-conservatives). What they've forgotten is their history. "'We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we cannot have both (said Louis Branseis).' Brandeis lived at a time when enormous disparities between the rich and the poor led to violent labor unrest and ultimately to a reform movement." History may not repeat, but it surely rhymes. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Fear the new light bulb. The baby Jesus is weeping. Look, the standard incandescent light bulb is a huge money waster. It's a huge drain on our already outdated electrical grid. Asking for a 25% improvement in efficiency (with 5 years notice) is not a big thing. Just another example of the radical right having lost its mind.
Paul Krugman on the GOP monetary madness. I think I've made similar points in person (and somewhat on this blog). Remember all the sturm und drang about the bailouts of Fed monetary policy. Well, if the GOP were correct, we'd all be pushing our wheelbarrows of greenback to the grocery by now. I don't expect them to have a contemplative thought of, "Oh, hey, I guess we were wrong about that. Wonder what else we were wrong about?" Especially not in an election year. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
2 comments:
The Brandeis tax sounds way too rational. It appeals to me hugely... and as such, will probably never come to pass.
Well, yes. I was listening to NPR this morning. They had an interview with the guy who coined the "BRIC Nations" concept. He was surprised that Brazil had come on as strong as it has since he wrote his book. He accredits their rise to approving policies and a tax structure with discouraged accumulation of wealth and encouraged investment in creating a stronger middle class. And then income disparities fell, a larger and stronger middle class emerged, and they are now very prosperous.
And it doesn't hurt that they transfered their internal gas production to sugar cane ethanol while discovering huge oil reserves off their cost (while also having the best of class deep sea drilling technology).
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