Just a quick post today. I’m watching CNN, hearing a lot about the mother who started beating her child because he was participating in a riot. It doesn’t seem like there’s much debate around how great this mother was, how she was doing the right thing. This is one of those many moments where cable news is […]
Policy
Where corporations end and people begin
I saw a few interesting articles on corporate social responsibility today. The first one showcased a TED talk touting how we need to force corporations to be better citizens and help us end inequality. Now, I’m left of center on a few issues, but I have to break with anyone touting such nonsense. The Economist […]
State of the Union: the Obama economy? Really?
Just waiting for President Obama to deliver the State of the Union address. I like this particular political ritual. There’s something old-worldly about it. But I’m annoyed at the same time because I know Obama will take credit for the growing economy. Then Republicans in their response will say, no, it’s not Obama’s policies, it’s […]
Health care in America: privatized socialism
Liberals point out that American health care is expensive. And they’re right. But the reason, they say, is that’s it’s private. It follows that European-style single payer systems are cheaper because of government control. We shouldn’t let greed run our health care system, the argument goes. But is that really the case? Below is a scatter plot created from 2012 World Bank data showing the relationship between private spending as a % of health care costs vs. the cost of health care overall as a % of GDP. Read more