Pay attention! This frequent order from teachers and parents is ignored and laughed at by millions of wily, off-the-walls juvenile boys across America. Anyone who has ever been in the same room with a boy aged six to twelve for more than two minutes will tell you he didn’t want to sit still, or listen, … Continue reading
Latest Entries
Where is the problem in HealthCare Spending?
It is obvious to say that healthcare costs have been increasing over the past half century. Something needs to happen to slow the trend, to bend the cost curve back towards earth. Certain avenues may need more attention than others. This graphic breaks down where the dollars are flowing into since 1960 (adapted from data … Continue reading
You can’t live without it…It’s Electric!
Since the days of Ben Franklin flying his kite during a storm, America has played a large role in harnessing the power of electricity. In 2003 the National Academy of Engineering declared the electrification of the U.S. the “greatest engineering achievement of the twentieth century”, ahead of even the automobile or airplane. “Electrification” here refers … Continue reading
Putin, Obama, and the “Reset”
Obama’s “reset policy” with Russia and former president Dimitry Medvedev appears to have failed. The administration hoped that they could deal with Medvedev and avoid confronting the problem of Putin’s influence, but they overestimated Medvedev’s independence from Putin, and underestimated Putin’s continuing power and influence in Russian politics. The administration had hoped that Medvedev would … Continue reading
The Window of Opportunity is Closed
On Wednesday morning, The New York Times reported that the conflict in Syria is evolving into a civil war. An extension of the 2011 Arab Spring, many Syrians have been calling to depose Bashar al-Assad, the western educated Syrian dictator. This was met by violent clashes between the Syrian people and the strong military, with … Continue reading
“I Now Pronounce you Democrat and Republican”
In light of the recent comments made by Governor Jeb Bush, the topic of partisanship deserves discussion. Governor Bush called both parties to blame for a lack of compromise, saying that his father and Reagan were successful because they were willing to “put policy solutions above political wins.” In politics today, it’s as if both … Continue reading
Less Is Often More
In the blame game of who is responsible for our broken healthcare system, society often sees the government and insurance companies as the institutions responsible for creating fragmentation and driving up health care costs. While they certainly are part of the equation, we can also point the finger at a number of parties. Hospitals, the … Continue reading
State of Emergency
A recently produced New York Times video documented the alarming day-to-day operations of an inner-city Oakland hospital emergency room. The un-narrated short film is a montage of clips of patients waiting in long lines to receive care and hospital employees juggling patients from bed to bed and directing ambulance and waiting room traffic. This hospital … Continue reading
Once Again, Florida vs. US
Yesterday, the Department of Justice made clear its intentions to seek a court injunction against the State of Florida for its ‘purge’ of illegal voters on the state’s rolls. This is only the latest episode in a long-term struggle between the Florida State Department and various federal agencies to gain cooperation over determining voter citizenship … Continue reading
The Romney Medicare Plan
Medicare spending is out of control. A key reason is that the government is inefficiently shoving its clumsy hand across the program, demonstrating a failure to understand the power of the free market. When individuals feel an inaccurately small marginal cost for a good, they purchase too much of that good. Too much medical care? … Continue reading
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