Author Archives: tatef

tatef 12:33 am on April 4, 2016  

From Doctor’s vote with their feet That’s…

From Doctor’s vote with their feet, “That’s why US doctors need so many staff personnel to track the paper and fight the insurance companies and file claims. The Canadian doctors don’t need that extra staff – staff that doesn’t add anything to the quality of care but adds a lot of cost.”
Then from “Some facts about the PPACA”, “In fact, closer examination of employment data by industry show a net positive increase in employment due to the act because hospitals and healthcare agencies have more customers and more business.”
It seems its also because now that more people have insurance there need to be even more people fighting with the insurance companies, and I assume more people working for the insurance companies to evaluate claims. I’m not against the ACA at all just an observation.

tatef 12:09 am on April 4, 2016  

Gap finder

Well I finally managed to get flash player working and played with gapfinder. Its pretty a neat tool. I was looking at the ratio of how much an individual paid to infant mortality. http://www.gapminder.org/tools/bubbles#_state_time_value=2010&start=1995&end=2010;&marker_axis%2F_y_which=child%2F_mortality%2F_0%2F_5%2F_year%2F_olds%2F_dying%2F_per%2F_1000%2F_born&domainMin:1.9&domainMax:756.3&zoomedMin:1.9&zoomedMax:756.3;&axis%2F_x_which=private%2F_share%2F_of%2F_total%2F_health%2F_spending%2F_percent
It showed what everything shows on gapfinder that there is no single truth about what works where. For me gapfinder helps dispel the myth that some countries “have it right” and some don’t. There doesn’t seem to be a single graphic without a few exceptions.

tatef 4:33 am on March 27, 2016  

My wife and I both work but my…

My wife and I both work but my take home is 10$ a month less than the day care for two kids I have to get in order to work full time. While its best for me to work in the long term (no need for daycare once theyre in school) in the short run it hurts our finances. A lot. It made me think about the rise of the two household incomes and the decline/stagnation in wages and I wonder if theres a connection. both-spouses-working from an interesting article http://www.mybudget360.com/two-income-trap-dual-income-trap-household-income-middle-class-two-income-trap/ on a weird website so take it for what its worth

tatef 7:54 pm on March 20, 2016  

There was an interesting article on yahoo finance…

There was an interesting article on yahoo finance http://finance.yahoo.com/news/this-is-where-the-angriest-americans-are-184503362.html about the angriest states. The article looks at the states most effected by globalization, trade deals and offshoring. While it may not be a perfect analysis it was interesting to s. Without ee Michigan ranked as number 11. The main point was that the angrier the state the more likely they were to lean Trump or Sanders. Bill Clinton signed NAFTA and Hillary Clinton was initially in favor of the TPP until it became a negative in the eyes of the voters. This is why I find this class so important: the economic activities of other countries has direct impacts on the election of our president. It also shows part of why the country seems to be so fractured between those wanting huge change and those supporting the status quo.

tatef 6:10 pm on March 15, 2016  

Textbook thought

Rereading the textbook before the midterm I was struck by the bit about China. The Sung dynasty controlled the economy of the country, largely through the development and control of its main product at the time: farm stuff. Now the Chinese goverment does basically the same thing but with manufacturing. Replace the word Sung with the Chinese government and agriculture with maufacturing and it would be hard to tell you werent reading a modern analysis. ITs not 100% but it really highlights why and how culture influences economics. And how slowly that sometimes changes

tatef 6:06 pm on March 15, 2016  

Bottom billion

I liked his speech and his 4 points. But it seems like landlocked countries, civil wars and natural resources intersect so much they should almost be counted as one. When the lines were drawn between countries it wasn’t with long term planning or any acknowledgment of the cultures they divided. This is most clear in the Rwandan genocide in the 1990’s. Thats not to say they cant be fixed separately but in some cases I dont think they can.
It reminds me a bit of the Iraq war. Iraq was created without regard to the tensions between sunni, shiai, and kurds. When we invaded and took over governance (number 4 on the list) we insisted the country go back to being what the Europeans had forced it to be in the 20th century. This led to insurgency and near civil war. It helped create ISIS too for an added bonus. I don’t know what the right answer is but I think sometimes we should look at the idea of changing borders as happened (with bad effect) with Sudan recently. These arent historical or cultural borders so why do we consider them sacrosanct?

tatef 5:53 pm on March 15, 2016  

Can the poor be trusted American version I…

Can the poor be trusted: American version. I hear what a lot of people are saying about folks who abuse the system, I know several of that type myself. But the majority use it well and when necessary. Look at Florida that made welfare recipients get drug tested: The poor were using drugs at a much lower rate than the national average, so much so that the process cost the tax payers more than it saved. Its only one aspect of the issue but I think it shows the truth. Its a small percent that aren’t acting right and giving everyone else a bad name.
My issue is more how many people qualify: 1 in 5 kids lives in poverty. While it isn’t absolute poverty it is still a harder life than the rest of the country that always seems to be judging. Its also occasionally a sound economic choice to take assistance. Lets say you make minimum wage. Even if you work 40 hours a week you wont make much more than 18000. Daycare for a single child is an easy 10,000. Meaning you are only making 8,000 more than if you stayed home. Thats about 4$ an hour. Factor in transportation costs work clothes and the like and it drops even further. And you have someone else raising your kid. Have a second kid and working costs you money. That’s messed up. I think a lot fewer people would be on the dole if we had a higher minimum wage.

tatef 2:54 am on February 29, 2016  

Billions of Entrepreneurs was pretty good I like…

Billions of Entrepreneurs was pretty good. I like the idea of learning from each other and putting the best ideas together. It was nice to see a perspective from someone who has lived and worked in the US, China, and India about their different approaches. My only complaint is that he makes it sound so easy. India learns from China and China learns from India and everyone improves. But the differences he cites, individual vs group emphasis, are huge issues. They are rooted in the culture and the government that rose from that culture; not things that people usually give up overnight. Its like hes skipping the whole culture aspect of economics. America could improve economically if it would just eliminate racism and sexism. A great goal, and one we are making progress in, but its not something you can change with the flip of a switch.

tatef 12:41 am on February 21, 2016  

The FBI and the courts asking apple to…

The FBI and the courts asking apple to create new software to hack in to a phone is interesting http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/18/technology/explaining-apples-fight-with-the-fbi.html. This brings up a lot of questions: Can the government make a company do what ever the government wants despite its stated policies if they haven’t done anything illegal? Will they be compensated for the amount of time and effort this has already cost a company worth billions? Would this hurt Apples brand worldwide or domestically?
But what it really made me think about was that the iphone is made in China. China is far more authoritarian than the US and there probably wouldn’t be public trials and appeals if this happened over there. Also if the NSA can intercept computer parts to install spyware on them in the US (http://www.cnet.com/news/nsa-reportedly-installing-spyware-on-us-made-hardware/), what makes Apple users so sure the Chinese government isn’t doing the same thing?