This is why the entire health insurance market doesn't make sense. Right now, as a healthy person, how am I supposed to weigh the impact of every potential health issue in my life? I'm sure she could've purchased some cadillac plan to cover it, but without experiencing that and with such a minute chance of an accident like that occurring as a teacher of all things, why should she ever buy it? Or even know to look for that kind of coverage? Who can price the repercussions of going without some medical procedure or medicine without ever having experienced that situation? I can understand car, boat, our house insurance and can easily replace those tangible items, but how should I price the risk to my health?
Could the rating organizations be biased to weigh disseminated coverage and care more than individual quality of care? Just a question, since I seem to get that impression these types of quality of life surveys.
As a USer with good insurance, it's a hard pill to swallow to trade next day doctor appointments, same day urgent care (not ER) with very short waits, and quick schedules for surgical procedures for the broader coverage other countries offer with more rationed care.
Even if there were an ambulance market, it's not like I'm going to spend time researching pricing when I need an ambulance. That'd be like if 911 and police services were market-based instead of public utilities. I know police do charge for special events and misuse, but I just mean the average citizen emergency.
I disagree. Money stops buying you happiness below $80k/year, or at least gives a very poor ROI. Knowing this, why would any sensible person choose a system which gives a much smaller chance of reaching this level?
It's a very American way of thinking, in which we fixate on being incredibly wealthy, instead of just moderately wealthy. Why else do Powerball sales skyrocket when the jackpot is hundreds of millions, instead of just millions? Statistically, your chances of winning were much better when it were in the mere millions, and now you have a much smaller chance, though to be very elite instead of just elite.
Since this drug was developed on public funding in the UK, how does that affect its pricing and incorporation in the NHS? I assume whoever gets the license to sell it in the US will have exclusivity and make it expensive as hell.
edit: Never mind, although the research took place at the University of London, it was funded by Ionis Pharmaceuticals (US) and further by Roche (Swiss multinational). The Guardian article relegates that bit of info to the very last line, as if they were just a minor part of the effort.
http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Ionis-Pharmac...
I'd decouple the content creation from the network delivery. How soon before cable companies start zero-rating their own content? Also, local regulations granting monopolies have to start being rolled back, or municipalities buy the infrastructure from the ISPs and let them compete to use it.
I think that's exactly it. You can choose to not buy into the social media hype around new products, services, whatever, and just abstain. Premium mediocrity is just another spin on consumerism and materialism that has plagued the US for decades. Ignore it all, buy for quality or used, make your own damn coffee, grow some vegetables, cook at home - common sense things that have been advisable for longer than the consumerist attitude. Life can be enjoyable and on a steady path to retirement with patience, frugality, and perseverance, barring the unfortunate events which are also part of life.
I reject premium mediocrity in favor of regular mediocrity. I'll put the premium in the bank and spend it in retirement.
Our Publix does this with even a free sample of the food (entree and side) and a recipe card. But of course they're going to use gourmet ingredients and run you $25-30 if you need them all and buy off the endcap.
Exactly. I'll continue to use my card whenever possible to save at least 2% on every transaction. But this comes at the cost of getting my CC data stolen from shitty POSs 1-2 times a year. Small inconvenience, but worth it.
Just do some research into the trends, it's been enough to convince me: nuisance flooding along the east coast, number of regional summer days in the 90s, sea levels have been rising but the rate is now increasing, satellite imagery of the antarctic, recession of glaciers, and then notice how all these trends correlate with the increase of atmospheric CO2 since the industrial revolution. Rather than the headlining global trends, I think it's more impactful to see how climate change affects different regions.
While you're stubbornly clinging to semantics, the rest of us recognize that the debate is indeed about the severity and consequences of a rapidly changing climate. On one side is the consensus opinion that manmade emissions have artificially accelerated global warming, and the other says that CO2 has no effect on natural, periodic climate cycles. Is that pedantic enough for you? Can we move on?
This could be so much more useful than it currently is. If anyone has used Microsoft Visio you know what a pain it is to find symbols while searching through a library, especially if it isn't associated with a common noun. Where are the simple arrows, Greek letters, schematic components? Perhaps they'll be integrating this type of technology into an actual useful product in the future, like a Google Drive version of Visio?
FTA: "Wolff’s data shows that while stock ownership has increased over the past few decades, in 2013 (his most recent data point), less than half — 46 percent — of households owned stocks, either directly or through their holdings in some sort of fund (e.g., a retirement account)."
Only there's now bi-partisan recognition that SS is insolvent and something must be done. The left wants to increase taxes and remove the cap, who knows how far they could get to taking that if the populist Sanders side takes over, and the right wants to reduce benefits and/or privatize. If the stagnation keeps up until retirement, I guess they'll just quit writing checks.
Can it even store biometric data for you if it doesn't know who you are? I was under the assumption that it's only stored if your profile is linked with your face in a photo.
From the article it sounds like the result of the lawsuit may be just that facebook adds a disclaimer to their ToS that you accept them using your biometric data by using their service. No surprise there, if you don't want any service collecting any of your data, don't use their service.
It seems to have flipped as attitudes in Silicon Valley have flipped. Majority used to be Ron Paul supporters, now those attitudes seem to have matured to a more nuanced worldview.
Smoking bans or taxes are good as long as you have socialized medicine or regulations which prohibit private insurance from charging higher premiums for smokers. You're free to harm yourself as long as health-conscious people don't have to pay for it. The same for soda taxes and the like.
I understand the libertarian ideal of being free to choose how to give away your own money, but how do they reconcile that with the ignorance of the elite as to the social problems they never encounter? Even given the inefficiencies of government, it's hard for me to imagine that the same amount of social spending could do more good from the hands of individuals than collective agencies.
Foregin influence is definitely a factor. Poorer countries have a financial motivation to write fake news and clickbait articles for the mediocre income that people out here wouldn't bother with: https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/how-macedonia-became...
Depends on your area of the country. In tech-dense areas with high costs of livings, the adjusted cost of living to federal civilian salary doesn't nearly catch up. However, there are many, many bases in suburban and rural areas where an early career income is over twice the median income and you get a lot for the money.
It depends on how many movies you watch whether the mail plan is cheaper than paying on-demand. On-demand prices drop fairly quickly, go on sale periodically, and things like Google Rewards earn you digital credit. Also, RedBox is still an option if needed.