Hacker News Reader

shamshielon Stop Being Wrong About China Buying Our Bonds

There's nothing artificial about it. That's normal economics at work.

Interest rates will remain low as long as the economy remains weak. They will rise to 5% when the economy becomes stronger and inflation rises, reducing the level of existing debt to GDP.

shamshielon Welcome, Freshmen. You Don't Deserve to Be Here

I'm curious about this. In several states - I thought all states - a sufficiently high ACT score will get you either a free ride, or a half-cost ride to any public university. Mid-20s is enough to get half. Is that not the case in your state?

shamshielon Could Better Testing Practices Have Prevented the Healthcare.gov Defects?

I immediately get an error page after logging and and trying to view plans. That could be load but it certainly feels like some kind of logical error to me.

shamshielon Could Better Testing Practices Have Prevented the Healthcare.gov Defects?

Seeing what's available without reliable information on your actual costs (including subsidies) doesn't accomplish much.

shamshielon Could Better Testing Practices Have Prevented the Healthcare.gov Defects?

The website includes the plans with the subsidies, which is why they require you to sign up and answer a bunch of questions. I believe there's a lot of verification of subsidy eligibility going on in the background. Just having the rates out there would make it appear that the plans are much more expensive than they will be for most people.

shamshielon Health Insurance Exchanges are now Online (Affordable Care Act)

In every case I know of, contractors.

shamshielon Google Recently Made A Silent Shift To A New Search Algorithm, “Hummingbird”

Yup, there have been plenty of times I've put quotes around my search terms and Google decided I didn't really mean to put quotes around them.

shamshielon The Banality of Systemic Evil

Bradley Manning was subject to military law and treated accordingly. Do you have evidence he was treated unlawfully? And if not, why would he be exempt from the law?

Snowden was subject to civilian law, so far as I am aware, so he would not be able to draw on Manning as an example.

"Safe", in your world, appears to mean "free from the long arm of the law."

shamshielon The Banality of Systemic Evil

When exactly did the government threaten Snowden? What did they threaten him with?

Assuming that they threatened him with prison time (I believe he was already out of the country), is the government not allowed to try and convict people based on the established law of the land if those people are following their personal moral compass? Is "I felt it was the right thing to do" an absolute defense against prosecution?

I am also curious as to how the government is responsible for Snowden fleeing to Moscow. Is Snowden responsible for his own actions or not?