Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that the major provider of medical malpractice insurance is bragging about SLOWING the rate of increase for malpractice insurance — and MAG attributes this to the success of tort reform.
The Business Chronicle does not ask the question found in this post's title. Remember, MAG put a letter on every legislator's desk right before the vote on tort reform in 2003 promising a ten percent cut. It hasn't happened, has it?
Filed under Health, legislation, Uncategorized
Article in Massachusetts on cutting state gas taxes has a couple of factoids of interest in Georgia:
According to GasBuddy Organization Inc., which tracks retail gasoline prices, the average price in Georgia went from $3.15 a gallon for regular unleaded on Sept. 1, to about $2.56 on Sept. 20.
However, that coincided with a similar drop in neighboring Florida, where over the same time period, the price dropped from $3.01 to $2.68.
It is also important to remember that prior to Katrina, gas in Georgia was normally 10 cents cheaper than Florida, and generally cheaper than any neighboring state. But, is has not been as cheap since.
Filed under Government, Uncategorized
News story on Warner Brothers decision to use BitTorrent to distribute movies causes me to recall a discussion among CIO's in state government when a policy was proposed to block all peer-to-peer applications as such calls "served no legitimate purposes." I was given a very skeptical look when I protested on behalf of education…
Now, imagine the work that will have to be done to "unblock" these legitimate services.
Filed under Policy, Uncategorized
John Zogby, in an AJC article, describes political content on the Internet as :
"There's no regulation. There's no objective standard for truth. There's unlimited ways to get away with just about anything," said John Zogby, a New York state-based political pollster. "It's here to stay, and it's growing by leaps and bounds every election year."
And this environment is different from TV how? Zogby misses key differences between TV and the Internet:
Filed under Media, Uncategorized
To compete in this new economy, you must continually learn by:
Just a note to myself as I ponder my navel this am
Filed under LMI, Uncategorized
Gary Hamel, director at the Woodside Institute, pens a column in the WSJ about Google and its growth rate. In his conclusion, he writes:
Google seems to have grasped the new century's most important business lesson: The capacity to evolve is the most important advantage of all.
Filed under Innovation, LMI, Uncategorized
He posts at Voic.us a scathing criticism on the efforts of Georgia newspapers to use the web.
He is right. Enuf said. On to the roast!
Filed under Media, Uncategorized
Several authors have talked about the long history of the Bush family and oil. Kevin Phillips in his latest book, American Theocracy, makes no bones about the fact that the current Middle East policy is in fact a geopolitical strategy devised by Dick Cheney on behalf of the Oil Industry in the late 90's. But, if you have any doubts how the public feels about the price of gas and Bush — look at this graph, thanks to Political Insider, created by Stuart Eugene Thiel. Any questions?
Filed under Economies, Uncategorized
For all the talk in the political sphere of taking personal responsibility in health care, precious little is being done to prepare people to learn about healthcare options. However, such lack of discussion doesn't negate the argument that self-education on health issues works.
An obituary for Dr. Tom Ferguson, found in today's New York Times, discusses Dr. Ferguson's passion for helping individuals understand their health care needs and options. His daughter credits Dr. Ferguson's willingness to "tweak" his doctor's directions, for managing his case of multiple myeloma, for extending his life.
"Being a doctor, he was ahead of the game," Ms. Dreiss said. "He kept with the traditional party line and did what doctors told him he should do but tweaked their advice in his own way. He read widely, worked out his own doses and was not afraid to experiment; when he heard about a clinical trial involving thalidomide, he called the drug company and told them he wanted to be in on it. He lived far longer than most people with this disease do."
Andy Grove, co-founder of Intel, documented his efforts to learn more about prostate cancer so that he could participate in managing his affliction. This 1996 Fortune magazine story highlights his efforts and is a testimony to his success (Mr. Grove is a survivor).
Bottom line, Dr. Ferguson's thesis is correct. So, how do we teach people to learn, to manage the information critical to their success – even survival?
Filed under Health, LMI, Uncategorized
WSJ column by Andy Kessler, The Design Economy, posits that perhaps the stock market knows how the economy works better than we do as it zips past the behavior models we expect it to conform to.
Perhaps here's how the world works these days. No need to borrow billions and build big ethylene plants anymore. You invent something here (chip, movie, iPod, medicine, financial instrument), email the design overseas for manufacture in $1-an-hour factories (OK, not financial stuff), and then ship it back for consumption. Sure, this runs up trade deficits, and our precious dollars leave the country, but that's only half the story. Those dollars come back and invest in the U.S. Most go into long bonds, 10-years and 30-years. That's why Alan Greenspan left with a puzzled look on his face. Foreign buying is keeping long rates low; the yield curve is flat.
Filed under Economies, Innovation, Uncategorized
Jim's Blog 