Math blog for the masses
One blog I accidentally left out is Good Math, Bad Math by Mark Chu-Carroll. This one is very much like the TV program Mythbusters in that he takes up bad mathematical arguments in the real world and takes them apart. The recent two posts are really good: he explains the morgage crisis and our problems with health insurance.
One of the main conclusions of these posts is that middlemen are the problem, especially when their aims diverge with those of the system. Banks, instead of lending their own money, would lend that of investors'. They made profit not by controlling the risks, but by issuing as many mortgages as possible to collect as much on commission as possible. Risk management was no longer their problem. Similarly, the immediate goal of HMOs is to make profit, by (secondarily!) providing health insurance. So, one of the ways they maximize profit is by not paying for treatment.
The question then arises about the new Medicare prescription program. All it does is insert a whole lot of middlemen, who are responsible for disbursement of benefits, but mostly are there to skim off of our tax dollars. They usher in no benefits, just expenses for the massively redundant levels of bureaucracy and CEO salaries. These companies are growing more powerful by the month, and there will be no feasible way to unseat them from their place at the trough of the federal government. From now on, there is really no way to eliminate this politically connected waste.
So, to sum it up. Nixon gave us the HMOs, and our current resident gave us the Medicare Advantage Plans. Good job, Bushie.
One of the main conclusions of these posts is that middlemen are the problem, especially when their aims diverge with those of the system. Banks, instead of lending their own money, would lend that of investors'. They made profit not by controlling the risks, but by issuing as many mortgages as possible to collect as much on commission as possible. Risk management was no longer their problem. Similarly, the immediate goal of HMOs is to make profit, by (secondarily!) providing health insurance. So, one of the ways they maximize profit is by not paying for treatment.
The question then arises about the new Medicare prescription program. All it does is insert a whole lot of middlemen, who are responsible for disbursement of benefits, but mostly are there to skim off of our tax dollars. They usher in no benefits, just expenses for the massively redundant levels of bureaucracy and CEO salaries. These companies are growing more powerful by the month, and there will be no feasible way to unseat them from their place at the trough of the federal government. From now on, there is really no way to eliminate this politically connected waste.
So, to sum it up. Nixon gave us the HMOs, and our current resident gave us the Medicare Advantage Plans. Good job, Bushie.