Giving Up TV, Britain’s Baby Lottery, and Other News Items
Would you give up TV for the rest of your life for $1 million? How about the Internet?
Patient Bills Her Doctor For Making Her Wait
Britain to launch “win a baby” lottery. Winners get free fertility treatments.
Most physicians adhere to the ”rule of rescue” by allocating the last bed to the gravely ill patient. The alternative: save money and harvest the organs for other patients.
I don’t think I would give up either one for $1 million. But it would be tough to walk away from that much money.
I can’t imagine being in the position if a doctor who is told not to help a patient because the “allocation of scarce resources” could be used better elsewhere. It’s a very sterile way of viewing human lives, pun intended.
People often talk about how much time is wasted watching TV and how unhealthy a lifestyle it is to sit in front of the television for hours on end every night. But step back and imagine what you would be missing. Would you really give up on the ability to watch movies, documentaries, news coverage on television? I’m not sure radio and reading would take its place. Would that also mean you couldn’t watch streaming video on the Internet? Part of the decision would have to do with how affluent you are. If you are poor and working so many hours you never watch television it might be a good trade-off. If you have leisure time, then you would miss TV. That said, I’d definitely consider it.
I like the idea of billing the doctor for wasting your time.
having a baby shouldn’t be looked as a gamble
I have not owned a TV in 5 years, but I do watch several videos and movies on the Internet. I found that my free time increased and that I was happier not owning a TV. However, I would never give up the Internet. How else would I be able to read this blog?
Yeah Virginia!
I gave up TV in the late 1980s. That is to say, I have never had one in my house since then.
I have watched TV very intermittently elsewhere. Generally, I go to bars to watch big sports matches: Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, World Series, championship soccer, etc., but that is only once every few months.
I mvoed from Germany to England in 1989 and just never bought a TV. After a while went by, I realized that I didn’t miss it. Until the Internet came along, it was a real lifestyle change – for the better. Now that we have the Internet, I am better able to manage my time online because of my anti-TV habit. However, I think the Internet is more productive than TV. Yes, you can waste time, but you can also read good blogs like this one!
So, here’s the moral hazard: Should I buy a TV again so that I can claim the $1 million prize?