Category: Interesting Links

Scott Summer vs. Brad Delong, and Other News

Scott Sumner responds to Brad Delong: Yes, government did cause the Great Depression.

Why do airlines charge $25 for checking bags, but not for bringing huge bags on the plane?

The purpose of locks, a locksmith said, is to protect you from the 98% of mostly honest people who might be tempted to try your door if it had no lock.

May 30, 2012 | 4 comments | by John Goodman

Headlines I Wish I Hadn’t Seen

More than half of people with individual insurance will have to switch to a more expensive plan in 2014.

Google’s Street View: “probably the single greatest breach in the history of privacy.”

WHO: 10,000 black market operations involving human organs take place each year – a new organ is sold every hour.

Tom Coburn defends the doctor’s cartel.

May 30, 2012 | 3 comments | by John Goodman

Unskilled Labor, and Other News

Why don’t the unemployed have the skills that employers want?

$20 billion of your tax dollars to promote ObamaCare.

Study: 96% of chain restaurant entrees exceed USDA limits.

“Good cholesterol” not so good: It doesn’t lower your risk of heart disease.

May 25, 2012 | 7 comments | by John Goodman

Why Medicaid Patients Go to the ER, and Other News

Why Medicaid patients go to the hospital emergency room: they can’t get care anywhere else.

NEJM: For the roughly 11 million undocumented persons living in the United States, [ObamaCare] is likely to make it more difficult to gain access to basic primary care services.

Obama budget defeated 99-0 in Senate.

May 22, 2012 | 4 comments | by John Goodman

Income Inequality vs. Upward Mobility, and Other News

NPR wants to share your pain.

There is almost no relationship between income inequality and upward mobility among the states.

Do ObamaCare grants reflect Chicago-style cronyism?

Washington State legalizes home cooking. Somewhat.

David Friedman describes TSA vandalism.

May 21, 2012 | 5 comments | by John Goodman

Aging Population Will Depress Economic Growth, and Other News

Aging of the population will depress economic growth by 1.6–3.7 percentage points from current levels. HT: Tyler.

14 states have or are setting up searchable databases designed to help people shop and compare health care options based on price and quality.

The U.K. is being drained of crucial medicines by exporters who sell them elsewhere in Europe at higher prices, putting patients’ well-being at risk.

Personalized cancer drugs appear to work.

May 18, 2012 | 6 comments | by John Goodman

Family Health Care Costs Top $20,000, and Other News

Health care costs for family of 4 top $20,000.

Hard to believe: The FDA over the past decade granted market approval to pharmaceutical drugs nearly 15% faster than its drug regulating counterparts in Europe and Canada, while also being the first to approve the majority of new drugs over that period,

Robin Hanson: Projecting current trends forever and making dumb policy decisions based on the results.

50 years of government spending. HT: Sarah Kliff

May 18, 2012 | 4 comments | by John Goodman

Health Insurers to Gain $1 Trillion in New Revenue under ObamaCare, and Other News

Should parents be able to sue for ‘wrongful birth’?

How much do the nation’s preeminent hospitals cost Medicare? About 1% less.

Most likely reason for Lenin’s death: Stalin poisoned him.

A full genetic map is now about $3,000; it may soon be $1,000.

May 18, 2012 | 9 comments | by John Goodman

Headlines I Wish I Hadn’t Seen

Eduardo Saverin, the billionaire co-founder of Facebook, renounced his U.S. citizenship before an initial public offering that values the social network at as much as $96 billion. List of others who have chosen to expatriate.

While only one in 20 workers in the 1950s required licensing, that figure has since risen to one in three.

Health-insurance companies must tell customers who get a premium rebate this summer that the check is the result of the Obama administration’s health-care law.

Patients that are discharged during the busiest times for hospitals are 50 percent more likely to come back in within three days.

May 15, 2012 | 6 comments | by John Goodman

Anti-Republican vs. Anti-Obama Ad War, and Other Links

Anti-Republican ad: Paul Ryan pushes elderly lady off a cliff.

Doctors answer with their own ad: Obama pushes elderly lady off a cliff.

Study: bigger hospitals drive costs up.

Michelle Obama caught eating a cheeseburger – again. Food police upset.

There are now 300,000 OTC medicines and ingredients available for sale in the US.

May 11, 2012 | 4 comments | by John Goodman