Category Archives: economics
Medical Rationing in the UK
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th October 2017A sizable, but likely still a minority, of the population seems to think that the federal government should have sole responsibility for the funding and delivery of medical care in the US – ie, a single payer system. Many, if not, most people make up their minds about the provision of both medical care and…
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US Economic Data – You Figure It Out
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th July 2016I’m going to present some data about the US economy. I’m going to let them speak for themselves, as much as possible. This is because almost everybody believes what they believe because they believe it, rather than as the result of sober analysis. So I’ll present the data along with a few questions about them….
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More on Gender Inequality
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th March 2016The New York Times published an article, As Women Take Over a Male-Dominated Field, the Pay Drops. The title conveys its message. That women are paid less than men for the same work is true. But is it as the article strains to imply that it is due to a gender bias? Buried deep in…
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More Good Medicine From the Government
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 6th December 2015A couple of items. For about 25 years I’ve been saying and writing that routine PSA screening was a bad idea. For much of this time I was the sacrificial nay sayer at meetings devoted to the subject. You can read the several posts on this issue that I have written over the past 8 years. Finally,…
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Quotation of the Week – Predictions
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th November 2015The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable. John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) Also true of forecasting in general.
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Substandard Medical Care, Etc
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th October 2015An article in The Guardian says that two-thirds of hospitals in the UK give substandard medical care. Furthermore 75% of hospitals have levels of safety that “are not good enough.” These hospitals are said to be understaffed and underfunded. These problems are expected to worsen as the government phases in cuts to the National Health Service….
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The Doctors’ Loophole – Another Reason why this is Such a Wonderful Country
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th September 2015Forty million Americans have a combined $1.2 trillion in student debt. Since the last recession this is only type of consumer debt that hasn’t decreased. As these loans are mostly guaranteed by the government they keep accumulating. Whether going into debt to get a college education is a good idea is not my subject. Neither…
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Why is Medical Care So Expensive?
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th June 2014The PowerPoint presentation below contains the slides I used today to accompany a presentation on the above subject to the Lubbock Roundtable. It is just an outline to my remarks. The quotation below belongs to slide #36. Its from The Obamacare Crisis by Thomas B Edsall in the New York Times November 19, 2013. The…
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The Dismal Science Triumphs Again
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th October 2013The Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to three Americans for showing that while it is difficult to predict asset prices in the short term, prices can be predicted in broad terms over longer periods, such as three to five years, according to the Nobel committee. Wow! Short term who knows? But in long term we…
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Commentary on Deuteronomy 15:4-11
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th August 2013The text of this section is below in italics. There shall be no needy among you, since the Lord your God will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as a hereditary portion. If only you heed the Lord your God and take care to keep all this instruction…
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