Category Archives: economics
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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The Electronic Record and the Doctor
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th January 2013Everyone seemed surprised when investigators from the RAND Corp reported in the January 2013 issue of Health Affairs that the widespread use of the electronic medical record had not resulted in reducing medical care costs – see the NY Times incredulous reaction. The RAND team of course said if we just tried a little bit harder, say…
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Student Loans
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th September 2012The only segment of our economy that had experienced the same inflation as medical care is higher education. While there may be many causes for this expansion of cost the biggest is doubtless the easy availability of student loans. The federal government has recently assumed full responsibility for the vast majority of these instruments. Until now it…
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Income Mobility in the US
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th May 2012Below is a study from the US Treasury Department –Income Mobility in the U.S. from 1996 to 2005. It presents some very interesting data. We are used to hearing how income disparity in the US is increasing. This conclusion is reached by comparing the difference between the lowest and highest groups of earners. Unless you believe that…
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More on Taxes and Spending
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th July 2011In an earlier post I presented data on income tax revenues before and after the Bush tax cuts. These revenues rose after the tax cuts and then fell with the severe economic downturn of 2008. Below is a more recent graph that shows both government revenues and spending. They seem to show that the greater spending the…
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Educational Thought of the Day – Farm Income and Dept of Agriculture
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd July 2011US farm income in 2011 is estimated by the Department of Agriculture at $94.7 billion. The Department’s 2012 budget is 145 billion. For a comment on this wonderful achievement in the Wall Street Journal go here. Interestingly the commentator underestimates the Department’s budget. No further comment, at least by me, is needed.
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