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POPSBeginning of the End of Free Market Health Care in the U.S.by
Rustee Yesterday 11:23 PM 
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Commercial insurers—who were still required to pay taxes, establish reserves, and adhere to other state insurance regulations—had difficulty competing with the Blues, which, by the 1950s, together were the largest provider of health insurance in America. In an effort to compete with the Blues, more and more for-profit insurance companies offered similar plans, and the model of third-party insurance plans paying the providers directly with little or no input from the patient—and paying for routine care through insurance—became entrenched. This new model was a disaster in the making. In addition to minimizing incentives for insured customers to comparison shop for medical services, it also minimized incentives for doctors and hospitals to compete on price.
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POPSIn The Crystal Ball Some predictions are vaguly on target. Most respond through the lens of 1900 and offner no new insights. I suspect our predictions will seem as naive in 2100.
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POPSWhat is Blackwater Doing in Alaska? The Blackwater guards are nominally employed by Chenega, an Alaska Native corporation associated with the Alaskan coastal village of Chenega Bay, population 86. Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, architect of the “Bridge to Nowhere” and recently convicted of a seven-felony string of corruption charges, is one of the principal proponents of the anti-missile system and was also instrumental in writing laws which help secure government contracts for Alaska Native Corporations. Chenega gets contracts through the Small Business Administration, rakes off a percentage, then lets giant Blackwater provide the actual services. Since 2000 Chenega has received over $1.1 billion in sole-source or non-compete bids from the Army, Air Force and Department of Homeland Security. It's good to have friends in high places.
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POPSPhilippines : Sehr Mahmood In Manila To Win The Earth Sehr Mahmood goes to Manila, Phillipines to compete for the Miss Earth pageant!!! Sehr Mahmood, the current winner and queen of Miss Pakistan World, is representing Pakistan in the world's third largest beauty pageant, Miss Earth 2006.
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POPSWhy The Danish Bumblebee Can Fly "Tax rates... there is no evidence that these are adversely affecting the ability of these countries to compete effectively in world markets, or to deliver to their respective populations some of the highest standards of living in the world. World-class educational establishments, an extensive safety net, and a highly motivated and skilled labour force.”
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POPSThe Debt Trap Our personal information is our own property and without our permission cannot be used in any way. Isn't that simple? So THEY possess and use property stolen from us for THEIR own advantage. Isn't this a crime? More, they got us in trouble, debt trouble with our property. To get rip us off more and more. How long it can last?
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POPSDon't blame deregulation Indeed, exactly contrary to Obama’s claims, the repeal of Glass-Steagall has helped to counter the current crisis. It allowed Bank of America to buy out Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase to buy out Bear Stearns, and Barclays Bank to work on buying up the remains of Lehman Brothers. It allowed investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to take up refuge as bank holding companies. If investment banks Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers had diversified more into commercial banking, taking commercial deposits — as the Act’s repeal made possible — that might have provided them with the superior capital cushions needed to survive.
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POPSHow to Get a Job with the Feds Roll Call book review also notes this: "Jobs that compete with Wall Street for employees generally come with the highest paychecks. Employees at the Treasury and the Federal Communications Commission can earn bonuses in the tens of thousands."
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POPSRat, It's What's For Dinner I'd probably try it if it were offered to me, but I wouldn't go out of my way to get it yet. Maybe in 6-12 months from now when I'm starving because there is no food around, then I'd go for it.
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POPSOver 70 Percent Of CEOs Fear An Obama Presidency Will Be A Disaster “Overall, many CEOs are concerned about the future of the U.S. economy and its ability to compete in the global market, but they look to John McCain and hope that this self-described political maverick may yet shake up established thinking and not give into to the tired policies of the past,” concluded Kopko
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POPSThe Health Care Issue So what would happen? The good news, such as it is, is that more people would buy individual insurance. Indeed, the total number of uninsured Americans might decline marginally under the McCain plan — although many more Americans would be without insurance than under the Obama plan. But the people gaining insurance would be those who need it least: relatively healthy Americans with high incomes. Why? Because insurance companies want to cover only healthy people, and even among the healthy only those able to pay a lot in addition to their tax credit would be able to afford coverage (remember, it’s a $5,000 credit, but the average family policy actually costs more than $12,000). Meanwhile, the people losing insurance would be those who need it most: lower-income workers who wouldn’t be able to afford individual insurance even with the tax credit, and Americans with health problems whom insurance companies won’t cover.
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POPSCNN Calls BS on Palin's 'Terrorist' Claim The McCain campaign has made a big thing about how they plan on going negative . Apparently, this is the best they can do -- guilt by association. McCain-Palin desperately needs to change the subject from the economy, but this strategy is pretty certain to backfire. Every time they come out with one of these things, Obama can say, "See? They don't want to talk about the economy. They want to drag this down in the dirt. They're out of material." Obama seems pretty hard to throw off message, so they're going to have to do better than this. And I don't think they can.
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