Richard Garrison is a reporter for WMNC "The Big Dog" radio in Morganton. Richard covers the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton Metro area. He regularly attends both Hickory and Morganton City Council meetings and we correspond frequently about issues in the area. Richard is his own man and he is someone who I respect greatly, because of his forthrightness.
The other night Richard was on WBTV news at 11pm. The following is the story relating to his ongoing battle with Morganton's Grace Hospital involving their billing practices. Richard had a very negative experience with the hospital when his mother died and the hospital was ambivalent about their business practices and Richard believes that there is a pattern here and it certainly does look like there is a pattern here.
WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC
PSI: Medical bills are a prescription for confusion - WBTV - Jamie Boll - January 31, 2013 - MORGANTON, NC (WBTV) - Richard Garrison didn't know it at the time, but when his phone rang one day last summer, he was about to lose his mother.
"She had fallen in the driveway," said Garrison.
Jean Garrison who was a nurse before retiring had hit her head, but she didn't go to the hospital until the next day, when Richard came home to find her on the couch.
"I said 'Mom, how you doing?' No response," said Garrison.
She was rushed by ambulance to Grace Hospital in Morganton, then flown to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.
"She passed away about 4:30 that afternoon," said Garrison.
His grief was compounded by the stress of trying to understand the medical bills. The bill from Grace Hospital alone topped $9,000.
"All this for essentially less than two hours at Grace Hospital," said Garrison.
Medicare was paying for almost all of it. Or was it?
"You really don't even know what was actually paid," said Sen. Jeff Tarte.
Tarte, a freshman state senator from Cornelius, doubts anyone came close to paying the $9,000. He knows a thing, or two about the health care industry. He's consulted hospitals on how to set prices.
"The financial model in health care, and I've been doing this work for almost 35 years, is completely broken," said Tarte.
Not only that, it is rife with error. It's been estimated as many 80% of hospital bills have mistakes.
"Doesn't surprise me," said Tarte.
What other business could get away with that? Tarte says none. So, why do we accept it, in what is the most important business we use?
"Nobody has the ability to audit with a degree of accuracy," said Tarte.
So, if experts in the field have trouble making sense of the gobbledygook that is your hospital bill, where does that leave the rest of us?
"98% of the population has no possible way just to look at (charges) and know if that's reasonable or not," said Tarte.
"You have to pay attention," said Dr. Michael Matthews.
Matthews teaches health care administration at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. He agrees medical bills are way too complicated, but he say you're not helpless.
"Mistakes come in a multitude of areas," said Matthews.
He says he's seen them in bills for his own family. He says he's seen charges for pills never give, services never provided and tests never done. Is it malice? Is it like a mechanic try to sneak in an unnecessary repair?
"No, no, no," said Matthews. "Health care is so complex. There are so many people getting their hand on the medical bill (and) with that many hands, with human error, you are bound to have a mistake."
It's why Matthews says you should examine your itemized bill closely. He says make sure everything you're being charged for was actually done and billed for correctly. He also says compare the prices to what you find on popular web sites like healthcarebluebook.com
"It will give you a rough estimate of what a procedure should cost," said Matthews.
He says with so much cost shifting going on to cover people who can't pay, it's an important tool as you enter what is really a negotiation over your bill.
"Be courteous, be respectful and be prepared to discus the specific issues and you'll get a lot better response," said Matthews.
As for the $9,000 Garrison bill, Sen. Tarte was correct. No one paid the full amount. Grace Hospital says Medicare only paid a small fraction, probably less than $2,000. Garrison, who says the entire ordeal has been stressful, paid the remaining $320.
Grace Hospital in a written statement said, "We understand and regret that billing for hospital and other medical services is so complex. The variety of providers, settings, treatments and coverage plans involved in the care a patient receives can make billing confusing."
The statement from Jerry Davis, Vice President of Blue Ridge HealthCare, which owns Grace Hospital goes on to say, "We encourage patients to be in touch with us as soon as possible if they have questions, or need information about their bill or about financial assistance. There are often ways we can help, but it begins with that contact."
The billing system is complex. It's also important to note private insurers don't pay full cost either. In fact, each insurer likely pays something different for the same exact service. The price is based on its contract with the provider.
Tarte says it's time to do something about this broken pricing model. He says he'll be working to get the major players involved at the table to start work on simplifying the billing system.
|
| Join To Get Blog Update Notices |
| Visit the Hickory Hound Group |
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
City Branding: More than Just a Logo and a Tagline? - From WNCT News in Greenville, NC featuring our City Manager Mick Berry
I have family who live on the coast and they saw this and sent the link to me.
City Branding: More than Just a Logo and a Tagline?
WNCT - Greenville, NC
Jonathan Rodriguez | 9 On Your Side
Published: January 31, 2013
Updated: January 31, 2013 - 7:03 PM
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – Branding. You see it everywhere. It’s been proven that logos and slogans can be used to market just about any product or service, but can it work for a city?
That’s where North Star Destination Strategies comes in.
"It’s competitive out there. Communities need to work to be as competitive as they can be,” explained Don McEachern, CEO of North Star, based in Tennessee.
He says they've worked with more than 150 communities, giving cities not just a catchphrase, but an identity.
"It’s more than just a logo and a line,” McEachern said, “you’re spending money and resources already marketing your community so it just makes good sense to make sure your spending those dollars and those efforts are working as hard as they can."
It’s all in an effort to bring in new business.
Greenville, New Bern, and Jacksonville are hiring North Star to get them branded.
"We’re trying to make Greenville more attractive for companies to locate here and bring jobs to our community,” said Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas
"I do a lot of traveling and most people I run into in other states have never heard of New Bern,” explained Alderman Dennis Bucher.
So how much will it cost?
Each city is paying between $80,000 and $90,000 taxpayer dollars.
A lot of people in the community say they think it could be a good idea, but were very concerned about the price. So 9 On Your Side went looking for proof.
We talked to Mick Berry, city manager of Hickory,North Carolina. They hired North Star about two years ago. Their brand is “Life. Well Crafted.” We asked if it was worth the money.
"Absolutely,” said Berry, “I know it is pricey when you’re spending, in our case about, $80,000 that did raise some eyebrows. But when you look at the overall value of a community, when you talk about having a tool to market your community to the broader world, it's a very small fraction of the overall value of that community."
But will bring tangible results?
“That’s a fair question and it's a hard question to answer when you talk about tangible results. We’ve had a number of new businesses come here to Hickory, we’ve had success in recruiting new events in our convention center, even activity at our airport. Can you say that that was purely because we have this very crisp branded message? No. They're coming for a lot of other reasons as well, but it just helps you in your sales pitch. We’re a unified community, we understand who we are, life is well crafted in Hickory, and it just helps you with the message. It’s kind of just the icing on the cake you need in a very competitive world,” explained Berry.
He says it will take a full community effort to get the brand to work. But with this deal, there's no "money back guarantee" so cities have to wait and see if it was money well spent.
City Branding: More than Just a Logo and a Tagline?
WNCT - Greenville, NC
Jonathan Rodriguez | 9 On Your Side
Published: January 31, 2013
Updated: January 31, 2013 - 7:03 PM
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – Branding. You see it everywhere. It’s been proven that logos and slogans can be used to market just about any product or service, but can it work for a city?
That’s where North Star Destination Strategies comes in.
"It’s competitive out there. Communities need to work to be as competitive as they can be,” explained Don McEachern, CEO of North Star, based in Tennessee.
He says they've worked with more than 150 communities, giving cities not just a catchphrase, but an identity.
"It’s more than just a logo and a line,” McEachern said, “you’re spending money and resources already marketing your community so it just makes good sense to make sure your spending those dollars and those efforts are working as hard as they can."
It’s all in an effort to bring in new business.
Greenville, New Bern, and Jacksonville are hiring North Star to get them branded.
"We’re trying to make Greenville more attractive for companies to locate here and bring jobs to our community,” said Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas
"I do a lot of traveling and most people I run into in other states have never heard of New Bern,” explained Alderman Dennis Bucher.
So how much will it cost?
Each city is paying between $80,000 and $90,000 taxpayer dollars.
A lot of people in the community say they think it could be a good idea, but were very concerned about the price. So 9 On Your Side went looking for proof.
We talked to Mick Berry, city manager of Hickory,North Carolina. They hired North Star about two years ago. Their brand is “Life. Well Crafted.” We asked if it was worth the money.
"Absolutely,” said Berry, “I know it is pricey when you’re spending, in our case about, $80,000 that did raise some eyebrows. But when you look at the overall value of a community, when you talk about having a tool to market your community to the broader world, it's a very small fraction of the overall value of that community."
But will bring tangible results?
“That’s a fair question and it's a hard question to answer when you talk about tangible results. We’ve had a number of new businesses come here to Hickory, we’ve had success in recruiting new events in our convention center, even activity at our airport. Can you say that that was purely because we have this very crisp branded message? No. They're coming for a lot of other reasons as well, but it just helps you in your sales pitch. We’re a unified community, we understand who we are, life is well crafted in Hickory, and it just helps you with the message. It’s kind of just the icing on the cake you need in a very competitive world,” explained Berry.
He says it will take a full community effort to get the brand to work. But with this deal, there's no "money back guarantee" so cities have to wait and see if it was money well spent.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Here comes the Truth - GDP down in 4th quarter
As I said, after the election is over and the swearing in ceremonies take place, then they are going to start pushing upon us just how bad it is to set us up for higher taxes and reduced services. This kind of massaging of reality is called lying by most of us. If your kid times the reality of conditions of honesty, trust, and integrity when communicating with you, then you call him out on it. When your government does it, you seem to think it's alright. Since I try to keep this forum as clean as possible, I'm not going to tell you exactly what I think. The problems don't really lie with these government people and their fake numbers and perspective. The numbers lie with the depth and breadth of a weak nation of Zombie Robots looking to be told what to do instead of telling their representatives what they expect.
What do I expect? The Truth.
The facts are that the economy has not grown in over 5 years now. The only "Growth" we have seen was through monetary fuel injection. When you subtract the real inflation rate from non-governmental Gross Domestic Product (GDP created by the Private Sector), then you see that we have had negative growth over the last five years. All of the Quantitative Easing and Stimulus has nearly doubled the Federal Debt over the last five years and if we continue these policvies, the debt will double again over the next 5. The government is telling you that the National Debt will only rise to $21 trillion by the end of 2016, where are they showing the increased tax revenues? Where are they showing the reduction in expenditures? It seems to me that they are carrying forward the same policies that they have been and those policies, as I have shown you, have nearly doubled the National Debt over the last five years. That means a National Debt, not at the projected $21 trillion. That means a National Debt of Approximately $30 trillion.
GDP Shows Surprise Drop for US in Fourth Quarter - AP through CNBC - January 30, 2013 - The U.S. economy posted a stunning drop of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, defying expectations for slow growth and possibly providing incentive for more Federal Reserve stimulus. The economy shrank from October through December for the first time since the recession ended, hurt by the biggest cut in defense spending in 40 years, fewer exports and sluggish growth in company stockpiles. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter. That's a sharp slowdown from the 3.1 percent growth rate in the July-September quarter.
It is easy to see that these Economic Comptrollers haven't a clue about what they are doing other than cooking the books. I really don't think they are doing this on purpose. They just have a certain economic belief system and they are going to drive us to hell instead of admitting they are wrong, because there is no accountability in our governmental system. As a matter of fact we reenforce failure through back slaps and gladhanding. As Rand Paul said to Hillary Clinton about Benghazi last week, paraphrasing, 'I don't think you are a bad person or had bad intentions. I just don't think you understand or know what you are doing. And so therefore, If I were the President, I would have had you relieved of your duties.'
People keep being given these positions of leadership and they strut around like peacocks as if they are royalty, when they have a fiduciary responsibility to do what is best for the people they represent. And they are not doing that. They are representing a handful of people who line their pockets with cash and the rest of us be damned. There is no Honesty, Integrity, Honor, and Loyalty in the current political paradigm. It's just every man for himself and this is all going very, very badly. We can turn this all around by demanding Accountability and for some reason we have way too many people who seem to think that is a hard thing to do. Folks, demanding Accountability is the easiest thing we can do to begin to turn this economy around. The hardest part will be picking up the pieces of this shattered economy and putting them back together again.
Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World
US economy shrinks 0.1 percent, first time since recession ended - Fox News - January 30, 2013
Google News on the shrinking of the U.S. Economy
The only chart you need on the GDP report - The Washington Post - Dylan Matthews - January 30, 2013
What do I expect? The Truth.
The facts are that the economy has not grown in over 5 years now. The only "Growth" we have seen was through monetary fuel injection. When you subtract the real inflation rate from non-governmental Gross Domestic Product (GDP created by the Private Sector), then you see that we have had negative growth over the last five years. All of the Quantitative Easing and Stimulus has nearly doubled the Federal Debt over the last five years and if we continue these policvies, the debt will double again over the next 5. The government is telling you that the National Debt will only rise to $21 trillion by the end of 2016, where are they showing the increased tax revenues? Where are they showing the reduction in expenditures? It seems to me that they are carrying forward the same policies that they have been and those policies, as I have shown you, have nearly doubled the National Debt over the last five years. That means a National Debt, not at the projected $21 trillion. That means a National Debt of Approximately $30 trillion.
GDP Shows Surprise Drop for US in Fourth Quarter - AP through CNBC - January 30, 2013 - The U.S. economy posted a stunning drop of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, defying expectations for slow growth and possibly providing incentive for more Federal Reserve stimulus. The economy shrank from October through December for the first time since the recession ended, hurt by the biggest cut in defense spending in 40 years, fewer exports and sluggish growth in company stockpiles. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that the economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter. That's a sharp slowdown from the 3.1 percent growth rate in the July-September quarter.
It is easy to see that these Economic Comptrollers haven't a clue about what they are doing other than cooking the books. I really don't think they are doing this on purpose. They just have a certain economic belief system and they are going to drive us to hell instead of admitting they are wrong, because there is no accountability in our governmental system. As a matter of fact we reenforce failure through back slaps and gladhanding. As Rand Paul said to Hillary Clinton about Benghazi last week, paraphrasing, 'I don't think you are a bad person or had bad intentions. I just don't think you understand or know what you are doing. And so therefore, If I were the President, I would have had you relieved of your duties.'
People keep being given these positions of leadership and they strut around like peacocks as if they are royalty, when they have a fiduciary responsibility to do what is best for the people they represent. And they are not doing that. They are representing a handful of people who line their pockets with cash and the rest of us be damned. There is no Honesty, Integrity, Honor, and Loyalty in the current political paradigm. It's just every man for himself and this is all going very, very badly. We can turn this all around by demanding Accountability and for some reason we have way too many people who seem to think that is a hard thing to do. Folks, demanding Accountability is the easiest thing we can do to begin to turn this economy around. The hardest part will be picking up the pieces of this shattered economy and putting them back together again.
Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World
US economy shrinks 0.1 percent, first time since recession ended - Fox News - January 30, 2013
Google News on the shrinking of the U.S. Economy
The only chart you need on the GDP report - The Washington Post - Dylan Matthews - January 30, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Richard Garrison about two Morganton Issues
From Richard Garrison in Morganton (January 29, 2012):
"I just heard that my interview about Grace Hospital will be shown on the WBTV 11 pm Newscast on Thursday night.
(1-31). If you can mention it on the 'hound' Wednesday or Thursday I would appreciate it."
Also:
"I spent a considerable amount of time with the NC Department of Water Quality and DENR on Monday, after researching the story here of an untreated wastewater spill, I learned the City of Morganton FAILED to follow NCGS 143-215.1c, and DID not issue a "Press Release" concerning this spill as required by statute. Morganton did pay for a "legal notice" published in the News Herald Sunday Edition which states, " An approximate 1,824,000 gallons of untreated wasterwater spilled into the Hunting Creek and then into the Catawba River. " I am waiting to see the fallout on this. This is one of the worst mistakes Morganton has made that I know of. Keep watching for updates."
What is news? What is the business model of the News Media? What is the responsibility of news organizations? In the end, who is the Media responsible to, Corporate or Community Interests?
"I just heard that my interview about Grace Hospital will be shown on the WBTV 11 pm Newscast on Thursday night.
(1-31). If you can mention it on the 'hound' Wednesday or Thursday I would appreciate it."
Also:
"I spent a considerable amount of time with the NC Department of Water Quality and DENR on Monday, after researching the story here of an untreated wastewater spill, I learned the City of Morganton FAILED to follow NCGS 143-215.1c, and DID not issue a "Press Release" concerning this spill as required by statute. Morganton did pay for a "legal notice" published in the News Herald Sunday Edition which states, " An approximate 1,824,000 gallons of untreated wasterwater spilled into the Hunting Creek and then into the Catawba River. " I am waiting to see the fallout on this. This is one of the worst mistakes Morganton has made that I know of. Keep watching for updates."
What is news? What is the business model of the News Media? What is the responsibility of news organizations? In the end, who is the Media responsible to, Corporate or Community Interests?
Monday, January 28, 2013
Economic Stories of Relevance in Today's World -- January 27, 2013
CHART: The Real Inflation Rate Is 11% According To CPI Calculations From 1980s - The Daily Bail -
History of the CPI - By John Melloy - Executive Producer, CNBC's Fast Money - ...Since 1980, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has changed the way it calculates the CPI in order to account for the substitution of products, improvements in quality (i.e. iPad 2 costing the same as original iPad) and other things. Backing out more methods implemented in 1990 by the BLS still puts inflation at a 5.5 percent rate and getting worse, according to the calculations by the newsletter’s web site, Shadowstats.com...
Compound Inflation - The Hickory Hound
How to Get America Online - The New York Times - Susan Crawford - January 23, 2013 - Although Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has challenged the country to build additional gigabit fiber networks — about 100 times faster than most residential connections today — his words won’t advance our digital future unless they are backed up with the leadership necessary to enact pro-growth, pro-innovation and competition-enabling rules.
At the heart of the problem lie a few powerful companies with enormous influence over policy making. Both the wireless and wired markets for high-speed Internet access have become heavily concentrated, and neither is subject to substantial competition nor oversight. Companies like Time Warner Cable routinely get their way when they seek to prevent local officials from encouraging competition. At the federal level, Verizon Wireless is keeping the F.C.C. in court arguing over the scope of its regulatory powers — a move that has undermined the agency’s authority.
As a result, prices are too high and speeds too slow. A third of Americans opt not to buy high-speed Internet access at home, often because they can’t afford. Incumbents like Comcast and Verizon Wireless (now cooperating in a joint marketing venture) claim that their market is characterized by robust competition. But where is the competition when 94 percent of new wired high-speed customers bought service from their local cable distributors during the third quarter of 2012? Not surprisingly, America lags behind almost every other industrialized country in high-speed access — even France, the bête noir of American free-marketeers, has better and cheaper Internet access. ( The Hound: If you ever want to get a deer in the headlights look, talk to a politician about the need to upgrade the internet infrastructure. First of all, they can't do it because they have been bought off by the telecoms and other media corps. and second they don't understand it, which makes it easier to control them through part one.)
Goldman Sachs Made 400 Million Betting On Food Prices In 2012 While Hundreds Of Millions Starved - The Economic Collapse Blog - ...Goldman Sachs made about 400 million dollars betting on food prices last year. Overall, 2012 was quite a banner year for Goldman Sachs. As I reported in a previous article, revenues for Goldman increased by about 30 percent in 2012 and the price of Goldman stock has risen by more than 40 percent over the past 12 months. It is estimated that the average banker at Goldman brought in a pay and bonus package of approximately $396,500 for 2012. So without a doubt, Goldman Sachs is swimming in money right now. But what is the price for all of this "success"? Many claim that the rampant speculation on food prices by the big banks has dramatically increased the global price of food and has caused the suffering of hundreds of millions of poor families around the planet to become much worse. At this point, global food prices are more than twice as high as they were back in 2003. Approximately 2 billion people on the planet spend at least half of their incomes on food, and close to a billion people regularly do not have enough food to eat. Is it moral for Goldman Sachs and other big banks such as Barclays and Morgan Stanley to make hundreds of millions of dollars betting on the price of food if that is going to drive up global food prices and make it harder for poor families all over the world to feed themselves? This is another reason why the derivatives bubble is so bad for the world economy. Goldman Sachs and other big banks are treating the global food supply as if it was some kind of a casino game. This kind of reckless activity was greatly condemned by the World Development Movement report...
So clucked up! Chicken wing prices up ahead of Super Bowl - Life Inc. Today.com - Allison Linn - January 25, 2013 - Last summer’s drought has come home to roost in the price you’ll be paying for those Super Bowl party chicken wings. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday that chicken prices were up 6 percent in December, versus a year earlier. That's more than triple how much overall food prices have risen over the same time. Food economists had been warning that the price of foods such as meats and dairy would likely rise because of the summer’s severe drought. In the case of poultry, the drought led to a rise in prices for the grains that are typically used to feed animals such as chickens and turkeys. That, in turn, has pushed up the price of the chickens.
GOP Moves to Suspend Debt Ceiling Until May - CNBC - Eamon Javers - January 22, 2013 -
House Speaker John Boehner indicated Tuesday that Republicans will vote on an extension of the federal debt ceiling to allow Treasury to borrow money until mid-May. The move would reverse the order of a series of expected debt and spending fights in Washington, an effort designed to put the GOP on more sound political footing. The Speaker said the measure would be tied to a provision that would suspend the pay of lawmakers if they do not agree to a budget by April 15th. A vote is expected Wednesday. "I think the American people understand that you can't continue to spend money that you don't have," Boehner said. At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney indicated the president would likely sign the measure if the Congress passes it. "The House Republicans made a decision to back away from the kind of brinksmanship that was very concerning to the markets, very concerning to business, very concerning to the American people," Carney said. Extending the debt limit for a few months without demanding specific spending cuts means the next moment of high political and market drama will occur when the so-called "sequester" or automatic across the board spending cuts, kicks in on March 1. That deadline is itself the result of another temporary maneuver by Congress on New Year's Day to avoid the fiscal cliff. (Hickory Hound - Splat!!!)
My master's wasn't worth it - Be careful what you study. Going to grad school isn't always worth the time, effort and money. - CNN Money - Annalyn Kurtz @CNNMoney - Last updated January 24 2013
Older smokers priced out of Obamacare? - AP through CBS News - January 25, 2013 - Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation. The Affordable Care Act — "Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies up to 50 percent higher premiums starting next Jan. 1. For a 55-year-old smoker, the penalty could reach nearly $4,250 a year. A 60-year-old could wind up paying nearly $5,100 on top of premiums. Younger smokers could be charged lower penalties under rules proposed last fall by the Obama administration. But older smokers could face a heavy hit on their household budgets at a time in life when smoking-related illnesses tend to emerge.
Manufacturers cutting white-collar jobs now, too - By BERNARD CONDON, AP Business Writers; PAUL WISEMAN, AP Business Writers through WRAL.com - January 24, 2012 - Manufacturers have been using technology to cut blue-collar jobs for years. Now, they're targeting their white-collar workers, too. Factory Automation Systems makes machines that help companies cut, bundle and load products faster and cheaper than humans can. But it didn't realize how much technology could help its own business until the Great Recession hit. To save money, the Atlanta company cut nine workers doing administrative tasks, like booking flights, answering phones, managing employee benefits and ordering parts and supplies. "I had to lay people off to survive, then I noticed it's not such a big deal" to do things myself, President Rosser Pryor says. "When I'm buying something, I can go online. I don't need a buyer." Pryor says do-it-yourself software means he doesn't have to rehire though business has rebounded. Other manufacturers are using technology to avoid hiring blue-collar workers when business improves.
Let the Banks Fail - President of Iceland
History of the CPI - By John Melloy - Executive Producer, CNBC's Fast Money - ...Since 1980, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has changed the way it calculates the CPI in order to account for the substitution of products, improvements in quality (i.e. iPad 2 costing the same as original iPad) and other things. Backing out more methods implemented in 1990 by the BLS still puts inflation at a 5.5 percent rate and getting worse, according to the calculations by the newsletter’s web site, Shadowstats.com...
Compound Inflation - The Hickory Hound
How to Get America Online - The New York Times - Susan Crawford - January 23, 2013 - Although Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has challenged the country to build additional gigabit fiber networks — about 100 times faster than most residential connections today — his words won’t advance our digital future unless they are backed up with the leadership necessary to enact pro-growth, pro-innovation and competition-enabling rules.
At the heart of the problem lie a few powerful companies with enormous influence over policy making. Both the wireless and wired markets for high-speed Internet access have become heavily concentrated, and neither is subject to substantial competition nor oversight. Companies like Time Warner Cable routinely get their way when they seek to prevent local officials from encouraging competition. At the federal level, Verizon Wireless is keeping the F.C.C. in court arguing over the scope of its regulatory powers — a move that has undermined the agency’s authority.
As a result, prices are too high and speeds too slow. A third of Americans opt not to buy high-speed Internet access at home, often because they can’t afford. Incumbents like Comcast and Verizon Wireless (now cooperating in a joint marketing venture) claim that their market is characterized by robust competition. But where is the competition when 94 percent of new wired high-speed customers bought service from their local cable distributors during the third quarter of 2012? Not surprisingly, America lags behind almost every other industrialized country in high-speed access — even France, the bête noir of American free-marketeers, has better and cheaper Internet access. ( The Hound: If you ever want to get a deer in the headlights look, talk to a politician about the need to upgrade the internet infrastructure. First of all, they can't do it because they have been bought off by the telecoms and other media corps. and second they don't understand it, which makes it easier to control them through part one.)
Goldman Sachs Made 400 Million Betting On Food Prices In 2012 While Hundreds Of Millions Starved - The Economic Collapse Blog - ...Goldman Sachs made about 400 million dollars betting on food prices last year. Overall, 2012 was quite a banner year for Goldman Sachs. As I reported in a previous article, revenues for Goldman increased by about 30 percent in 2012 and the price of Goldman stock has risen by more than 40 percent over the past 12 months. It is estimated that the average banker at Goldman brought in a pay and bonus package of approximately $396,500 for 2012. So without a doubt, Goldman Sachs is swimming in money right now. But what is the price for all of this "success"? Many claim that the rampant speculation on food prices by the big banks has dramatically increased the global price of food and has caused the suffering of hundreds of millions of poor families around the planet to become much worse. At this point, global food prices are more than twice as high as they were back in 2003. Approximately 2 billion people on the planet spend at least half of their incomes on food, and close to a billion people regularly do not have enough food to eat. Is it moral for Goldman Sachs and other big banks such as Barclays and Morgan Stanley to make hundreds of millions of dollars betting on the price of food if that is going to drive up global food prices and make it harder for poor families all over the world to feed themselves? This is another reason why the derivatives bubble is so bad for the world economy. Goldman Sachs and other big banks are treating the global food supply as if it was some kind of a casino game. This kind of reckless activity was greatly condemned by the World Development Movement report...
So clucked up! Chicken wing prices up ahead of Super Bowl - Life Inc. Today.com - Allison Linn - January 25, 2013 - Last summer’s drought has come home to roost in the price you’ll be paying for those Super Bowl party chicken wings. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday that chicken prices were up 6 percent in December, versus a year earlier. That's more than triple how much overall food prices have risen over the same time. Food economists had been warning that the price of foods such as meats and dairy would likely rise because of the summer’s severe drought. In the case of poultry, the drought led to a rise in prices for the grains that are typically used to feed animals such as chickens and turkeys. That, in turn, has pushed up the price of the chickens.
GOP Moves to Suspend Debt Ceiling Until May - CNBC - Eamon Javers - January 22, 2013 -
House Speaker John Boehner indicated Tuesday that Republicans will vote on an extension of the federal debt ceiling to allow Treasury to borrow money until mid-May. The move would reverse the order of a series of expected debt and spending fights in Washington, an effort designed to put the GOP on more sound political footing. The Speaker said the measure would be tied to a provision that would suspend the pay of lawmakers if they do not agree to a budget by April 15th. A vote is expected Wednesday. "I think the American people understand that you can't continue to spend money that you don't have," Boehner said. At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney indicated the president would likely sign the measure if the Congress passes it. "The House Republicans made a decision to back away from the kind of brinksmanship that was very concerning to the markets, very concerning to business, very concerning to the American people," Carney said. Extending the debt limit for a few months without demanding specific spending cuts means the next moment of high political and market drama will occur when the so-called "sequester" or automatic across the board spending cuts, kicks in on March 1. That deadline is itself the result of another temporary maneuver by Congress on New Year's Day to avoid the fiscal cliff. (Hickory Hound - Splat!!!)
My master's wasn't worth it - Be careful what you study. Going to grad school isn't always worth the time, effort and money. - CNN Money - Annalyn Kurtz @CNNMoney - Last updated January 24 2013
Older smokers priced out of Obamacare? - AP through CBS News - January 25, 2013 - Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation. The Affordable Care Act — "Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies up to 50 percent higher premiums starting next Jan. 1. For a 55-year-old smoker, the penalty could reach nearly $4,250 a year. A 60-year-old could wind up paying nearly $5,100 on top of premiums. Younger smokers could be charged lower penalties under rules proposed last fall by the Obama administration. But older smokers could face a heavy hit on their household budgets at a time in life when smoking-related illnesses tend to emerge.
Manufacturers cutting white-collar jobs now, too - By BERNARD CONDON, AP Business Writers; PAUL WISEMAN, AP Business Writers through WRAL.com - January 24, 2012 - Manufacturers have been using technology to cut blue-collar jobs for years. Now, they're targeting their white-collar workers, too. Factory Automation Systems makes machines that help companies cut, bundle and load products faster and cheaper than humans can. But it didn't realize how much technology could help its own business until the Great Recession hit. To save money, the Atlanta company cut nine workers doing administrative tasks, like booking flights, answering phones, managing employee benefits and ordering parts and supplies. "I had to lay people off to survive, then I noticed it's not such a big deal" to do things myself, President Rosser Pryor says. "When I'm buying something, I can go online. I don't need a buyer." Pryor says do-it-yourself software means he doesn't have to rehire though business has rebounded. Other manufacturers are using technology to avoid hiring blue-collar workers when business improves.
Let the Banks Fail - President of Iceland
Friday, January 25, 2013
Governance - Silence DoGood
Recently I was reviewing some older work and saw where I had used some references of present relevance that I’d like to share. The following quotes are pulled from a single letter written by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. The letter was written to the Federal Convention in and for the State of South Carolina that was then meeting in Charleston on May 14, 1788. Insofar as who Charles Pinckney was and his prominence in the birth of this nation, I’ll leave that to you the reader, suffice to say however that his role was instrumental in helping shape this nation. In pertinent part and to that end, I proffer the following:
“It seems to be generally confessed that, of all sciences, that of government or politics, is the most difficult.” Indeed. How many systems and forms of government have been used, implemented, morphed, imposed, practiced, and instituted through the ages of people trying to formulate a means of order under which all may live and prosper? We find theory and practice intertwined through time. Monarchy, theocracy, democracy, oligarchy, and all the various forms thereof under which people have lived, suffered, prospered, sometimes flourishing and sometimes suffering under the weight of oppression. What is the complexity and dynamic of physics in comparison? What we know today of the hard sciences today never change in their base forms and remain absolute. In mathematics, two plus two always equal four. What does change in the hard sciences is the amount of what we know and understand. But in government and politics, the base dynamic is constantly evolving and changing because of the people factor; the chance factor.
In our current world, there are those that look and gesture back toward Europe as the model that we should strive to be like. “In reviewing such of the European states as we are best acquainted with, we may with truth assert that there is but one among the most important which confirms to its citizens their civil liberties, or provides for the security of private rights…we have been taught here to believe that all power of right belongs to the people; that it flows immediately from them, and is delegated to their officers for the public good; that our rulers are the servants of the people, amenable to their will, and created for their use. How different are the governments of Europe!” How different indeed. That one “European state” so referred to by Pinckney was in fact England.
The same nation with which we had just waged a war of independence and yet it was seen and viewed by many as a model by which we should mold our form of governance. A nation led by a monarch who refused to give representation to the colonies, hence therein lies the rub. “From the European world are no precedents to be drawn for a people who think they are capable of governing themselves.” In other words, the models for democracy that exist today in Europe were copied from our own quest for Freedom. And yet, there are those that say today that we should exemplify the European model; they copied it from us! While there existed in the Europe of that time parliaments that ‘represented’ the people, they were still subservient to the will of the monarch. “Let it be therefore our boast that we have already taught some of the oldest and wisest nations to explore their rights as men….”
In the formation of the type of governance, “The first knowledge necessary for us to acquire, is (sic) a knowledge of the people for whom this system was to be formed; for unless we were acquainted with their situation, their habits, opinions, and resources, it would be impossible to form a government upon adequate or practicable principles. If we examine the reasons which have given rise to the distinctions of rank that at present prevail in Europe, we shall find that none of them do, or in all probability ever will, exist in the Union.” “The only distinction that may take place is that of wealth. Riches, no doubt, will ever have their influence; and where they are suffered to increase to large amounts in a few hands, there they may become dangerous to the public—particularly when, from the cheapness of labor and the scarcity of money, a great proportion of the people are poor.” This argument remains to this day. The disparities among the few and the many with regard to wealth have grown and manifested themselves in the last 30 years, despite this letter being almost 235 years old, we have seen precisely these very things move to the forefront in our nation.
Pinckney was a lawyer and a plantation owner. He prospered from the very things that he wrote warning the nation of. His primary belief was in agriculture and the proliferation thereof. Did he stand to benefit? I’m sure he did. But he also saw the ways in which the government could be corrupted and oppressive. Why? Because we have seen the rise of the following, whom Pinckney quotes, but doesn’t name, “the three ways for a nation to acquire wealth. The first is by war…this is robbery.” “The second is by commerce, which is generally cheating….” “The third is by agriculture….” Pinckney disagrees with the writer concerning commerce, because he says, “some kinds of commerce are not only fair and valuable, but such as ought to be encouraged by government.” But, “Foreign trade is one of the enemies against which we must be extremely guarded—more so than against any other, as none will ever have a more unfavorable operation. I consider it as the root of our present public distress—as plentiful source from which our future national calamities will flow, unless great care is taken to prevent it…the object of a republic is to render its citizens virtuous and happy; and that an unlimited foreign commerce can seldom fail to have a contrary tendency.”
When you analyze what is written in the context of today, you see precisely what was warned of taking place. You have seen this area and in a greater regard, the nation decimated by foreign trade. You have seen the plight of the poor and those less affluent of this country become more so and the rise of a thriving commercial monolith through what is commonly regarded as a corporatocracy; the subjugation of the people by means of influence through the political process by way of lobbyists and the introduction of those in commerce into politics and governance. “Commerce may be made, an object of the attention of government…it does not appear to me that the commercial line will ever have much influence in the politics of the Union.” Proverbial, but it didn’t proliferate itself until the latter part 20th Century to be precise, with impunity. This has become a self-serving ideal in the bodies’ politic across the nation. But to be clear I am no more a fan of agriculture ruling the people than I am commerce. Both are necessary and crucial to our existence, but not in controlling our destiny. Agriculture, commerce, and the trades should all be allowed to operate and prosper within the framework of our Republic, but not at the expense of the people.
With those notions I will leave it to you the reader to ponder the implications of that wisdom. Some will have already made up their minds after reading the first few paragraphs because they will view what they have read within the context of what they believe or hold to be true without further consideration that maybe, perhaps, they have been mistaken in what they believe. I have found myself in the position to have to re-consider positions I have long held as true on the basis of additional information and truth and grudgingly reformulated my own opinions and beliefs because what I had known to be true was in error. And while this isn’t necessarily an expression of opinion, it is an expression of thought. And to perpetuate ourselves and our Nation, we must think of the future, learning from our past, our mistakes and missteps, and learn from them by not repeating them.
“It seems to be generally confessed that, of all sciences, that of government or politics, is the most difficult.” Indeed. How many systems and forms of government have been used, implemented, morphed, imposed, practiced, and instituted through the ages of people trying to formulate a means of order under which all may live and prosper? We find theory and practice intertwined through time. Monarchy, theocracy, democracy, oligarchy, and all the various forms thereof under which people have lived, suffered, prospered, sometimes flourishing and sometimes suffering under the weight of oppression. What is the complexity and dynamic of physics in comparison? What we know today of the hard sciences today never change in their base forms and remain absolute. In mathematics, two plus two always equal four. What does change in the hard sciences is the amount of what we know and understand. But in government and politics, the base dynamic is constantly evolving and changing because of the people factor; the chance factor.
In our current world, there are those that look and gesture back toward Europe as the model that we should strive to be like. “In reviewing such of the European states as we are best acquainted with, we may with truth assert that there is but one among the most important which confirms to its citizens their civil liberties, or provides for the security of private rights…we have been taught here to believe that all power of right belongs to the people; that it flows immediately from them, and is delegated to their officers for the public good; that our rulers are the servants of the people, amenable to their will, and created for their use. How different are the governments of Europe!” How different indeed. That one “European state” so referred to by Pinckney was in fact England.
The same nation with which we had just waged a war of independence and yet it was seen and viewed by many as a model by which we should mold our form of governance. A nation led by a monarch who refused to give representation to the colonies, hence therein lies the rub. “From the European world are no precedents to be drawn for a people who think they are capable of governing themselves.” In other words, the models for democracy that exist today in Europe were copied from our own quest for Freedom. And yet, there are those that say today that we should exemplify the European model; they copied it from us! While there existed in the Europe of that time parliaments that ‘represented’ the people, they were still subservient to the will of the monarch. “Let it be therefore our boast that we have already taught some of the oldest and wisest nations to explore their rights as men….”
In the formation of the type of governance, “The first knowledge necessary for us to acquire, is (sic) a knowledge of the people for whom this system was to be formed; for unless we were acquainted with their situation, their habits, opinions, and resources, it would be impossible to form a government upon adequate or practicable principles. If we examine the reasons which have given rise to the distinctions of rank that at present prevail in Europe, we shall find that none of them do, or in all probability ever will, exist in the Union.” “The only distinction that may take place is that of wealth. Riches, no doubt, will ever have their influence; and where they are suffered to increase to large amounts in a few hands, there they may become dangerous to the public—particularly when, from the cheapness of labor and the scarcity of money, a great proportion of the people are poor.” This argument remains to this day. The disparities among the few and the many with regard to wealth have grown and manifested themselves in the last 30 years, despite this letter being almost 235 years old, we have seen precisely these very things move to the forefront in our nation.
Pinckney was a lawyer and a plantation owner. He prospered from the very things that he wrote warning the nation of. His primary belief was in agriculture and the proliferation thereof. Did he stand to benefit? I’m sure he did. But he also saw the ways in which the government could be corrupted and oppressive. Why? Because we have seen the rise of the following, whom Pinckney quotes, but doesn’t name, “the three ways for a nation to acquire wealth. The first is by war…this is robbery.” “The second is by commerce, which is generally cheating….” “The third is by agriculture….” Pinckney disagrees with the writer concerning commerce, because he says, “some kinds of commerce are not only fair and valuable, but such as ought to be encouraged by government.” But, “Foreign trade is one of the enemies against which we must be extremely guarded—more so than against any other, as none will ever have a more unfavorable operation. I consider it as the root of our present public distress—as plentiful source from which our future national calamities will flow, unless great care is taken to prevent it…the object of a republic is to render its citizens virtuous and happy; and that an unlimited foreign commerce can seldom fail to have a contrary tendency.”
When you analyze what is written in the context of today, you see precisely what was warned of taking place. You have seen this area and in a greater regard, the nation decimated by foreign trade. You have seen the plight of the poor and those less affluent of this country become more so and the rise of a thriving commercial monolith through what is commonly regarded as a corporatocracy; the subjugation of the people by means of influence through the political process by way of lobbyists and the introduction of those in commerce into politics and governance. “Commerce may be made, an object of the attention of government…it does not appear to me that the commercial line will ever have much influence in the politics of the Union.” Proverbial, but it didn’t proliferate itself until the latter part 20th Century to be precise, with impunity. This has become a self-serving ideal in the bodies’ politic across the nation. But to be clear I am no more a fan of agriculture ruling the people than I am commerce. Both are necessary and crucial to our existence, but not in controlling our destiny. Agriculture, commerce, and the trades should all be allowed to operate and prosper within the framework of our Republic, but not at the expense of the people.
With those notions I will leave it to you the reader to ponder the implications of that wisdom. Some will have already made up their minds after reading the first few paragraphs because they will view what they have read within the context of what they believe or hold to be true without further consideration that maybe, perhaps, they have been mistaken in what they believe. I have found myself in the position to have to re-consider positions I have long held as true on the basis of additional information and truth and grudgingly reformulated my own opinions and beliefs because what I had known to be true was in error. And while this isn’t necessarily an expression of opinion, it is an expression of thought. And to perpetuate ourselves and our Nation, we must think of the future, learning from our past, our mistakes and missteps, and learn from them by not repeating them.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Future Economy Council - January 17, 2013 - We must reset manufacturing
This was a presentation and discussion on how we are going to revive the economy in Catawba County and the Hickory Metro Area. "We must see a reset in our manufacturing base."
Hmmm... where have we heard that before?
Hmmm... where have we heard that before?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
