111–120 of 194 posts
Serious question that is actually very related: if you had to move to a foreign country and work on your internet start up, where would you move? Why?
Chile, because it is a capitalist country. Costs are similar to India, but the weather is Californian and taxes are really low. Still, though, SV is a better choice. Don't move to Chile to start up.
Whilst excessive risk taking is probably the root cause of the recent financial collapses, I think it’s also worth noting the role hedge funds have played in stirring up investor panic by short selling highly geared or mortgage exposed companies around the world. Britain’s largest mortgage lender, HBOS, had 30% wiped off its value yesterday, attributed to short selling - http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article6277.html
Earlier quoted context omitted.
they get it FROM YOU.
true. Through printing press though. This is additional 85bln usd in circulation. We will all pay at the gas pump and groceries. Socialism for the rich. Communistic China would not do that. It is sad to see the USA becoming parody of this what it used to represent.
Whilst excessive risk taking is probably the root cause of the recent financial collapses, I think it’s also worth noting the role hedge funds have played in stirring up investor panic by short selling highly geared or mortgage exposed companies around the world. Britain’s largest mortgage lender, HBOS, had 30% wiped off its value yesterday, attributed to short selling - http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article6277.html
How can short selling wipe out value? If it helps find the right price faster, isn't that a good thing?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not saying you're wrong that socialism is better than this mess but I will say that capitalism is better than this mess and better than socialism too. Having health insurance provided by the State (i.e. you through your tax dollars after several layers of corruption and bureaucratic waste) does not guarantee quality of care. A competitive free market is more likely to develop better medicine.
I think that empirical evidence is against you on this one. The US has one of the highest spendings on healthcare per capita in the world, while average life expectancy (one of the measures of a good health care system) is on par with Cuba. US yearly expenditure on healthcare per person is $4.500. In Cuba it's $100. The American freemarket system clearly doesn't work very well. Source: http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/spend.p…
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I'm first to agree efficient markets are fantastic at allocating resources effectively. I'm curios though, how do you guarantee people who are sick/hurt/dying behave as rational actors? I might be mis-remembering but i thought rational actors were a requirement, otherwise they would be to quick to give away money.
Honestly, I haven't heard the rationality factor applied in the case of healthcare so I won't try to answer you question but I don't want to duck it entirely because it's an interesting point. I know that children and the mentally disabled are handled specially in other cases for that reason. However, could you not apply the same argument to food (hungry people), shelter (exposed people), etc? I think those who want…
But at the same time, I think that people should HAVE to put into the pot, or you end up with a Tragedy of the Commons. No-one pays, because they don't like to think they'll get sick.
And then when they do, well, it's too late.
(I should note that I am biased towards socialized medicine, being an aforementioned sick person)
Welcome to socialist states of America
Partially correct. It's socialism for the rich. If it were socialism, you wouldn't have poor/middle-class people dying from treatable diseases.
No, since nobody would be middle-class or above, it would only be poor people dying from treatable diseases.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not saying you're wrong that socialism is better than this mess but I will say that capitalism is better than this mess and better than socialism too. Having health insurance provided by the State (i.e. you through your tax dollars after several layers of corruption and bureaucratic waste) does not guarantee quality of care. A competitive free market is more likely to develop better medicine.
I think that empirical evidence is against you on this one. The US has one of the highest spendings on healthcare per capita in the world, while average life expectancy (one of the measures of a good health care system) is on par with Cuba. US yearly expenditure on healthcare per person is $4.500. In Cuba it's $100. The American freemarket system clearly doesn't work very well. Source: http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/spend.p…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cancer. Diabetes. Yadda yadda. Do you know how many people are not insured and cannot afford insurance? ("Go to the emergency room" is not a health plan.) Do you know how many people with serious illnesses are turned down by their own insurance companies every year? I'm not saying socialism is an automatic answer, but it'd better than this mess.
Actually, "go to the emergency room" is a health plan. It's just the most inefficient health plan for all involved.