Google is a Verb, Not Just a Search Engine

E.D. Kain makes the interesting point that it may be too late for Microsoft's bing to make much penetration into the search market, regardless of whether it's better at producing desired results, because we've already reached the point where the name of the market leader has become a verb. Once something becomes a sort of universal noun, that’s bad enough.  Kleenex ...

Seen in the Comments–Vizzini Edition

In this post of mine on Efficiency and Administrative costs frequent commenter Michael Reynolds wrote, How about we take the French system plus 20%? Hell, France plus 50% would represent a staggering windfall for us. In fact, we could buy France with the savings. I don't think that word (windfall) means what you think it means. That the French and their ...

Efficiency and Administrative Costs

For the sake of argument let us assume that Medicare’s administrative costs are lower than those of the typical health insurance company. Does this imply that Medicare is more efficient than the private company? I’ve been skeptical of this view point since one thing I’ve learned in economics is that firms want to maximize profits. You ...

Looking At Medicare Administrative Costs

Are they lower? This article by the Heritage Foundation makes an interesting point. Medicare beneficiaries are by definition elderly, disabled, or patients with end-stage renal disease. Private insurance beneficiaries may include a small percentage of people in those categories, but they consist primarily of people are who under age 65 and not disabled. Naturally, Medicare beneficiaries need, on average, more ...

Saving Newspapers

Jim Henley:  "Radley’s news reminds me that the other day I figured out that a less embarrassing business model for the newspaper business would be: puppies! You still can’t use the internet to housebreak a dog." Indeed! True story:  Saturday morning, my wife bought several copies of the Washington Post to use as a weed blocker in the front garden we were ...

Stimulus?

After seeing today’s job report from the BLS I have to wonder, is the stimulus working? I’m thinking no. There are two possible explanations as to what is going on here. The initial forecast for unemployment was too optimistic. The forecast was fine, but the stimulus is just not doing what it is supposed to do: create jobs. Why do ...

Wal-Mart Supports Mandatory Health Coverage (Out of Kindness, I Suppose)

Michael Tomasky is stoked that Wal-Mart has come out in support of government's mandating business provide health insurance for all employees. His explanation, however, is curious: There's got to be a fascinating story behind the "why." Wal-Mart would never acknowledge this, but there seems to me little doubt that all the pressure campaigns over the years, the documentary films ...

Asked and Answered - Workaday Life Editon

Conor Friedersdorf asks, "am I really expected to work 40+ hours per week, 50 weeks per year, for decades? Am I to savor only two days off each week? Am I to vacation but two weeks per annum?" Yes. (Well, actually, you should get some holidays off.  And, maybe, get a third week of vacation at some point.  But, basically, yeah.)

Health Care, Pooling, and Monopsony

At a recent press conference President Obama had this to say about the public health care option he is floating as part of his proposal for reforming health care and its impact on private health care options, Now, the public plan I think is a important tool to discipline insurance companies. What we've said is, under our proposal, let's have a ...

Do Something! Anything! Don’t Read It Just Pass It!

Matt Welch points to the story of how a British maker managed to get $2.7 billion in TARP money. The hurried legislation adopted by a Congress voting under the threat of sudden global economic collapse led to hidden tax breaks for firms in dozens of industries. They included builders of Nascar auto-racing tracks, restaurant chains such as Burger King Holdings ...

Repeating History

Looks like Reps. Barney Frank and Anthony Weiner want both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to loosen lending standards for condos. Two U.S. Democratic lawmakers want Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to relax recently tightened standards for mortgages on new condominiums, saying they could threaten the viability of some developments and slow the housing-market recovery, the Wall Street Journal said. In March, ...

Clear Card Ceases

The Clear Card program whereby pre-screened passengers are expedited through airport security is no more.  I received this email overnight: Ensuring that this wasn't some sort of odd email fraud scheme, I did a quick news search and, sure enough, it's true: Clear began in 2005 with the potential to make airport security quicker and easier for frequent travelers. For an annual ...

Tale of Two Cites

The Congressional Budget Office, the "nonpartisan" arbiter of the cost of various proposals and plans for the legislature, comes in handy sometimes. Other times, not so much. So House Democrats are discovering anew. Just five days ago Speaker Pelosi vented her frustration with the CBO for its sky high projection for health care reform: “The CBO will always give you the ...

A Fool and His Money….

I love this story (Via James Hamilton), Its behind the WSJ subscription but here are the basics of the story, And so the WSJ recounts the tale of a security based on $29 million (par) worth of subprime loans in California, half of which were already delinquent or in default. Betting that the loans weren't worth $29 million sounds like easy money, ...

The New Voodoo Economics

Or perhaps Obamanomics. Tyler Cowen writes, MEDICARE expenditures threaten to crush the federal budget, yet the Obama administration is proposing that we start by spending more now so we can spend less later. This runs the risk of becoming the new voodoo economics. If we can’t realize significant savings in health care costs now, don’t expect savings in the future, ...