Medical Economics And Medical Ethics. By John C. Goodman A lengthy op-ed in The New York Times the other day typifies the way quite a few doctors think. Written by Gilbert Welch (Dartmouth Institute), the article acknowledges that there are perverse economic incentives in the practice of medicine. But these incentives play second fiddle to a much bigger problem: the failure of providers to act ethically and the lack of moral outrage in the face of such lapses. What are the ethical lapses Welch has in mind? Hospitals charging outrageously high prices that have nothing to do with real costs (“highway robbery”);Hospitals acquiring doctors so that they can charge Medicare two to four times what the doctor was previously getting in private practice;Over-testing (too many colonoscopies and echocardiograms); andToo much expensive equipment of questionable value (a proton beam in every facility).
He goes on to ask, “At what point, does it become crime?” The word “crime” is awfully strong. But why separate ethics and economics? Introduced Constitutional Amendment says: 'Democracy for People, Not Corporations' Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) introduced a joint resolution on Tuesday calling for a constitutional amendment that would undo the damage they say was caused by a Supreme Court ruling that allows "unrestricted, secret campaign spending by corporations and billionaires. " In response to the 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission—which critics say has greatly undermined democracy in the US by "opening the campaign spending floodgates"— a national grassroots movement has blossomed around the idea that only through a constitutional amendment can corporations be properly stripped of the court's determination that 'corporate speech' in the form of outsized financial giving is the same as the 'free speech' of individuals.
“What the Supreme Court did in Citizens United," said Sanders, "is to tell billionaires like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson, ‘You own and control Wall Street. Passing such amendment is not easy, however. Legal Analysis: DO SECRET TRILLIONAIRES EXIST? FORBES LISTS RICHEST AMONG US. Here is a link to the latest on this story and an actual list of names of people who are hoarding huge sums of money in offshore accounts: 25 years ago, Forbes published their list of the world's richest people.
On that list were 140 people. This year found 1,226 with a combined worth of $4.6 trillion dollars, a number that gets bigger every year. But how accurate is this list? The existence of Yohannes Riyadi and Wilfredo Saurin, two names the FBI states are fraudulent names used in a scam against the FED, cannot be so easily dismissed. A rumor spread today that Lord James died a week ago under mysterious circumstances. According to Forbes, there are now billionaires in 85 countries. There is a lot of disinformation out there. If it is true, and so far I can find no one who is debating the 15 trillion dollars as a reality, then maybe my theory about secret trillionaires may be also a reality.
Microsoft's Enterprise Price Hike. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer On December 1, Microsoft will start charging enterprises a lot more money for some of its most popular software. By charging more for something it calls a "user client-access license," Microsoft is going to hit businesses where employees use its software on more than one device with a price hike. That's going to be painful for a lot of companies, thanks to the bring-your-own-device trend, where employees use their own tablets, laptops, or smartphones for work. Here's how it works: Whenever a business buys Microsoft software, such as SharePoint, it pays for two pieces. Microsoft has two kinds of client access licenses, or CALs. It used to be that device CALs and user CALs cost the same—making the user CAL a much smarter bet for bring-your-own-device workplaces.
An enterprise that has a multiyear agreement with Microsoft won't be faced with a price increase until that agreement expires. Enterprise CIOs will not be happy. What It Means To Be A Goldman Partner. Tomorrow Goldman Sachs will tap its next "partnership managing director" class. The bank is expected to pick around 70 new partners, according to the Wall Street Journal. That's significantly lower than the 110 tapped in 2010. All that means is that an already exclusive club is even harder to get into — becoming a partner at Goldman is one of the most highly coveted titles on The Street.
Here's what we know about being a Goldman partner: We're definitely looking forward to meeting the new partner class tomorrow. Switzerland arming in preparation for European meltdown? Lehman Brothers Robert Millard. Citigroup, AT&T Among 26 Companies That Paid Their CEOs More In 2011 Than In Taxes: Report. * Three companies cited take issue with study methodology * Think tank: 4 pay-related tax breaks cost taxpayers $14 bln By Nanette Byrnes Aug 16 (Reuters) - Citigroup, Abbott Laboratories, and AT&T are among the 26 companies that paid more to their CEOs in 2011 than they did in U.S. federal taxes, according to a study released on Thursday.
Tax breaks on research and development, past losses, and foreign-held earnings were among those lightening the tax load for many companies on the list, said the Institute for Policy Studies, a left-leaning think tank in Washington, D.C. Citi, Abbott and AT&T all took issue with the institute's methodology. All three said they paid all taxes owed in 2011. During a presidential election cycle in which wealth and taxes are often debated, the study's authors said the U.S. tax code has become an enabler of large CEO pay, while also offering companies ways to reduce their tax bills.
Among companies topping the institute's list: 400: Billionaire George Soros Cracks Into The Top Ten. Examining Capitalism Through Quantum Mechanics. As human beings, we don't just construct social realities and social systems, but we literally help construct the physical universe of which we are a part. Therefore, understanding the relationship between human beings and the quantum reality of the universe becomes paramount if we seek to truly understand and transform the social and structural systems of inequality that we have created for ourselves.
According to quantum mechanics, the subatomic level of reality exists in an undifferentiated state of dynamic flux until a conscious observer measures it (or looks at it), thus, giving that matter a particular form. In other words, an atom is spread out all over the place as a wave of potential until a conscious observer localizes it as an actual particle through that very act of observation. The famous double-slit experiment actually captured this protean nature of the quantum world. Further illuminating the nature of capitalism, Chris Hedges states: References: (1) Dreier, Peter. 2012. Think Tank: winning investment without the banks. So how do you go about making your business look attractive? First, show that you have thoroughly done your homework, not just about your own business but about the industry in which you operate, even before you take the first meeting with a potential VC investor. John Dundon is the managing director of Angel Springs, a Wolverhampton-based business which sells water coolers and has a turnover of £16m.
Last year LDC, a private equity firm, invested £12m in his business in return for a 60pc equity share. He says: “It is really important that the management team is well prepared when you begin a conversation with a potential VC investor. You have to demonstrate that there is an attractive market, and that the business has the ability to add value, either through acquisition or through organic growth – or in our case, a mixture of both.” As part of this, you also need to demonstrate how the VC will eventually be able to exit the business and obtain a return on their money. Obama: GOP plan is to spend ‘trillions more on tax cuts for the wealthy’ - The Hill's Video. President Obama pressured Congress to avoid an impending rise in middle-class tax rates, accusing GOP lawmakers of holding those families “hostage” in order to enact massive tax cuts for the wealthy.
In his weekly address, the President called for lawmakers to adopt a Democratic measure which would extend the expiring lower George W. Bush-era tax rates only for those couples making below $250,000, and forcing higher income earners to pay more. “Republicans in Congress and their nominee for President believe that the best way to create prosperity in America is to let it trickle down from the top,” said Obama. “They believe that if our country spends trillions more on tax cuts for the wealthy, we’ll somehow create jobs – even if we have to pay for it by gutting things like education and training and by raising middle-class taxes.
The House will take up both plans this week, with the GOP measure expected to pass. Business - Derek Thompson - JP Morgan's Loss Blooms to an Astounding $9 Billion. JPMorgan drops on report that trade loss may balloon. JPMorgan's London Whale Losses Could Hit $9 Billion, Bank's Shares Slump. Harry Markopolos: "Don’t Trust Your Government" Originally published in March 2010. Today Show Video - Markopolos with Matt Lauer - March 2, 2010 From Sense on Cents By Larry Doyle In an interview on the Today show this morning (video clip after the fold), Harry Markopolos dropped a few bombshells. Harry’s statement that he had purchased a gun and mentally prepared himself to kill Bernie Madoff in self-defense if need be will likely grab the most attention. Markopolos’ biggest bombshell this morning is his warning to America, “don’t trust your government.” Recall that a year ago Harry defined the SEC as merely incompetent while simultaneously defining FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) as ‘in bed with the industry’ that is Wall Street.
Who is the central figure coarsing across the landscape of the NASD (FINRA’s predecessor), FINRA, and now the SEC? Mary Schapiro. Why doesn’t Harry get very specific in making these statements? Why doesn’t the media probe deeper? Is FINRA's Future In Doubt? Greekbuildingsonfire.jpg (JPEG Image, 600 × 325 pixels) Greeks Go To The Polls, And Prepare For The Worst. By EurActiv (EurActiv) — Greeks go to the polls on Sunday (17 June) in what is considered the most decisive election in the country’s post-authoritarian history. An inconclusive result, or a victory for the anti-bailout political forces, may spur Greece’s exit from the eurozone and could most likely spark a “perfect storm” for the rest of the EU. After Greece’s effective bankruptcy in May 2010, and two years of unprecedented austerity measures in return for massive emergency loans from the eurozone, voters chose to punish the country’s two major political parties and catapulted the once-fringe Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) into second place in last month’s inconclusive poll (see background).
However, during the weeks that followed May’s elections, erratic opinion polls showed that those warnings had limited impact on Greek voters’ attitudes and that Syriza not only increased its influence, but it might also score a stunning victory in Sunday’s polls. Rhethoric cools. Homeless Texan man finds $70,000 in gold. Morning Markets June 6. Google Reveals Microsoft's Piracy Problems. Google reveals that most of the requests for removal of links for copyright violations are those for Microsoft products (Image: DavidWees (CC) via Flickr) A Google report reveals that most of the complaints about copyright infringements come from Microsoft. Even more than those from entertainment companies, who are mainly responsible for pushing piracy laws online like SOPA.
Google released this information last Thursday. All requests for removing content that violates copyright laws since July 2011 have been broken down into a report that is accessible here: Google Transparency Report. Ever since it began, Google has received 2.5 million link removal requests for Microsoft copyright violations. Microsoft tops the list in that regard, followed by NBC Universal, with 1 million requests. Aside from Microsoft and NBC Universal, many removal requests also come from major music labels. Last month, Google received 1.2 million requests for removal by a thousand copyright owners.
Video: Occupy's union enablers are the one percent.
America's idiot rich - Income inequality. Some unknown but alarming number of ultra-rich Americans are now basically totally delusional and completely divorced from reality. This is now an inescapable fact, confirmed by multiple media accounts of billionaire thought and an entire special issue of the New York Times Magazine. Here’s a brief list of insane things that are apparently common knowledge among the billionaire class: That President Obama and the Democratic Party have treated wealthy finance industry titans maliciously and unfairly. That the fact that they are perversely wealthy and growing richer during a period of mass unemployment and staggering debt is a sign that the economy is functioning correctly.
That poor people, and not the finance industry, are responsible for the financial crisis and subsequent recession. That the ultra-wealthy are wealthy because they are smarter and work harder than everybody else, and that they are resented for their success. There can be no reasoning with people this irrational. Jamie Dimon: Impact of Greek Default on US Banks Almost Zero. Goldman looks on the bright side of Volcker rule. JP Morgan Foreclosing On Former Civil Rights Activist | The Blue States. Helen Bailey JP Morgan is in the process of foreclosing on Helen Bailey, a 78-year-old former civil rights activist and current resident of Nashville, Tennessee. According to change.org, she is being foreclosed on because she cannot keep up with her mortgage payments. Helen Bailey is a 78-year-old grandmother who participated in the civil rights movement, worked as a childcare provider for autistic children, and was a community volunteer.
She has paid her mortgage since 1999, but now she can’t keep up the payments. Juxtapose this with the fact that JP Morgan Chase has just launched a project to digitize the documents of MLK along with other civil rights leaders to make them available online. Gary Flowers, Executive Director and CEO of the Black Leadership Forum, Inc, responded to the news of the foreclosure. Change.org has started a petition to save her house. Like this: Like Loading... Mostly Skimpy Coverage of JPMorgan's Overdraft Settlement. Press favorite Jamie Dimon’s JPMorgan Chase is paying $110 million to settle a class-action suit against it for gouging its customers on overdraft transactions.
The bank, like many others, artificially re-ordered transactions to clear from highest to lowest in order to trigger more overdrafts. Obviously, $110 million is a lot of money in almost contexts—even for investors of a bank that’s way too big to fail. But it’s apparently not enough to trigger much press coverage. The Wall Street Journal skips it in print, as does The New York Times. For that, we turn to American Banker’s Jeff Horwitz, who broke the story last Friday, which makes it even stranger that there’s this hole in the follows: The bank generated $500 million a year in post-tax income from high-to-low re-sequencing, according to Chase’s own analysis…Chase’s proposed settlement appears relatively favorable to the bank, given that the $110 offered is just 22% of its alleged earnings from wrongful overdraft fees.
Obama says $26 billion deal with banks will help millions of homeowners. Mortgage Settlement Reached: A Beginning, Not an End. Landmark settlement announced on foreclosure, mortgage fraud. FITCH GOES ON RAMPAGE: CUTS SPAIN, ITALY, BELGIUM, CYPRUS, AND SLOVENIA. Have Coffee Will Write » Blog Archive » THE FED’S 1% MONEY FOR NOTHING POLICY… Dimon Joins Billionaires to Debunk Attack on Top 1% - Video. Goldman Sachs Could Double Its Assets By Acquiring Deutsche Bank. War Is a Force That Pays the 1 Percent: Occupying American Foreign Policy. Chase’s Jaime Dimon — too big to fail | Odd Man Out. You Can't Make This Stuff Up Folks - 1% Super Rich Form a Non-Profit To Advocate For Themselves. They Think We are "Imbeciles," and They Run Health Care Organizations. Jamie Dimon. Public Citizen Press Room.
Bush Pioneer. Why Jamie Dimon Just Doesn't Get It | MichaelMoore.com. Did 'corporate psychopaths' bring down the banks? Banks Can Breach Basel Liquid-Assets Rule During Crises. Darpa Research: Pentagon Scientists Create 'Time Holes' To Hide Events As They Happen.
America's 10 greediest - the runners-up. Dimon Says JPMorgan Is Expanding Amid ‘Hostility’ Toward Banks. ‘Lonely’ Billionaires Are ‘Going to Vomit’ Over ‘Imbecile Crap’