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Comment: Re:Well, he's not afraid his company might fire hi (Score 1) 485

by bitt3n (#43754707) Attached to: Larry Page: You Worry Too Much About Medical Privacy

Starting in 2014 in the US, this will be the law of the land--companies will have to insure anyone, regardless of existing conditions. It is also the law in MA right now.

the problem with MA is that it appears not to be the wealthy subsidizing the sick, but the healthy who subsidize them. one need only compare insurance rates between MA and other states for younger people to get the idea that universal coverage has become another means of wealth transfer from the young to the old. as with crumbling infrastructure, ballooning debt, and an underfunded social security program, we're sticking future generations with the bill because they can't stop us.

Comment: Re:Something is wrong (Score 1) 311

by bitt3n (#43754063) Attached to: Bill Gates Regains the Position of World's Richest Person
His point is that such a 100% tax would barely bump the needle of government spending, whether you use the money for handouts or infrastructure. Meanwhile, the good this additional spending would do must be balanced against the disincentive to create wealth any such additional tax would effect.

Comment: Re:FUCK THE NANNIES (Score 1) 984

by bitt3n (#43726049) Attached to: NTSB Recommends Lower Drunk Driving Threshold Nationwide: 0.05 BAC

"In fact, drivers with BACs between 0.01 and 0.03 were involved in more fatal accidents than drivers with BACs between 0.08 and 0.10"

this is plausible because there are more drivers with lower BAC. On the other hand, it's undoubtedly more likely that a driver registering between 0.08 and 0.10 will get into an accident. similarly, far more accidents are caused by people driving the speed limit than are caused by people driving 200 MPH. it's a deliberately deceptive statistic.

Comment: Re:Fat, squat, and stupid (Score 1) 276

by bitt3n (#43723763) Attached to: Mayan Pyramid In Belize Leveled By Construction Crew

You stupid fuck, when the British wanted to build a railroad in Bolivia and there weren't any handy gravel deposits nearby they smashed up big chunks of Tiahuanacu.

this is what we need more of in the world. disparate cultures spanning continents and centuries, each making its unique contribution to public works projects that benefit everyone.

Comment: Re:The best part of the article is at the bottom (Score 1) 555

by bitt3n (#43722859) Attached to: N. Carolina May Ban Tesla Sales To Prevent "Unfair Competition"

This is not necessarily all bad, since rich people may be less corruptible, since they don't need the money.

Uh, what?

less corruptible != more moral

if you're worth $50 million, you're much less likely to risk your career over a $100K bribe than if $100K constitutes your after-tax salary.

If anything, I would argue for drastically increasing the salaries of politicians, in the manner of Singapore, where the president earns 5X Obama's salary. This would make them more difficult to corrupt, and also likely increase the pool of high-quality candidates willing to run for public office. (If you can make 10X more in the private sector, politics is going to be a hard sell.)

Comment: Re:Wasn't It As Much Individual Photog & ID? (Score 1) 235

You don't have an appendix attack and shop around to a few hospitals to see who has the best rate

just like sometimes you have to pay through the nose to take a flight at the last minute with no choice of carrier. that doesn't mean there's no competition in the airline industry.

You can't just up and become a doctor.

You can't just up and become a commercial pilot either. The same goes for any number of other careers in industries generally considered competitive.

Nemo me impune lacessit. [No one provokes me with impunity] -- Motto of the Crown of Scotland

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