Showing archive for: “Insurance”
Mr. Obama, go to "China"
The president revealed his last-ditch plan to reform our healthcare system today. (Funny the plan is revealed before the “bipartisan” meeting about health care being trumpeted for political reasons.) One thing I was hoping to see in the proposal is missing — an increase in the eligibility age for Medicare (and, while we are at ... Mr. Obama, go to "China"
Thoughts on "The Small Bill"
Writing in the Weekly Standard, Jeffrey Anderson offers an alternative to Obamacare (or should we call it Pelosireidcare?). The seven provisions in the “Small Bill” seem sensible to this nonexpert. Allowing insurance to be sold interstate is likely to bring down costs and improve service — wouldn’t some competition from Geico Health Insurance be a ... Thoughts on "The Small Bill"
A Defense of the Insurance Industry Antitrust Exemption?
The subject of antitrust exemptions has been an oft-discussed topic here at TOTM (see, e.g. here and here). In the latter of those two links I was somewhat critical of the DOJ for taking a neutral stance on the insurance industry exemption, which has now become rather wrapped up in the health care reform debate. ... A Defense of the Insurance Industry Antitrust Exemption?
Intepreting Empirical Evidence
So, there is some new evidence that state laws banning cell phone usage does not reduce accidents (HT: Orin Kerr). The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study has gotten some attention in the media. See, for example, this NYT piece discussing the researchers “surprise” that they did not find the result they were looking for. ... Intepreting Empirical Evidence
Credit card annual fees and the self-appointed consumer protectors
Adam Levitin has a blog post up responding to Todd Zywicki’s recent WSJ editorial on credit card interchange fees. As most readers know, this is a topic of significant interest around here, and Josh blogged about Todd’s op-ed just yesterday. I’m on vacation so I’ll be brief, but I thought Adam’s post was so wrong ... Credit card annual fees and the self-appointed consumer protectors
Rhetoric Versus Reality, Part IV
Then-candidate Barack Obama, debating Senator Clinton on how to reform health care, January 31, 2008: But the last point I want to make has to do with how we’re going to actually get this plan done. You know, Ted Kennedy said that he is confident that we will get universal health care with me as ... Rhetoric Versus Reality, Part IV
Paul Krugman is a partisan hack
Occasionally I read Mr. Krugman’s column for entertainment purposes — sort of like watching Project Runway or Animals Gone Wild. This morning was one of those occasions. The man is a partisan hack of the worst sort. Why does anyone take his political observations seriously? Some thoughts about this morning’s column. 1. Krugman starts by ... Paul Krugman is a partisan hack
The Myth of Consumer Protection Through Disclosure
I will focus my blog post on one of the proposals for reducing interchange fees: the requirement that the fees be disclosed to consumers. I am not sure how seriously this option is taken by the GAO report. Indeed, the report concedes that mandated disclosures in this context are not very likely to be effective, ... The Myth of Consumer Protection Through Disclosure
Underappreciated Economists: UCLA Edition
I’m late to the “name your favorite underappeciated economist game” that was kicked off in light of John Cassidy’s Pigou column. The Marginal Revolution crew points to Malthus and Fisher (Cowen and Tabarrok, respectively). My first instinct is to go with Armen Alchian. Though Armen has always been much appreciated on this blog. So I’m ... Underappreciated Economists: UCLA Edition
Antitrust News
The latest on the insurance industry antitrust exemption (still there, so far) The EU targets Standard & Poor’s The Bowl Championship Series hires Ari Fleischer Documenting the uptick in antitrust enforcement in the high-tech sector An interesting IP/antitrust case to watch
Kenneth Feinberg Must Be Super Smart!
Back during the days when socialism was all the rage among the intelligentsia, F.A. Hayek predicted that Soviet-style central planning was destined to fail because the central planners lacked access to, and couldn’t process, all the information needed to allocate productive resources efficiently. Optimal resource allocation can occur, Hayek contended, only if resources are allocated ... Kenneth Feinberg Must Be Super Smart!
Command and control in California. Shocking.
In a move stupider even than Chicago’s foie gras and trans fat bans (on which see Thom here), California appears to be set to ban . . . wait for it . . . big TVs. Environmentalists, those growing enemies of freedom and common sense everywhere, are pushing the ban because large-screen TVs use a ... Command and control in California. Shocking.
