Americans who purchased coverage are paying for it (payment rates running a bit higher than privately-placed insurance, so yes "they paid for it"). Americans who could not previously afford any health insurance and therefore were essentially locked out from most health care are now being subsidized at a level about 40% of all the US' G8 peers. With that subsidy they are able to obtain reasonably-priced basic medical service thus greatly enriching their lives and - it is believed by 97.3% of health care economists - lowering the overall cost of medical care to the entire nation.
- - - - - The Obamacare website was a total disaster. - - - - -
A site intended to serve up to 30 million people execute complex financial changes in a 90-day window was three months late, went live at ~80% capability, and will probably be close to 95% capability at the beginning of its second year of operation is a "disaster"? Perhaps you don't remember the early days of, say, Amazon?
- - - - - A) a government sponsored software project can be done without corruption, delays and major budget problems? - - - - -
I'm generally in agreement with what you say, but when we have 30 years of "the government is the problem, the government is incompetent, let's drown government in the bathtub" and Grover Norquist the result is - surprise - government capabilities degraded or destroyed. Look at the Hoover Dam, the TVA [1], the Post Office's tremendous scientific and engineering advances in automated sorting and handling systems in the 1960s, the Iowa class battleships, the reforestation of large areas of the south, etc for examples of highly capable and well-executed government projects.
There are hundreds of EDI-type transactions behind every one of those "simple" actions. Plus verification, cross-matching with multiple insurance carriers (each with their own system), testing all the interconnections. Just to scratch the surface.
Side effect of the adamant insistence by both the Senate Republicans and the Very Serious People(tm) of the Washington power elite that the ACA and the insurance exchanges for the uninsured be handled "by the states". There is always some benefit to diversity, but having 30 different insurance exchanges built at the same time was ridiculous.
The Republicans of course refused as a body to vote for the bill that was based on Heritage Foundation [hard right wing] principles and modified to suit the (R)'s requests.
In your foaming response, please describe _exactly_ what you find so objectionable about the Affordable Care Act. Discuss the 12 million previously uninsured Americans who were able to obtain health insurance and health care in 2014 and what you believe should happen to them. If you were extended on your parents' plan for at least a year post-2011 state how many additional years on your parents' plan you used. If you have corporate health insurance, describe exactly how the ACA affected your coverage. If your response is that premiums went up, you had to change doctors, etc list how many times that happened to you in the 10 years prior to the ACA being passed.
Yup, just no clue. I mean, in 2014 alone twelve million Americans who did not previously have health insurance were covered, adding to the estimated 20 million who have obtained some form of insurance benefit and access to health care since the law took effect in 2011. Plus pre-existing condition coverage, lowering overall national spending on health, etc. Horrible, horrible stuff.
I listen to the spec war arguments among my under-30 developers and all I hear is my friends sitting around a garage in 1978 arguing over whose engine had more horsepower. HP which they could never use because of the poor state of tires, steering systems, and suspension design in the 1970s. I could pop a new chip in my 2012 family sedan and vaporize any of those 1970s garage rods at the stoplight with half the nominal horsepower. It is all about what suits the purpose, not who has the "better" spec numbers.
sPh
Interesting thing is that the majority of Android spec warrior techs I meet are adamant Microsoft partisans and not only hate all things Apple but Unix and Linux as well.
- - - - - Trustyworthy Computing had the idea that apps could prevent you taking screenshots - - - - -
While I personally agree with your point, organizations with strong security requirements have to at least attempt to forestall the Ivan Vorpatril security hole.
- - - - - the industry's decades-long conversation around - - - - -
"Conversation" is bad enough, but what does the word "around" in this type of sentence even mean? That the conversation never actually gets anywhere or accomplishes anything specific, but just circles 'around' and 'around' a problem that should be analyzed, detailed, and solved (or firmly documented as unsolvable or uneconomic)?
The writers of the US Constitution has the foundational documents of Sparta available to them. They deliberately chose to go in the other direction. This point seems to be one that is conveniently ignored by self-styled originalists.
Also, the 48" straight florescent bulbs that everyone use to have in their garage and above their workbench contained 85 mg of mercury (per bulb) up through 1990; are now limited (!) to 25 mg. Haven't heard any complaints about those from the rolling coal set.
Fusion power research is being funded at least $20 billion/year worldwide, and has been for over 20 years. If you can point to some concrete areas where more cash would help?
"If JET can reach break-even point, there’s a very good chance that the massive ITER reactor currently being built in France will be able to obtain the holy grail of everlasting green power generation: self-sustaining fusion.
Dozens and dozens of journal summaries with that miraculous word 'if'
Did I miss the part where the human race had a miraculous breakthrough in fusion technology? Even setting aside the expected issues with neutron radiation (sorry, no Mr. Fusion Home Energy Kit) there isn't any fusion technology today that is even close to breakeven on an experimental basis. As for commercial operations...
Dictionaries typically have a list of definitions for a word;-)
transitive verb: 3: to apply the principles of scientific management to (as an industry or its operations) for a desired result (as increased efficiency)
- - - - - but in the US most plant upgrades have been denied permits by the feds because of work done by organizations like [organization parent poster doesn't like] - - - -
Nuclear power plants in the United States with operating licenses undergo a continuous process of upgrade and modification, will continue to do so throughout their operating life, and in some cases continue to receive upgrades after retirement if in safestore mode. Over the last 20 years enormous effort has gone into simplifying and rationalizing the designs of the post-TMI era, standardizing operations, and improving backup systems. A current challenge is replacing the 1960s/70s era control and instrumentation systems which, while rugged and highly reliable, cannot be maintained as there are no longer sources of spare parts, with modern C&I systems. All while avoiding the fragility and instability of COTS electronics.
It is true that the finance world on Wall Street has made it difficult to begin new from-scratch nuclear plants in the US (although a few are currently underway) due to serious doubts about ROI during the financed lifetime, but that's another issue entirely.
- - - - - In the absence of regulation, a customer who has been wronged has the ability only to sue with regard to his own personal case, and that prospect doesn't trouble companies: - - - -
Actually, the consumer of the non-regulated service will find that he has signed a binding agreement to settle all disputes in arbitration, using an arbitrator selected by the provider, with no recourse to the courts.
sPh
Guess what percentage of arbitrator awards are in favor of the party that selected them?...
There exist ERP systems for small, mid-sized, and enterprise-sized companies with corresponding scope, size, and complexity. The OP's business sounds as if it is large enough (plus multinational) to justify an enterprise-grade system, but e.g. an implementation of Visual Manufacturing(tm) for a small-medium engineer-to-order or make-to-stock company is well within the ability of a 1-3 person staff to understand and manage.
Slashdot Mirror
Americans who purchased coverage are paying for it (payment rates running a bit higher than privately-placed insurance, so yes "they paid for it"). Americans who could not previously afford any health insurance and therefore were essentially locked out from most health care are now being subsidized at a level about 40% of all the US' G8 peers. With that subsidy they are able to obtain reasonably-priced basic medical service thus greatly enriching their lives and - it is believed by 97.3% of health care economists - lowering the overall cost of medical care to the entire nation.
Your complaint is?
sPh
A site intended to serve up to 30 million people execute complex financial changes in a 90-day window was three months late, went live at ~80% capability, and will probably be close to 95% capability at the beginning of its second year of operation is a "disaster"? Perhaps you don't remember the early days of, say, Amazon?
sPh
I'm generally in agreement with what you say, but when we have 30 years of "the government is the problem, the government is incompetent, let's drown government in the bathtub" and Grover Norquist the result is - surprise - government capabilities degraded or destroyed. Look at the Hoover Dam, the TVA [1], the Post Office's tremendous scientific and engineering advances in automated sorting and handling systems in the 1960s, the Iowa class battleships, the reforestation of large areas of the south, etc for examples of highly capable and well-executed government projects.
sPh
There are hundreds of EDI-type transactions behind every one of those "simple" actions. Plus verification, cross-matching with multiple insurance carriers (each with their own system), testing all the interconnections. Just to scratch the surface.
sPh
Ohhhh, here comes the hard right wing downrate brigade. No reply on 12 million newly covered of course.
sPh
Side effect of the adamant insistence by both the Senate Republicans and the Very Serious People(tm) of the Washington power elite that the ACA and the insurance exchanges for the uninsured be handled "by the states". There is always some benefit to diversity, but having 30 different insurance exchanges built at the same time was ridiculous.
The Republicans of course refused as a body to vote for the bill that was based on Heritage Foundation [hard right wing] principles and modified to suit the (R)'s requests.
sPh
In your foaming response, please describe _exactly_ what you find so objectionable about the Affordable Care Act. Discuss the 12 million previously uninsured Americans who were able to obtain health insurance and health care in 2014 and what you believe should happen to them. If you were extended on your parents' plan for at least a year post-2011 state how many additional years on your parents' plan you used. If you have corporate health insurance, describe exactly how the ACA affected your coverage. If your response is that premiums went up, you had to change doctors, etc list how many times that happened to you in the 10 years prior to the ACA being passed.
sPh
Yup, just no clue. I mean, in 2014 alone twelve million Americans who did not previously have health insurance were covered, adding to the estimated 20 million who have obtained some form of insurance benefit and access to health care since the law took effect in 2011. Plus pre-existing condition coverage, lowering overall national spending on health, etc. Horrible, horrible stuff.
_My_ car has a 6 bbl carburetor
I listen to the spec war arguments among my under-30 developers and all I hear is my friends sitting around a garage in 1978 arguing over whose engine had more horsepower. HP which they could never use because of the poor state of tires, steering systems, and suspension design in the 1970s. I could pop a new chip in my 2012 family sedan and vaporize any of those 1970s garage rods at the stoplight with half the nominal horsepower. It is all about what suits the purpose, not who has the "better" spec numbers.
sPh
Interesting thing is that the majority of Android spec warrior techs I meet are adamant Microsoft partisans and not only hate all things Apple but Unix and Linux as well.
While I personally agree with your point, organizations with strong security requirements have to at least attempt to forestall the Ivan Vorpatril security hole.
sPh
"Conversation" is bad enough, but what does the word "around" in this type of sentence even mean? That the conversation never actually gets anywhere or accomplishes anything specific, but just circles 'around' and 'around' a problem that should be analyzed, detailed, and solved (or firmly documented as unsolvable or uneconomic)?
sPh
People vastly misunderestimate the riskiness of various occupations in the US.
http://www.vox.com/2014/8/22/6...
The writers of the US Constitution has the foundational documents of Sparta available to them. They deliberately chose to go in the other direction. This point seems to be one that is conveniently ignored by self-styled originalists.
Also, the 48" straight florescent bulbs that everyone use to have in their garage and above their workbench contained 85 mg of mercury (per bulb) up through 1990; are now limited (!) to 25 mg. Haven't heard any complaints about those from the rolling coal set.
sPh
Fusion power research is being funded at least $20 billion/year worldwide, and has been for over 20 years. If you can point to some concrete areas where more cash would help?
sPh
Yeah, I'm always excited about garage experimenters running a 500 MW neutron source away from the heavy hand of the government.
Darn. Just this once I was hoping to be one of the Kool Kids.
sPh
" If JET can reach break-even point, there’s a very good chance that the massive ITER reactor currently being built in France will be able to obtain the holy grail of everlasting green power generation: self-sustaining fusion.
Dozens and dozens of journal summaries with that miraculous word 'if'
sPh
Did I miss the part where the human race had a miraculous breakthrough in fusion technology? Even setting aside the expected issues with neutron radiation (sorry, no Mr. Fusion Home Energy Kit) there isn't any fusion technology today that is even close to breakeven on an experimental basis. As for commercial operations...
Dictionaries typically have a list of definitions for a word ;-)
transitive verb:
3: to apply the principles of scientific management to (as an industry or its operations) for a desired result (as increased efficiency)
Valid points. Can't help but note the same group is out downmodding any comment pointing this out.
sPh
Nuclear power plants in the United States with operating licenses undergo a continuous process of upgrade and modification, will continue to do so throughout their operating life, and in some cases continue to receive upgrades after retirement if in safestore mode. Over the last 20 years enormous effort has gone into simplifying and rationalizing the designs of the post-TMI era, standardizing operations, and improving backup systems. A current challenge is replacing the 1960s/70s era control and instrumentation systems which, while rugged and highly reliable, cannot be maintained as there are no longer sources of spare parts, with modern C&I systems. All while avoiding the fragility and instability of COTS electronics.
It is true that the finance world on Wall Street has made it difficult to begin new from-scratch nuclear plants in the US (although a few are currently underway) due to serious doubts about ROI during the financed lifetime, but that's another issue entirely.
sPh
Actually, the consumer of the non-regulated service will find that he has signed a binding agreement to settle all disputes in arbitration, using an arbitrator selected by the provider, with no recourse to the courts.
sPh
Guess what percentage of arbitrator awards are in favor of the party that selected them?...
There exist ERP systems for small, mid-sized, and enterprise-sized companies with corresponding scope, size, and complexity. The OP's business sounds as if it is large enough (plus multinational) to justify an enterprise-grade system, but e.g. an implementation of Visual Manufacturing(tm) for a small-medium engineer-to-order or make-to-stock company is well within the ability of a 1-3 person staff to understand and manage.
sPh
Time to re-read _A Fall of Moondust_
sPh