Government services attempt to provide as much service as possible whilst charging as little as possible, sometimes resulting losses. Corporations attempt to provide as little service as possible whilst charging as much as possible for it, often resulting in multimillion dollar bonuses for corporate executives.
This is really the most naive worldview I've read in a while. Thanks for the laugh.
All the USPO is at this point is a junk mail distributor. Mail has been by and large replaced by email. They duplicate efforts of private companies that could easily fill any gap they would leave behind. The $8.5 billion loss is the tip of the iceberg if we consider unfunded pension liabilities.
All of your examples can be summed up as the role of "researcher", a very narrow university credentialed specialty that entrepreneurs hire to implement their multibillion dollar ideas.
No, in an ideal world our government's full openness would keep them out of unnecessary battlefields obviating the desperate need for Wikileaks. I would be terrified of your ideal world where the government could simply pull whatever information they want out of our hands and give us a "clear and accurate picture".
Given your dichotomy, I would choose The Wikileaks solution every time.
Google cannot keep fighting Microsoft/Apple/US DOJ/China/Evil at once and win. They are going to have to find allies at some point or go bankrupt.
And what is it with people loving to predict the demise of the iPhone? Years ago it was the iPod killer and the only company that was able to kill the iPod was Apple.
There really aren't any technical problems for this. Take your pick of reasons, but hospitals spend plenty of money on terribly designed devices that don't speak to one another.
As an example, next time you are there take a look at the massive proprietary whatchamacallit connectors they use on their machines when much simpler industry standard plugs could be used. And I thought HDMI cables were expensive. Another interesting thought is what happens when one of these wonder devices is stolen? Or is it communicating on impossibly secure wireless?
I highly doubt if there is one single reason for this failure, but sufficiently advanced technology isn't it.
Dammit, I came to the comments just to post something similar and you did faster and in a more clever way.
If I were less lazy, I would search for a study I read a year ago that drew the conclusion that as cars become safer the amount of deaths stay the same due to the fact that more pedestrians (and cyclists) die.
The problem here is that there won't really ever be any competition for the underlying hardware. How many broadband connection does everyone have coming into their home (and how many do we want)?
The infrastructure really is a natural monopoly and the "choice" of ISP running on top of the infrastructure is just a thin veneer of competition.
I partly wish that the government would just take over the infrastructure and eliminate the suggestion that there is competition in the sector.
This is one of the best insights I've read in a while. Brilliant! And I'm sure you are dead on...the EU is on a monopoly crushing tear and needs fresh meat.
1) I really doubt that they were running out and telling everyone of their breaches in the first place. Unless a corporation has a gun to its head they tell the public nothing. Not that I really blame them, it's not exactly profitable to announce such things.
2) Anyone who has worked in industries where encryption is "required" laughs scornfully at press releases like these. We'll see a rush of bandaid solutions to meet the mere minimum then, over time (say one year), even that minimum will be forgotten.
3) I would like to see a penalty that says something like "Any healthcare provider that has claimed HITECH status that is then subsequently breached AND the breach reveals lack of encryption pays X amount of dollars per account fine."
There is an unfortunate side to this. A lot of teens and their parents are still duped into believing that a degree will still lead to a guaranteed "good" job. There's plenty of material out there to counter-act this view and show that in many (possibly even now a majority) of cases, it's a waste of time and money. Unfortunately, this usually gets dismissed as right wing ranting (which I will no doubt get accused of in the replies to this post). The other unfortunate side is that some employers with vacancies that could be filled by a bright high-school graduate seem to feel the need to advertise for a graduate just to "keep up with the Jonses", though I've noticed a slight reversal of this trend recently.
They are being duped...by the universities. Advertising by many universities leads many to the conclusion that they will be fabulously successful in the workplace with their diplomas. Lawsuits to contain this sort of snake oil trend are a natural response.
Also, while there may be plenty of material to counteract the view, there is also a lot of obfuscation about what a higher degree provides. "More education" isn't exactly quantifiable in dollar terms, but ubiquitous higher education advertising concludes that there is a direct link.
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The relevant examples to respond to his comment would be criminal cases, not civil. Excellent straw man and subsequent generalization, however.
Of course we can, it's our biggest state.
Government services attempt to provide as much service as possible whilst charging as little as possible, sometimes resulting losses. Corporations attempt to provide as little service as possible whilst charging as much as possible for it, often resulting in multimillion dollar bonuses for corporate executives.
This is really the most naive worldview I've read in a while. Thanks for the laugh.
All the USPO is at this point is a junk mail distributor. Mail has been by and large replaced by email. They duplicate efforts of private companies that could easily fill any gap they would leave behind. The $8.5 billion loss is the tip of the iceberg if we consider unfunded pension liabilities.
Excellent point.
All of your examples can be summed up as the role of "researcher", a very narrow university credentialed specialty that entrepreneurs hire to implement their multibillion dollar ideas.
They're banks, not charities.
The harsher reality is that there is another thousand that finishes college and still fails.
No, in an ideal world our government's full openness would keep them out of unnecessary battlefields obviating the desperate need for Wikileaks. I would be terrified of your ideal world where the government could simply pull whatever information they want out of our hands and give us a "clear and accurate picture". Given your dichotomy, I would choose The Wikileaks solution every time.
Google cannot keep fighting Microsoft/Apple/US DOJ/China/Evil at once and win. They are going to have to find allies at some point or go bankrupt.
And what is it with people loving to predict the demise of the iPhone? Years ago it was the iPod killer and the only company that was able to kill the iPod was Apple.
When does the new technology part start?
There really aren't any technical problems for this. Take your pick of reasons, but hospitals spend plenty of money on terribly designed devices that don't speak to one another.
As an example, next time you are there take a look at the massive proprietary whatchamacallit connectors they use on their machines when much simpler industry standard plugs could be used. And I thought HDMI cables were expensive. Another interesting thought is what happens when one of these wonder devices is stolen? Or is it communicating on impossibly secure wireless?
I highly doubt if there is one single reason for this failure, but sufficiently advanced technology isn't it.
The reality is that there is one and only one way to combat terrorism against the US: stop training terrorists and betraying them.
Because that's what creates con men in Nevada!
+1
I was about to write the same thing. Tracking will not be as accurate, but there will still be tracking.
Dammit, I came to the comments just to post something similar and you did faster and in a more clever way. If I were less lazy, I would search for a study I read a year ago that drew the conclusion that as cars become safer the amount of deaths stay the same due to the fact that more pedestrians (and cyclists) die.
Ever been shocked by 110? No big deal. 220? You need protection.
That axiom is not limited to solely to education.
The problem here is that there won't really ever be any competition for the underlying hardware. How many broadband connection does everyone have coming into their home (and how many do we want)?
The infrastructure really is a natural monopoly and the "choice" of ISP running on top of the infrastructure is just a thin veneer of competition.
I partly wish that the government would just take over the infrastructure and eliminate the suggestion that there is competition in the sector.
This is one of the best insights I've read in a while. Brilliant! And I'm sure you are dead on...the EU is on a monopoly crushing tear and needs fresh meat.
Um... because for us real humans, money is not our only (pointless) reason of existence.
That's just something poor people say.
By that reasoning, you must tremble at the thought of messing with Greece. Better keep them on our side at all costs!
1) I really doubt that they were running out and telling everyone of their breaches in the first place. Unless a corporation has a gun to its head they tell the public nothing. Not that I really blame them, it's not exactly profitable to announce such things.
2) Anyone who has worked in industries where encryption is "required" laughs scornfully at press releases like these. We'll see a rush of bandaid solutions to meet the mere minimum then, over time (say one year), even that minimum will be forgotten.
3) I would like to see a penalty that says something like "Any healthcare provider that has claimed HITECH status that is then subsequently breached AND the breach reveals lack of encryption pays X amount of dollars per account fine."
A fifth of an inch? Who uses a fifth? It's bad enough that they aren't using a metric measurement system, but then they use fifths of inches...
There is an unfortunate side to this. A lot of teens and their parents are still duped into believing that a degree will still lead to a guaranteed "good" job. There's plenty of material out there to counter-act this view and show that in many (possibly even now a majority) of cases, it's a waste of time and money. Unfortunately, this usually gets dismissed as right wing ranting (which I will no doubt get accused of in the replies to this post). The other unfortunate side is that some employers with vacancies that could be filled by a bright high-school graduate seem to feel the need to advertise for a graduate just to "keep up with the Jonses", though I've noticed a slight reversal of this trend recently.
They are being duped...by the universities. Advertising by many universities leads many to the conclusion that they will be fabulously successful in the workplace with their diplomas. Lawsuits to contain this sort of snake oil trend are a natural response.
Also, while there may be plenty of material to counteract the view, there is also a lot of obfuscation about what a higher degree provides. "More education" isn't exactly quantifiable in dollar terms, but ubiquitous higher education advertising concludes that there is a direct link.
+1 if I could. So many people seem to assume that monopolies are illegal or are necessarily a bad thing.