Keep in mind that each state is a semiautonomous entity with its own laws, police, and bureaucracy. If you think about it in terms of costs, while Ohio has a population of 10 million, and New York has a population of 20 million, New York's operating costs are likely not twice that of Ohio, because the bureaucracy itself has an initial overhead cost, and then some scaling cost with population.
When dealing with government bureaucracies, though, the economies of scale are inversely related to the size of the government and the population of the governed. If one state is twice the size of another state in terms of population, chances are that the state government is at least twice as big.
To put it another way - all government is overhead - you should just try to get by with the least amount possible.
According to the grandparent - to the trial lawyers through the insurance companies!
:)
In all seriousness, I help set the rates for our volunteer ambulance service. Medicare is the rate driver - we know we won't get what is billed - we'll get what they feel like giving us. We bill to keep the service's equipment up to date and to purchase a new ambulance once a decade. We need to bump the rates from time to time - not because we need to (we're a volunteer service), but because if we ever did need to and hadn't Medicare would disallow it.
I guess my short answer is the bulk of the problem with health care costs are because of medicare.
We had a balanced budget under Clinton. He might have lied under oath, but you can't fault his fiscal policies.
He (and the congress) lied about that too - the budget was balanced because of the social security surplus. Take that out of the equation, we were still running a deficit.
I think the "committee" that draws the maps present a primary and an alternate - both of which were rejected this go around. The third option was accepted. The legislature had the go/no go say, but didn't actually draw the maps.
Also, like I said, having vast tracts of rural areas makes it easy to draw nice districts.
We've got that as a back door right now through civil suits. The fines go to trial lawyers instead of the government, but it's still the same. Just ask "big tobacco"
How about a corporate death penaly (like Anderson Consulting got)?
Re:incorporate zahn's books
on
Star Wars TV Show
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· Score: 3, Interesting
Their best bet would be the Old Republic or the Clone Wars - anything that wouldn't regularly overlap on the movies. I think that fans would have a better time accepting a show that has a similar timeline to the movies, but doesn't feature any of the major characters from the movie.
Might be interesting to see the Old Republic from the perspective of a different Jedi (one of the others from the movies - not one of the main ones) where you can also have some of the main Jedi showing up from time to time.
Aren't murders (and most other crimes against people or property) state crimes, and not federal crimes? Of course, that kind of thing would be good for state laws too.
I think that they should do this with the budget process as well.
Set 2 year budgets for all departments, and call each section of government to the carpet every two years to justify their budget. (As an aside, we should allow departments that manage to spend less than budgeted the ability to keep that on account - right now we "reward" thrift by taking away what they didn't spend the previous year!) Every 6 or 8 years, each department should need to undergo a rectal exam style audit to see if they're being good stewards of their budget and actually doing what their mission calls for them to do.
His problem wasn't his problem (in that case). His problem is that the bank he was dealing with was helping others structure transactions to stay below the $10K reportable levels - that's a serious crime - especially for a bank.
They didn't even need the patriot act to do that - with a court order, they can get all the financial records that they need - and that's always been the case.
term limits and a lifetime ban on being a lobbyist for all people who have served - make them go back into the populace and actually live and work under the laws that they have passed.
In all seriousness, I'm sure that most everyone in Congress thinks that they're in it (at some level) to help their fellow citizens, but laws (and the accumulated federal code) are just about overwhelming, and have unintended consequences.
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When dealing with government bureaucracies, though, the economies of scale are inversely related to the size of the government and the population of the governed. If one state is twice the size of another state in terms of population, chances are that the state government is at least twice as big.
To put it another way - all government is overhead - you should just try to get by with the least amount possible.
According to the grandparent - to the trial lawyers through the insurance companies!
In all seriousness, I help set the rates for our volunteer ambulance service. Medicare is the rate driver - we know we won't get what is billed - we'll get what they feel like giving us. We bill to keep the service's equipment up to date and to purchase a new ambulance once a decade. We need to bump the rates from time to time - not because we need to (we're a volunteer service), but because if we ever did need to and hadn't Medicare would disallow it.
I guess my short answer is the bulk of the problem with health care costs are because of medicare.
He (and the congress) lied about that too - the budget was balanced because of the social security surplus. Take that out of the equation, we were still running a deficit.
You misspelled COBOL or RPG - I don't know of many bank applications written in Fortran.
What do they do for you to warrant extracting $360 a year from you? That's around what I pay in property taxes!
Also, like I said, having vast tracts of rural areas makes it easy to draw nice districts.
I'm working on a little personal project for dealing with ACH files, and those things were designed to make it easy to do stuff using COBOL or RPG.
I'll look into that - Thanks!
You've got to love those private property rights!
How much control do your neighbors have over a floorplan?
Or seek a variance.
If I remember right, it didn't work correctly when it counted.
I love hurricanes ... but then I live in the midwest so they won't directly affect me :).
The last couple I've had have been leather and they hold up pretty good.
How about a corporate death penaly (like Anderson Consulting got)?
Might be interesting to see the Old Republic from the perspective of a different Jedi (one of the others from the movies - not one of the main ones) where you can also have some of the main Jedi showing up from time to time.
Aren't murders (and most other crimes against people or property) state crimes, and not federal crimes? Of course, that kind of thing would be good for state laws too.
I work at a bank and you're right.
Set 2 year budgets for all departments, and call each section of government to the carpet every two years to justify their budget. (As an aside, we should allow departments that manage to spend less than budgeted the ability to keep that on account - right now we "reward" thrift by taking away what they didn't spend the previous year!) Every 6 or 8 years, each department should need to undergo a rectal exam style audit to see if they're being good stewards of their budget and actually doing what their mission calls for them to do.
His problem wasn't his problem (in that case). His problem is that the bank he was dealing with was helping others structure transactions to stay below the $10K reportable levels - that's a serious crime - especially for a bank.
And the EPA, the IRS, or a host of other laws and agencies that we have in this country.
As long as they're under $9999.99 you'll probably not raise too much suspicion.
They didn't even need the patriot act to do that - with a court order, they can get all the financial records that they need - and that's always been the case.
In all seriousness, I'm sure that most everyone in Congress thinks that they're in it (at some level) to help their fellow citizens, but laws (and the accumulated federal code) are just about overwhelming, and have unintended consequences.
Do to much of that and it is called "money laundering" and you'll be watched.
What does this do the section 314(a) searches that we must do?