Friday, January 22, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Depressing thoughts
Okay, so it has been a while, and now all I have is a bunch of loosely related, depressing thoughts. Maybe somebody can offer some hope here. The world hasn't ended, yet.
So the recent disaster in Haiti shows how easily the barely functional countries of the third world fall apart. Here, luckily, it was just one country, but if we are unable to do anything about global warming, we should have problems of a similar magnitude across the board. And the developed countries' capacities and willingness to help, lukewarm at the best of times, will be noticeably diminished.
The chance of the United States doing anything meaningful about global warming just shrunk measurably with the Massachussetts election of Scott Brown (who, btw, for any social conservatives who may be reading this blog, posed totally naked for cosmopolitan in 1982). Even more irritating and ironic is the suggestion, probably real, that Massachusetts voters were fed up with debate on healthcare, since Massachussetts gained, under the leadership of former governor Mitt Romney, a more liberal healthcare plan than either of those being considered in congress. But, of the existing states with near universal coverage, Massachusetts plan is most like the one Congress is trying to pass, and polls suggest they are generally ok with it (slightly more in favor than against). So basically, we've got ours, but no one else should? I don't get it. Does independent mean ideologically incoherent? Winston Churchill's remarks on democracy seem particularly apt.
Also, I am reading about East Asian societies that basically imploded while rival factions in government kept anyone from instituting the meaningful changes. Even without the perfect hindsight of history, there were contemporaries who knew what needed to be done, but were prevented from doing it by conservative faction who were unable to do offer any constructive solutions to these problems, but just criticized and stymied those attempting reform. Tens of millions of people died.
So the recent disaster in Haiti shows how easily the barely functional countries of the third world fall apart. Here, luckily, it was just one country, but if we are unable to do anything about global warming, we should have problems of a similar magnitude across the board. And the developed countries' capacities and willingness to help, lukewarm at the best of times, will be noticeably diminished.
The chance of the United States doing anything meaningful about global warming just shrunk measurably with the Massachussetts election of Scott Brown (who, btw, for any social conservatives who may be reading this blog, posed totally naked for cosmopolitan in 1982). Even more irritating and ironic is the suggestion, probably real, that Massachusetts voters were fed up with debate on healthcare, since Massachussetts gained, under the leadership of former governor Mitt Romney, a more liberal healthcare plan than either of those being considered in congress. But, of the existing states with near universal coverage, Massachusetts plan is most like the one Congress is trying to pass, and polls suggest they are generally ok with it (slightly more in favor than against). So basically, we've got ours, but no one else should? I don't get it. Does independent mean ideologically incoherent? Winston Churchill's remarks on democracy seem particularly apt.
Also, I am reading about East Asian societies that basically imploded while rival factions in government kept anyone from instituting the meaningful changes. Even without the perfect hindsight of history, there were contemporaries who knew what needed to be done, but were prevented from doing it by conservative faction who were unable to do offer any constructive solutions to these problems, but just criticized and stymied those attempting reform. Tens of millions of people died.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
More Dissertation Fun
So, I have been writing, editing, formatting, etc. my dissertation. So I downloaded the formats for the front matter, and started thinking about acknowledgments, writing an abstract, and I was curious how people I know who have written dissertations did theirs. So I downloaded a few, then I decided to get Mike(Palmer)'s as well. So I now have a pdf of Mike's dissertation, if anyone wants a copy. Probably too big an attachment for e-mail, so skype me. As I think I'd heard from mom, it is dedicated to his advisor, which is pretty classic. Perhaps, Pam's contribution's went without saying. Also, just randomly, I took a short break on Saturday, after working for 6 hours in the morning and we drove to Freeport to check out a coastal state park (I would say beach park, but there wasn't really any beach). It was pretty cool though. There were some tiny islands offshore with houses on them. Seriously, the islands were just big enough for a small house and maybe thirty trees. Then on the way home in Freeport we stopped inside the Northface and Patagonia stores and realized they were outlets. There were some pretty good deals, 60-70% off, but the kids were sort of at the end of their leash (they were tackling each other in the aisles), so we just got a few small things. Anyway, so there is another reason to come visit us in Maine, if that's what you're into.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Hawaii Rocks
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/health/policy/17hawaii.html?ref=health
More evidence that providing everyone insurance lowers costs.
More evidence that providing everyone insurance lowers costs.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Open call for dissertation readers
So, a number of people have expressed interest in reading my dissertation, and have complained that I have never sent them a copy. The main reason I haven't is that there is always some part of it I am working on, so it never feels done. I think "I'll just finish --- first, and then send it out." Anyway, I am getting to the point where most of that is finished, though not all, and I'm going to have to turn it in one way or another soon, so I might as well get as much feedback as possible. So, if you want a chance to read it before the general public (consider it a sneak peak at the much anticipated, by at least one person I can think of, work) then leave a comment for me with your preferred e-mail address, and I will send it to you sometime over the next couple weeks (I really need to polish up the introduction first). As an added bonus, if you give me lots of useful feedback, I will include your name in the acknowledgments section (a very heady thought, I know.) Think of it like a fun online drawing, for extra work, which everyone wins. Let the fun begin.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Chairs and bookshelves
So we've been looking for chairs, and we finally found some groovy old chairs at an antique store. The chair Gwyn is sitting on folds into the one next to Gwyn. Perfect for our nomadic lifestyle.
That was on labor day, on our way home from the beach. Another post by Bekah perhaps. Anyway, so Saturday I made a bookshelf, which we've also been needing. It took about 2-3 hours to make, and 10 minutes to fill. So we need another one now I guess. I was kind of experimenting with building it without nails or glue or anything, so it comes apart as well (just in case.) I also started working on a kitchen stand, but I was trying something more involved, so I had to set it aside for now.
My two cents on health care reform
So one of the many pluses of moving to Maine is that my senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins are both moderate, independent Republicans who may have an influential role in creating an American health care system we can be proud of. So, I finally buckled down and put some of my basic feelings about health care reform on paper and sent it to them. Here they are. I would encourage you to do the same.
Dear Senator Snowe,
I recently moved to Maine for a job at Bates College and for the first time in our married life (8 years), we all have health care. I have been in graduate school the last seven years and during that entire time the only time my wife was insured was while we were living and studying in Japan and Taiwan. The care we received in both countries was affordable, accessible, and high quality. My youngest daughter was actually born in Taiwan. It baffles me that we have not yet been able to accomplish that here. It is also a shame that foreign countries take care of American citizens better than America does. We are the richest nation in the world, I think we should be able to afford health care for all of our citizens. Access to quality care should be a universal right, like we have decided education is. I also believe the universal coverage, greater access to preventive care and screening services, and better regulation will bring costs down for everyone. We are all paying the price for a system that no longer works for most of its participants.
Even though I was covered with an expensive college plan at a university with a reputation for medical research, every time I had to use my insurance I spent hours on the phone with insurance representatives trying to figure out why they were trying to bil me for the entire amount. I remember feeling sick when I got a bill for $57,000 after an ACL reconstruction surgery. I would talk to someone on the phone and they would tell me it was cleared up and then a few weeks later I would get another bill. I would call again and the process would be repeated. I can't remember how many times I had to do this before it was resolved. Later a friend told me he had the same surgery in Oregon and entire bill was under $5,000. I was shocked there was such a huge difference, but the system is such that I never heard a price, or even had the opportunity to ask. Even if I had, based on previous experiences, I doubt the doctor could have told me, since he doesn't know what insurance I have. This is in contrast to our experiences in Taiwan and Japan where were given choices and told the price of services upfront, including the total and what we would be responsible for. Since everyone knew what the health insurance covered and at what rates it was easy to make wise decisions based on the necessity of certain services. I never felt like I was compromising my families health in anyway, but we could reduce our expenses by sacrificing some small amenities. Again, this is in contrast with my experiences in America, where each visit is so fraught with uncertainty about costs, that even with quality health insurance, as a graduate student with a very limited budget, I would often delay or avoid going to the doctor because I never knew what it was going to end up costing me. I tried to study it out, but every year it changed and I had a very busy life. This is another external cost of our extremely complicated and inefficient system.
We finally have health insurance, but it is expensive for me and for the university. I'm grateful for it, but I sympathize with all of the people who don't have anything and stay up at night worrying about their kids. We are all paying the price for a system that doesn't work. When someone you love gets hurt, you shouldn't have to wonder if you can afford to take them to the doctor. Doing nothing means being stuck with a system under which almost everyone suffers in some way.
I understand that your vote is extremely important in this coming Senate process. Please vote to help bring about universal care for all Americans. Like universal education, I believe that this is a basic part of our right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. In some ways this is a complicated issue, in other ways it is very simple. Although there are many businesses that profit from the present model, most people don't care about the details, they just want to know that if something happens that they can't fix themselves, they can get the help they need. (Hopefully without having to declare bankruptcy or fight their insurance company every step of the way, if they're lucky enough to have one.) The current system is failing. No system is perfect, but I think we can do better than this. Sincerely, Jesse Palmer
Dear Senator Snowe,
I recently moved to Maine for a job at Bates College and for the first time in our married life (8 years), we all have health care. I have been in graduate school the last seven years and during that entire time the only time my wife was insured was while we were living and studying in Japan and Taiwan. The care we received in both countries was affordable, accessible, and high quality. My youngest daughter was actually born in Taiwan. It baffles me that we have not yet been able to accomplish that here. It is also a shame that foreign countries take care of American citizens better than America does. We are the richest nation in the world, I think we should be able to afford health care for all of our citizens. Access to quality care should be a universal right, like we have decided education is. I also believe the universal coverage, greater access to preventive care and screening services, and better regulation will bring costs down for everyone. We are all paying the price for a system that no longer works for most of its participants.
Even though I was covered with an expensive college plan at a university with a reputation for medical research, every time I had to use my insurance I spent hours on the phone with insurance representatives trying to figure out why they were trying to bil me for the entire amount. I remember feeling sick when I got a bill for $57,000 after an ACL reconstruction surgery. I would talk to someone on the phone and they would tell me it was cleared up and then a few weeks later I would get another bill. I would call again and the process would be repeated. I can't remember how many times I had to do this before it was resolved. Later a friend told me he had the same surgery in Oregon and entire bill was under $5,000. I was shocked there was such a huge difference, but the system is such that I never heard a price, or even had the opportunity to ask. Even if I had, based on previous experiences, I doubt the doctor could have told me, since he doesn't know what insurance I have. This is in contrast to our experiences in Taiwan and Japan where were given choices and told the price of services upfront, including the total and what we would be responsible for. Since everyone knew what the health insurance covered and at what rates it was easy to make wise decisions based on the necessity of certain services. I never felt like I was compromising my families health in anyway, but we could reduce our expenses by sacrificing some small amenities. Again, this is in contrast with my experiences in America, where each visit is so fraught with uncertainty about costs, that even with quality health insurance, as a graduate student with a very limited budget, I would often delay or avoid going to the doctor because I never knew what it was going to end up costing me. I tried to study it out, but every year it changed and I had a very busy life. This is another external cost of our extremely complicated and inefficient system.
We finally have health insurance, but it is expensive for me and for the university. I'm grateful for it, but I sympathize with all of the people who don't have anything and stay up at night worrying about their kids. We are all paying the price for a system that doesn't work. When someone you love gets hurt, you shouldn't have to wonder if you can afford to take them to the doctor. Doing nothing means being stuck with a system under which almost everyone suffers in some way.
I understand that your vote is extremely important in this coming Senate process. Please vote to help bring about universal care for all Americans. Like universal education, I believe that this is a basic part of our right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. In some ways this is a complicated issue, in other ways it is very simple. Although there are many businesses that profit from the present model, most people don't care about the details, they just want to know that if something happens that they can't fix themselves, they can get the help they need. (Hopefully without having to declare bankruptcy or fight their insurance company every step of the way, if they're lucky enough to have one.) The current system is failing. No system is perfect, but I think we can do better than this. Sincerely, Jesse Palmer
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
