Tag Archives: html

The Color Line In Books About America

by FletcheBrandow Posted on October 29, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

This is a few days old, but the Atlantic asked eleven people to recommend three books each “to help make sense of the state of U.S. democracy.” Aside from one child’s book that I discarded, they ended up with 33 books. The recommenders included five people of color and six white people. Since I’m a chart guy, I have summarized the recommendations in the chart on the right.

I don’t have a big ol’ essay in me about this, but it’s pretty remarkable. If you want to understand America, people of color apparently think you need to read about race and people of color, but nothing much else. White people think you need to understand class, poverty, religion, and so forth, but nothing much about race or people of color. And these are all pretty high-IQ folks who are well read and presumably understand perfectly well the complexity of American history, culture, and politics.

I wonder what books I’d choose if I were limited to three?

Original source – 

The Color Line In Books About America

Posted in FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Color Line In Books About America

Health Care Premiums Have Grown 6% Per Year Since 2013

by CeciliaPlate Posted on October 26, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

I’ve mentioned before that Obamacare premiums started out too low in their first year, which explains (a) why so many insurers have had trouble making money in the exchanges, and (b) why premiums increased so much this year. But maybe a chart will make this clearer.

This is based on data from Health Affairs last year, updated with the big increase in premiums this year. What it shows fairly clearly is that the cost of individual premiums dropped in 2014 when the Obamacare exchanges started up—even though Obamacare policies generally provided better coverage. When you factor in the big increase for next year, average premiums will have risen from $4,500 to $5,600 since 2013.

That’s an annual increase of 6.1 percent, about the same as the average annual increase in employer plans over the past decade.

The usual caveats apply. These are averages: some people do better, some do worse. And for people who qualify for Obamacare subsidies, the actual increase in the amount they have to pay is very small. Overall, though, the point here is clear: if premiums had just risen at a steady 6 percent per year, nobody would be bent out of shape. The reason this is hitting so hard is because insurance companies screwed up their projections when Obamacare started up and now they have to make up for it.

More: 

Health Care Premiums Have Grown 6% Per Year Since 2013

Posted in FF, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Health Care Premiums Have Grown 6% Per Year Since 2013

Correction: Obamacare Premiums Are Going Up About 0% For Most People

by JinaGirardi Posted on October 26, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Data! You want data! Sure, Obamacare premiums are going up and so are the subsidies. But how much are the subsidies going up? The chart below—which I want everyone to look at because it was a pain in the ass to create—shows this for the 15 states with the highest premium increases:

As you can see, subsidies are increasing more than premiums in every state—and by quite a bit. This comparison data is for a 27-year-old with an income of $25,000, and comes from Tables 6 and 12 here. (Arizona is literally off the chart: premiums increased 116 percent and subsidies increased 428 percent.) Here’s the same chart for the 15 states with the smallest premium increases:

There are plenty of caveats here. Premiums and subsidies will be different for different kinds of households. Upper middle-class families don’t get any subsidies at all. And this doesn’t tell us what the average net increase is, once subsidies are accounted for.

However, it gives us a pretty good idea that for a substantial majority of Obamacare users, the net amount they pay for health insurance in 2017 isn’t going to be much more than it was this year. For many, in fact, it will be the same. For those who shop around, it’s quite likely to be less.

Bottom line: if your income is low enough to qualify for a subsidy, there’s no need to panic over the Obamacare premium news. The higher premiums will help stabilize the market, and the cost will be covered almost entirely by Uncle Sam. Your pocketbook is safe.

See more here:

Correction: Obamacare Premiums Are Going Up About 0% For Most People

Posted in Everyone, FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Correction: Obamacare Premiums Are Going Up About 0% For Most People

Tweet of the Day: Most Obamacare Users Won’t Pay Much More For Coverage Than They Did Last Year

by ElizabeFalkiner Posted on October 25, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

This is from a guy who works for a healthcare advocacy group in New Mexico:

I don’t want to minimize the pain that this year’s premium hikes are going to cause for a subset of insurance buyers. But the vast majority of low-to-mid-income Obamacare users are eligible for federal subsidies—and as premiums go up, so do their subsidies. They may end up paying a bit more in 2017 for their health coverage, but probably no more than a few percent.

So yes: headlines matter. Or, at the very least, the first few paragraphs of news stories matter. Coverage of this issue should make it clear that the average price people pay will go up much less than 25 percent, and for low-income folks it probably won’t go up at all.

Source article:  

Tweet of the Day: Most Obamacare Users Won’t Pay Much More For Coverage Than They Did Last Year

Posted in FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Tweet of the Day: Most Obamacare Users Won’t Pay Much More For Coverage Than They Did Last Year

Gigabit Internet? Wake Me When We Have Petabit Internet.

by LinetteUpton Posted on October 17, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Who needs superfast internet, anyway?

A few dozen cities in America have next-generation broadband networks that offer speeds of 1 gigabit per second — about 50 times faster than a typical connection. These super-fast connections were supposed to revolutionize Americans’ experience of the internet and rev up the country’s noncompetitive broadband market.

….But six years after the first super-fast connections went live, even proponents concede no “killer” gigabit application has emerged. Most of their potential, critics say, is simply ignored by users. And building gigabit networks nationwide would be a colossally expensive undertaking.

I find this amusing because my local cable company is moving toward gigabit internet and has flooded my TV with breathless ads about what we can do with it. So far, the answer is: make 3D sugar concoctions, play some kind of holographic game of tag, and force grandpa to dance by taking control of his artificial digital legs.

“That’s what I’m going to do with Gigablast,” says the 3D food kid at the end of his ad. If that’s really the case, it makes me less likely to bother with it, not more.

Read the article: 

Gigabit Internet? Wake Me When We Have Petabit Internet.

Posted in FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Gigabit Internet? Wake Me When We Have Petabit Internet.

American Public Says It Would Rather Have a Beer with Mike Pence Than Tim Kaine

by ErlindaXCK Posted on October 5, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

I’m now turning into some of the post-debate blather. The general consensus seems to be that Tim Kaine had the facts on his side; Mike Pence repeatedly refused to defend Donald Trump; and Kaine did a good job of keeping Trump’s cretinism front and center. But Pence was calmer, and therefore he won.

CNN’s instant poll bears this out. Respondents thought Kaine defended his boss better; was more knowledgeable; and attacked more.

But! Mike Pence was judged more likeable, and therefore he won the debate 48-42 percent. The American public has spoken: they’d rather have a beer with Mike Pence, and that makes him the winner. Some things never change.

On the bright side, though, we will always have Mike Pence complaining that Kaine had “whipped out that Mexican thing again.”

Visit link – 

American Public Says It Would Rather Have a Beer with Mike Pence Than Tim Kaine

Posted in FF, G & F, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on American Public Says It Would Rather Have a Beer with Mike Pence Than Tim Kaine

Weekly Poll Update

by Ingrid13L1986 Posted on October 1, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

I forgot to do my weekly poll update yesterday, so here it is today. There are ups and downs in the numbers, but basically the race remains amazingly stable. Trump still hasn’t managed to break through his all-time high of 44 percent, and Clinton is currently leading him by 4.8 percentage points.

Continue reading – 

Weekly Poll Update

Posted in FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Weekly Poll Update

A Tenth of Trump Supporters Will Be Disappointed If He Wins

by MarceloJ65 Posted on September 26, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

I’m always intrigued by polls that produce truly inexplicable results, and today we get one from Pew. They asked Trump supporters how they’d feel if Trump won. Most would be happy, but 11 percent would be disappointed or even angry. Among Clinton supporters, 7 percent would be disappointed if she won.

Now, when you get out to the end of the homo sapiens bell curve, there’s no telling what you’re dealing with. These folks might not be the sharpest pencils in the box. Still, I wonder what they’re thinking? That they’re just congenitally disappointed and will stay that way no matter who wins? That they’re supporting a candidate they don’t like? They they didn’t really understand the question? What’s the deal here?

See the original article here:

A Tenth of Trump Supporters Will Be Disappointed If He Wins

Posted in FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A Tenth of Trump Supporters Will Be Disappointed If He Wins

Here’s One Look at How Charlotte Police Shot Keith Lamont Scott

by LinnieQueale Posted on September 23, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

This video, from NBC News, may be one of the most depressing things you’re ever likely to see. You have been warned.

Follow this link:  

Here’s One Look at How Charlotte Police Shot Keith Lamont Scott

Posted in FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Here’s One Look at How Charlotte Police Shot Keith Lamont Scott

Quote of the Day: Jay Mathews’ Biggest Mistake Was Trusting Michelle Rhee

by ElisaWinkel97 Posted on August 30, 2016

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Jay Mathews has been covering local education for the Washington Post since 1996. Alexander Russo asked him what his biggest mistake has been in those past 20 years:

I think my major mistake was giving too much credit to the jump in achievement scores and the appointment of new principals under Michelle Rhee in the DC schools. The scores proved to be largely the result of test tampering and many of the new principals weren’t as good as they needed to be.

Has the cult of Michelle Rhee finally run its course? We can hope.

Jump to original: 

Quote of the Day: Jay Mathews’ Biggest Mistake Was Trusting Michelle Rhee

Posted in FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Quote of the Day: Jay Mathews’ Biggest Mistake Was Trusting Michelle Rhee