Archive for September 2nd, 2008

Census Details: Number of health uninsureds drops in 2007 …

September 2, 2008

Based on Census data released by the Department of Commerce
August 27, 2008:

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At the DNC last week, it was being said that the number of uninsureds had increased by 3 million.

Not true, according to data recently released by the Commerce Dept.

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The number of insured people increased by 2.3 million — to almost 300 million total insureds.

The number of uninsureds dropped by about 1.3 million — to 45.657 million.

Of the 45.657 million uninsureds:

  • Almost 10 millions are classified as “not a citizen”;
  • Over 9 million earn more than $75,000 annually;
  • Over 15 million earn more than $50,000 annually;
  • Almost 10 million are classified as “did not work”

Note: categories are not mutually exclusive, so there is some double-counting.

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Published in  “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007”, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration

Full report:
http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdf

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Posted in Government & Politics, Health Care / Medical Insurance, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Random thoughts from Thomas Sowell …

September 2, 2008

Excerpted from “Random Thoughts”, by Thomas Sowell, August 26, 2008

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The reason so many people misunderstand so many issues is not that these issues are so complex, but that people do not want a factual or analytical explanation that leaves them emotionally unsatisfied. They want villains to hate and heroes to cheer– and they don’t want explanations that do not give them that.

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Although you can block unwanted phone calls from commercial sources, you cannot block automated phone calls from politicians, which will be inundating us this election year. 

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One of the problems with successfully dealing with threats is that people start believing that there is no threat. That is where we are, seven years after 9/11, so that reminding people of terrorist dangers can be dismissed as “the politics of fear”.

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There are countries in Europe that would love to have their unemployment rate fall to the 5.7 percent unemployment rate to which ours has risen. Yet those who seem to want us to imitate European economic and social policies never seem to want to consider the actual consequences of those policies.

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Full article:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/printpage/?url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/08/random_thoughts_3.html

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Posted in Opinions, Philosophy, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Hybrids that go Vroom, Vroom, Vroom …

September 2, 2008

Hybrids are so quiet they actually pose a danger to pedestrians – and especially the blind – who can’t hear the cars approaching.

Reportedly. this is already a concern in many states, particularly on the pedestrian-heavy East coast now joined the debate by fielding its own committee to study the matter.

One company has  designed a system to make hybrid cars produce whatever engine sound the owner might desire.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/safety/california-studying-ways-to-make-hybrids-louder/

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Electric and hybrid vehicles may be better for the environment, but the California Legislature says they’re bad for the blind.

It has passed a bill to ensure that the vehicles make enough noise to be heard by visually impaired people about to cross a street.

The Association of International Auto Manufacturers Inc., a trade group, is also studying the problem, along with a committee established by the Society of Automotive Engineers. The groups are considering “the possibility of setting a minimum noise level standard for hybrid vehicles.”  

The state Department of Motor Vehicles says more than 300,000 of the vehicles are on state roads. Officials say they don’t keep statistics on pedestrian accidents involving those vehicles.

http://www.manufacturing.net/News-California-Green-Cars-Need-More-Noise.aspx?menuid=284

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Posted in Autos - Travel, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »