by rdan The Shrinking of Treehorn by Florence Parry Heide is a wonderful story of a child’s experience of reality as the adults ignore his shrinking. Which brings me to the following item (have you noticed?) But as packaged goods makers’ costs rise, they eventually have just two choices: raise prices or put less stuff […]
The New York Times reports: The Army official who managed the Pentagon’s largest contract in Iraq says he was ousted from his job when he refused to approve paying more than $1 billion in questionable charges to KBR, the Houston-based company that has provided food, housing and other services to American troops. The official, Charles […]
by reader ilsm GAO is describing personal services in this quote “”Contractors are generally not subject to the same ethics rules as government employees even when they are collocated and work side by side with federal employees and perform similar functions.” From GAO 08-572T Testimony pg 11. The following is cut from Federal Acquisition Regulation […]
by Save the Rustbelt Revenue Compression in the Physician Office As Rdan’s request, a not-too-technical review of revenue compression. There is never enough money for health care, so the various constituencies are constantly maneuvering for their piece of the pie. Physicians have some advantage in the piece of pie contest as physicians are the gatekeepers […]
Celebrating a past era, probably in the late 1980s: Celebrating a War of Consensus, early 1992: Also early 1992 (for me), more than any other, the symbol of a firm (before Alan Raised a Cayne): Extra credit: Name the book used as background for the 1973 Mets tribute card and the unopened Desert Storm card […]
One of the hardest things in the world is to value that which is not otherwise measured. The old observation that a man who marries his housekeeper reduces GDP is both sexist and accurate. Still (via Erin), the salary.com estimate that being an at-home parent is worth $117,000 p.a. seems a bit high. And we […]
Just a brief shot before going out the door. In both the Obama and McCain camps there are separate but related discussion of ‘privatization’ and charges that in particular McCain is lying, or that the people who claim that Bush never supported ‘privatization’ are lunatics. But I fear that a rhetorical trap is being laid […]
An article on Che Guevara becomes surreal: For many Argentines, he evokes painful memories of the bloody 1970s, when young Che-wannabes took up arms in the name of revolution. The ensuing turmoil gave rise to a brutal right-wing military dictatorship. Yes, the families of the “desaparecidos” all consider Che the reason their family tree is […]
by reader sammy Senate Votes To Privatize Its Failing Restaurants From the Washington Post. The embarrassment of the Senate food service struggling like some neighborhood pizza joint has quietly sparked change previously unthinkable for Democrats. Last week, in a late-night voice vote, the Senate agreed to privatize the operation of its food service, a decision […]
Well I want to get back to some of the basics. Much of the confusion around Social Security, and this is true as much for supporters as opponents, is a failure to understand what the Trust Fund actually is. This failure has led to such myths as ‘The Great Raids of Johnson/Reagan/etc’, the idea that […]