In the United States it is against the law to buy and sell human body parts. As a result many people who need an organ transplant die before a donated one is available.
In Canada, it is now "illegal to pay donors for sperm." As a result there is now a shortage, and sperm is being imported from the United States.
Is profit really worse than shortages that lead, in some cases, to death? I don't think so. People should be allowed to sell their body parts, pre- or post-mortem. It would solve many problems and save many lives.
2009-08-29
2009-08-26
How about instead you just give me my $12k?
A friend said something insightful in a recent email:
Imagine if someone tried to sell you the current system. They're going to take $1000/mo, $12k/year out of your paycheck. No, you don't have a choice. You then STILL have to pay a portion of your doctor's visits, basic procedures, and so forth, sometimes adding up to several thousand more dollars each year. And you have no control over what these services cost, or what your bill will be. Most of the time they can't even tell you that, and you just have to cross your fingers until the bill comes. Who would voluntarily choose THAT?
How about instead you just give me my $12k, and I'll buy my own insurance that covers catastrophic costs? I'm liable for the first... oh, let's pull a number out of the air... $12k of expenses (less the premium price), and if I don't have to go to the doctor for anything more than a yearly physical, I can just pocket the unused money. I can ask a clinic, "how much does this cost?" and they can tell me a single, nice, simple number. And if I don't like their price, I can shop around for a clinic that can do it for less. Can I have that? A $12k-deductible health plan can't cost that much, anyway. With the rest of the money my wife and I can tour Europe for two weeks every summer.
2009-08-24
blog comment of the day
Seen here:
That would solve a lot of problems.
Yet another reason to conscript legislators. Perhaps with retention elections, "Do you like the incumbent, or would you prefer we draw another name from your district?"
That would solve a lot of problems.
2009-08-20
The Jews In The Attic Test
By Joe Huffman, the Jews In The Attic Test asks: will this law make it difficult or impossible to protect innocent life from a government intent on their imprisonment or death?
I was surprised by how many laws fail this test. Check out the link for the author's take.
I was surprised by how many laws fail this test. Check out the link for the author's take.
2009-08-19
Perfect Creature
Tonight I watched the movie Perfect Creature. It takes place in an alternate universe where vampires, sheltered by the Catholic Church, survive by drinking donated blood. It's a steampunk movie that takes place in New Zealand. It's actually pretty good.
Conflict occurs when one vampire goes insane and starts murdering humans. His brother (another vampire) and a beautiful policewoman must track him down. Various plot twists and some violence ensue. The R rating is due to the frequent bloody wounds; other than that it's no more violent than prime time TV, and it was not as scary as I feared at first. (I'm not a fan of scary movies.)
I feel a little short changed by the 88 minute run time of the film. I would have liked to see more exploration of the philosophical aspects of an apparently immortal superhuman trying his best to do God's work in service to an unappreciative humanity. Perhaps what I really want is to encounter this movie in the form of a book.
Conflict occurs when one vampire goes insane and starts murdering humans. His brother (another vampire) and a beautiful policewoman must track him down. Various plot twists and some violence ensue. The R rating is due to the frequent bloody wounds; other than that it's no more violent than prime time TV, and it was not as scary as I feared at first. (I'm not a fan of scary movies.)
I feel a little short changed by the 88 minute run time of the film. I would have liked to see more exploration of the philosophical aspects of an apparently immortal superhuman trying his best to do God's work in service to an unappreciative humanity. Perhaps what I really want is to encounter this movie in the form of a book.
2009-08-15
Insurance vs Welfare
The current health care debate mingles insurance and social welfare. With insurance, the majority pays in more than they receive in benefits; payers hope that the bad thing being insured against (car accident, house fire) never happens. With retirement-oriented welfare such as Social Security, every participant expects to eventually become a beneficiary. Into which category should we place health care?
Both insurance and social welfare are only fiscally viable when a large number of people are paying in and a small percentage of people are receiving benefits out. Social welfare retirement systems around the world are headed for disaster as birth rates decline; what is now becoming clear is that health insurance is in the same boat, as more and more people expect to get more out of the system than they put in to it.
Realistically, even with crushing taxation (in the case of public insurance) or skyrocketing premiums (in the case of private insurance) a majority of policy holders will never be able to get more out of an insurance system than they pay in. Since that's the case, it should be possible for the majority to stop buying health insurance and start paying their costs out of pocket, and from a certain point of view that's true: health maintenance costs for a healthy person, such as a yearly check-up, don't add up to very much. Unfortunately the majority of people are not healthy; lots of us have ongoing medical conditions that require treatment, such as my asthma and seasonal allergies, or my friend's diabetes, or someone's kidney dialysis. Eventually almost everybody gets some chronic issue because we all grow old. What started out as health insurance has turned into a way for all of us to pay for ongoing care for, well, all of us.
There's an anarchist fantasy that says that we should all be able to pay for all of our care out of pocket. That's unachievable, but some of the steps that we could take in that direction would make things better for everyone. I think that will be the focus of my next few posts on this topic.
Both insurance and social welfare are only fiscally viable when a large number of people are paying in and a small percentage of people are receiving benefits out. Social welfare retirement systems around the world are headed for disaster as birth rates decline; what is now becoming clear is that health insurance is in the same boat, as more and more people expect to get more out of the system than they put in to it.
Realistically, even with crushing taxation (in the case of public insurance) or skyrocketing premiums (in the case of private insurance) a majority of policy holders will never be able to get more out of an insurance system than they pay in. Since that's the case, it should be possible for the majority to stop buying health insurance and start paying their costs out of pocket, and from a certain point of view that's true: health maintenance costs for a healthy person, such as a yearly check-up, don't add up to very much. Unfortunately the majority of people are not healthy; lots of us have ongoing medical conditions that require treatment, such as my asthma and seasonal allergies, or my friend's diabetes, or someone's kidney dialysis. Eventually almost everybody gets some chronic issue because we all grow old. What started out as health insurance has turned into a way for all of us to pay for ongoing care for, well, all of us.
There's an anarchist fantasy that says that we should all be able to pay for all of our care out of pocket. That's unachievable, but some of the steps that we could take in that direction would make things better for everyone. I think that will be the focus of my next few posts on this topic.
2009-08-12
Health Care Proposal
It would be nice if there were enough rich people, or enough rich + middle class people, to just tax them to pay for health care reform, but there aren't enough: take a look at our declining tax revenues and declining birthrate and extrapolate into the future. So I have a different proposal:
Have a national referendum on the topic of health care reform, and keep track of who votes "yes". Tax those people extra, and divide up the proceeds into health care vouchers to distribute to everyone.
It won't pay for gold plated braces, but people need reform now, right?
Have a national referendum on the topic of health care reform, and keep track of who votes "yes". Tax those people extra, and divide up the proceeds into health care vouchers to distribute to everyone.
It won't pay for gold plated braces, but people need reform now, right?
2009-08-08
The Watchmen
I just watched the movie The Watchmen for the second time in 24 hours. My first reaction was that this might be the best movie I've ever seen. After the second viewing that hasn't changed. It's certainly the best super hero movie I've ever seen.
Of course it contains many family-unfriendly elements. It focuses on some of the most unsightly aspects of human nature. A major theme is the evil inherent in humanity; not even the protagonists are good role models. But they do some of the same things that I would do, or would be inclined to do, if I were in their place. I found myself identifying with multiple characters. (I only wear glasses to disguise my true identity.)
The action and the plot are excellent, and only the comic book aspects require suspension of disbelief. It amazes me that someone's created a realistic super hero movie.
Of course it contains many family-unfriendly elements. It focuses on some of the most unsightly aspects of human nature. A major theme is the evil inherent in humanity; not even the protagonists are good role models. But they do some of the same things that I would do, or would be inclined to do, if I were in their place. I found myself identifying with multiple characters. (I only wear glasses to disguise my true identity.)
The action and the plot are excellent, and only the comic book aspects require suspension of disbelief. It amazes me that someone's created a realistic super hero movie.
2009-08-07
Pronunciation
My toddler is still working on pronunciation and enunciation. When he tries to say "There is a man in the big truck!" it sounds like "Man big cock!"
At least, I'm pretty sure that's what he's trying to say.
At least, I'm pretty sure that's what he's trying to say.
Four women, adultery and superglue
This story has been in the news lately: four women ambushed a cheating husband, punched him in the face and glued his private parts to his belly. One of the women was his estranged wife and another was a married woman he had had an affair with.
What bothers me about this story, in addition to the obvious, is how it contrasts with the stereotypical domestic violence situation, which is no laughing matter. If the genders were reversed and four men had glued the genitals of a cheating wife they would not be free on $200 bail right now and 57% of New York Daily News readers polled would not be cheering.
This is news because of the unusual details. What should be news is our reaction to it.
What bothers me about this story, in addition to the obvious, is how it contrasts with the stereotypical domestic violence situation, which is no laughing matter. If the genders were reversed and four men had glued the genitals of a cheating wife they would not be free on $200 bail right now and 57% of New York Daily News readers polled would not be cheering.
This is news because of the unusual details. What should be news is our reaction to it.
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