Infinitesimal Perturbations

Fertility Levels Vs. GDP

posted by Michael Twardos @ 9:16 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Healthcare

U.S. spending on health care is nearly double the GDP average for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (PDF) (OECD) member-countries--almost all of which offer some form of universal coverage. A number of middle-income countries have also recently achieved universal health care or are moving in that direction. This has raised concern among some economists and U.S. business leaders that mounting health care costs not only affect U.S. domestic health but its ability to compete globally".

When our health care system fails to deliver value, it does not just affect individual companies and their workers, it harms our nation's ability to compete in the global economy," Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon, said following the study. "This raises the cost of our products and services and diverts resources from needed investments."

Factoring in costs borne by the government, the private sector, and individuals, the United States spends over $1.9 trillion annually on healthcare expenses, more than any other industrialized country. The United States spent 16 percent of its GDP in 2007 on health care, higher than any other developed nation. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that number will rise to 25 percent by 2025 without changes to federal law (PDF). Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical School estimate the United States spends 44 percent more per capita than Switzerland, the country with the second highest expenditures, and 134 percent more than the median for member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) These costs prompt fears that an increasing number of U.S. businesses will outsource jobs overseas or offshore business operations completely.

A November 2008 Kaiser Foundation report notes that access to employer-sponsored health insurance has been on the decline (PDF) among low-income workers, and health premiums for workers have risen 114 percent in the last decade. Small businesses are less likely than large employers to be able to provide health insurance as a benefit. At 12 percent, health care is the most expensive benefit paid by U.S. employers, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.These ballooning dollar figures place a heavy burden on companies doing business in the United States and can put them at a substantial competitive disadvantage in the international marketplace.

posted by Michael Twardos @ 4:00 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Mexico Drug War

The president of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, has recently deployed more than 40,000 soldiers and federal police in the areas controlled by or hardest pressed by drug trafficking gangs, who are battling for control of Mexican street sales and control of smuggling routes to U.S. consumers. Gangland violence has killed some 12,000 people since the crackdown began when Calderon took office in December 2006.

Criminalizing money laundering is another key element in the war, but so far, Mexico has fallen short. An International Monetary Fund report published in January found Mexican authorities have only made 25 convictions for money laundering since in 1989 and Mexican law does not allow for the quick freezing of traffickers’ assets. In short, Mexican money laundering laws do not meet international standards and many cases are not properly investigated. Interior Minister Fernando Gomez Mont said the government was sending 1,500 police, 2,500 soldiers, and 1,500 navy personnel to the western state, Michoacan.
The Obama administration's certification on Mexico's human rights record is required by Congress for full disbursement of the $1.4 billion worth of military equipment and training for the drug war promised Mexico under the so-called Merida Initiative.

posted by Michael Twardos @ 9:07 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

U.S. Savings Rate Over TIme

Finally bouncing back from 0 in 2005.

posted by Michael Twardos @ 11:43 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Obama's New World Order

US President Barack Obama has outlined his vision of a new world order during his first address to the UN general assembly meeting in New York. His vision was rooted in four basic principles: Non proliferation and disarmament, the promotion of peace and security, the preservation of the planet, and a global economy that advances opportunity for all people.

posted by Michael Twardos @ 4:14 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Abortion Statistics

The abortion rate in the United States is at 19.4 per 1000 women down from almost 30 per 1000 at its peak in 1980.

The abortion rate among women living below the federal poverty level ($9,570 for a single woman with no children) is more than four times that of women above 300% of the poverty level (44 vs. 10 abortions per 1,000 women).
Mexico’s 2006 abortion rate (33 per 1,000 women) was more than 40% higher than the abortion rate in the United States (19.4 per 1,000 women), where abortion is broadly legal and available. Seventeen percent of the Mexican women who obtained abortions in 2006 were treated in public hospitals for complications. In comparison, fewer than 0.3% of abortion patients in the U.S. have complications requiring hospitalization. What do we draw from this?

posted by Michael Twardos @ 3:52 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

G 20 Protests in Pittsburg

posted by Michael Twardos @ 8:10 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Waziristan

Waziristan (Pashto: وزیرستان, "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² (4,473 sq mi). It is part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, considered to be outside the country's four provinces.

posted by Michael Twardos @ 8:22 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Pot

A report released today by a marijuana public policy analyst contends that the market value of pot produced in the U.S. exceeds $35 billion -- far more than the crop value of such heartland staples as corn, soybeans and hay, which are the top three legal cash crops. California is responsible for more than a third of the cannabis harvest, with an estimated production of $13.8 billion that exceeds the value of the state's grapes, vegetables and hay combined -- and marijuana is the top cash crop in a dozen states, the report states. The report estimates that marijuana production has increased tenfold in the past quarter century despite an exhaustive anti-drug effort by law enforcement.

posted by Michael Twardos @ 7:40 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

San Francisco Shipping Companies

CMA CGM is a French container transportation and shipping company, headed by Mr. Jacques R. Saadé. It is the largest container shipping company in Europe and the third largest container company in the world, using 76 major shipping routes between 216 ports in 126 different countries.[1]
Matson is credited with introducing mass tourism to Hawaii with the opening of the Moana Hotel (now known as the Moana Surfrider Hotel) and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki on the island of Oahu.
Maersk is the largest container ship operator and supply vessel operator in the world based in Copenhagen, Denmark, with subsidiaries and offices in more than 135 countries worldwide and around 120,000 employees
MSC is currently the second-largest container shipping line in the world. The line operates 376 vessels and has a capacity of 1,250,000 twenty-foot equivalent units
Hapag Lloyd
Zim is the biggest cargo shipping company in Israel, and 13th largest in the world.
MOL is a Japanese company.

Live updates of locations here.

posted by Michael Twardos @ 8:27 AM 0 Comments Links to this post