Doctors are just not a good example to use though as an example here. Healthcare costs have risen as one would expect due to Baumol’s cost disease, but Dr salaries have generally not gone up as much as one would have…
>...Is the cross-elasticity of demand here not referring specifically to the cross-elasticity of different forms of labor, which exists due to the many common inputs of different forms of labor? This isn't necessary to…
>I think this is what Baumol’s cost disease is about (productivity growth on one sector drives up labor costs and ultimately prices in other sectors, This is a clear and accurate description, but your explanation of the…
Many public school teachers in the USA have some sort of tenure. For example, in Massachusetts, after a three year probationary period, a teacher is given Professional Teacher Status. A teacher with PTS may be dismissed…
Way back in 1979, the MYCIN system was shown to be better at diagnosing than Doctors: >...Eight independent evaluators with special expertise in the management of meningitis compared MYCIN's choice of antimicrobials…
No, Bush's AG did not bind prosecutors to effectively always settle corporate cases without convictions. Following high-profile corporate scandals (e.g., Enron, WorldCom, Tyco), Bush established the Corporate Fraud Task…
>...The US would have no problem affording that education, if it just considered taxing the richest members of its society a reasonable amount, as it did in the past. The USA has about the most progressive taxes of all…
>...The total number of aircraft counted during the disarmament efforts post war were something like 15k across the entire Japanese army and navy combined across all types of planes They were not planning on using those…
>...We know for sure from Truman et al's own writings at the time show that their only concern wasn't the least bloody end of the war with Japan and they wanted to demonstrate the bomb to the USSR, I think that's pretty…
>...Ultimately I think (and I know this is extremely hard to prove ahistorically) a naval blockade and shelling/arial campaign that devastated what little military might Japan had left would have lead to the same shift…
>The main reason is there are alternative paths where neither were required. Japan was already fishing around for diplomatic end to the war with the major sticking point being conditional vs unconditional surrender and…
This is a complex topic and I think you have done a good job of summarizing the main issues. To add a little context: >...that the Fed did not really have the tools to fix, because of Gold Standard and lack of legal…
>2)European farmers, who cannot use Roundup or a large swath of other pesticides and herbicides, *have greater per-acre productivity. That depends on what crop you are talking about and the reasons have more nuance than…
When you look at the first half of the year, Germany was a net importer of electricity: >Net imports amounted to only 1.3 TWh, compared with 9.6 TWh during the first half of 2025. Though 1.3 TWH is a huge improvement…
I think no one outside of Germany particularly cares about their internal politics, energy prices, or what role the Energiewende placed in the long-term industrial slowdown. The criticism that Germany gets for the…
Vague assertions with no evidence don't really help the discussion. If someone is going to assert such a strong claim like "We have more than enough taxes on working people and not enough on the wealthiest classes.",…
>...Not quite how he phrased it, but close. The "temporarily embarrassed millionaire" quote is from Ronald Wright. The Steinbeck quote is actually very different than the Ronald Wright quote. The actual quote is mocking…
>...This way of spending temporarily available resources on expanding the welfare state got a name: The Dutch Disease. The term "Dutch Disease" is a bit more general than that: >...The term was coined in 1977 by The…
>...Funny thing is: if you tell the hospital that you do not have an insurance they will charge you a price that actually sounds reasonable, say $700 for a CT scan That has not been my experience. Insurance negotiates…
Think about this for a minute. If three months of filming actually cause an increase in cancer rates the long-term residents of St. George (the downwinders), would have have devastatingly high cancer rates, right? The…
Considering that about 39.2% of the population is expected to get diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes, do you actually think a rate of 41% is statistically significant?…
One thing that I think would be helpful for anyone is to think about a contentious issue you hold a very strong opinion on. Consider what would make you change your mind on this issue. If there is literally nothing…
The important issue to focus on isn't that long ago people had a model that was not a good model of reality. The issue is that now we have better models and the person who claims they have an educated opinion should…
>Calling the Gateway 2000 customer support 800 number was my introduction to understanding computers and I am grateful to their staff for being patient with a 12 year old. You had a better experience than I had. Bought…
If the building costs for the nuclear plants are paid for, nuclear costs are comparable to the costs for utility solar today (and much less than solar 10 years ago). Closing down nuclear plants while you keep burning…
Doctors are just not a good example to use though as an example here. Healthcare costs have risen as one would expect due to Baumol’s cost disease, but Dr salaries have generally not gone up as much as one would have…
>...Is the cross-elasticity of demand here not referring specifically to the cross-elasticity of different forms of labor, which exists due to the many common inputs of different forms of labor? This isn't necessary to…
>I think this is what Baumol’s cost disease is about (productivity growth on one sector drives up labor costs and ultimately prices in other sectors, This is a clear and accurate description, but your explanation of the…
Many public school teachers in the USA have some sort of tenure. For example, in Massachusetts, after a three year probationary period, a teacher is given Professional Teacher Status. A teacher with PTS may be dismissed…
Way back in 1979, the MYCIN system was shown to be better at diagnosing than Doctors: >...Eight independent evaluators with special expertise in the management of meningitis compared MYCIN's choice of antimicrobials…
No, Bush's AG did not bind prosecutors to effectively always settle corporate cases without convictions. Following high-profile corporate scandals (e.g., Enron, WorldCom, Tyco), Bush established the Corporate Fraud Task…
>...The US would have no problem affording that education, if it just considered taxing the richest members of its society a reasonable amount, as it did in the past. The USA has about the most progressive taxes of all…
>...The total number of aircraft counted during the disarmament efforts post war were something like 15k across the entire Japanese army and navy combined across all types of planes They were not planning on using those…
>...We know for sure from Truman et al's own writings at the time show that their only concern wasn't the least bloody end of the war with Japan and they wanted to demonstrate the bomb to the USSR, I think that's pretty…
>...Ultimately I think (and I know this is extremely hard to prove ahistorically) a naval blockade and shelling/arial campaign that devastated what little military might Japan had left would have lead to the same shift…
>The main reason is there are alternative paths where neither were required. Japan was already fishing around for diplomatic end to the war with the major sticking point being conditional vs unconditional surrender and…
This is a complex topic and I think you have done a good job of summarizing the main issues. To add a little context: >...that the Fed did not really have the tools to fix, because of Gold Standard and lack of legal…
>2)European farmers, who cannot use Roundup or a large swath of other pesticides and herbicides, *have greater per-acre productivity. That depends on what crop you are talking about and the reasons have more nuance than…
When you look at the first half of the year, Germany was a net importer of electricity: >Net imports amounted to only 1.3 TWh, compared with 9.6 TWh during the first half of 2025. Though 1.3 TWH is a huge improvement…
I think no one outside of Germany particularly cares about their internal politics, energy prices, or what role the Energiewende placed in the long-term industrial slowdown. The criticism that Germany gets for the…
Vague assertions with no evidence don't really help the discussion. If someone is going to assert such a strong claim like "We have more than enough taxes on working people and not enough on the wealthiest classes.",…
>...Not quite how he phrased it, but close. The "temporarily embarrassed millionaire" quote is from Ronald Wright. The Steinbeck quote is actually very different than the Ronald Wright quote. The actual quote is mocking…
>...This way of spending temporarily available resources on expanding the welfare state got a name: The Dutch Disease. The term "Dutch Disease" is a bit more general than that: >...The term was coined in 1977 by The…
>...Funny thing is: if you tell the hospital that you do not have an insurance they will charge you a price that actually sounds reasonable, say $700 for a CT scan That has not been my experience. Insurance negotiates…
Think about this for a minute. If three months of filming actually cause an increase in cancer rates the long-term residents of St. George (the downwinders), would have have devastatingly high cancer rates, right? The…
Considering that about 39.2% of the population is expected to get diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes, do you actually think a rate of 41% is statistically significant?…
One thing that I think would be helpful for anyone is to think about a contentious issue you hold a very strong opinion on. Consider what would make you change your mind on this issue. If there is literally nothing…
The important issue to focus on isn't that long ago people had a model that was not a good model of reality. The issue is that now we have better models and the person who claims they have an educated opinion should…
>Calling the Gateway 2000 customer support 800 number was my introduction to understanding computers and I am grateful to their staff for being patient with a 12 year old. You had a better experience than I had. Bought…
If the building costs for the nuclear plants are paid for, nuclear costs are comparable to the costs for utility solar today (and much less than solar 10 years ago). Closing down nuclear plants while you keep burning…