yequalsx

13 ms·

91.
by yequalsx 9y ago
Nicely put. I’d rephrase part of your last sentence: IQ + opportunity lottery
92.
by yequalsx 9y ago
Multiplication of vectors. That’s the meaning of the algebra word in the phrase, finite dimensional associative division algebra. In R^3 you can’t define multiplication of vectors in a way that works. That is, in a way that each vector ca
93.
by yequalsx 9y ago
Complex numbers along with the Quaternions are the only finite dimensional associative division algebras that properly contain the reals. The interesting thing is that the 2d real space can be equipped with a multiplication operation that
94.
by yequalsx 9y ago
You wrote: If there was there would be a competing cartel as it is the case everywhere. Providing two examples of where there are competing cartels is not an argument that this phenomenon occurs everywhere (emphasis originally yours).
95.
by yequalsx 9y ago
Your view of economics does not match reality. A survey of hundreds of published economic studies and legal decisions of antitrust authorities found that the median price increase achieved by cartels in the last 200 years is about 23%.[1]
96.
by yequalsx 9y ago
Not if there is collusion or cartel pricing. There are also regulatory means of limiting competition. The basic economics notion works in a market that is mostly free. I suspect that most things related to the American health care system
97.
by yequalsx 9y ago
As I've heard the term used in the vernacular it is synonymous with 'welfare'. I attempt to clarify that there is a huge difference between a mandatory retirement pension plan whose benefits depend on how much you pay into i
98.
by yequalsx 9y ago
Overall I agree with your sentiment about the options not being either of two extremes. In the case of bankers and financiers who seemingly engaged in fraud on a grand scale it’s about the idea that justice should in some sense be blind wi
99.
by yequalsx 9y ago
Yes. But I use terms as they currently mean in the common political discourse and as such Medicare and Social Security are not entitlements.
100.
by yequalsx 9y ago
If you don’t pay into SS then you don’t get retirement benefits from it. You are wrong on Social Securty. With Medicare you are entitled to enroll in it when you reach a certain age, even if you haven’t ever paid Medicare taxes, but you s
101.
by yequalsx 9y ago
A nitpick. Social Security and Medicare are not entitlements. One is a mandatory pension plan that people pay into and whose benefits are based on what you put in. The other is a mandatory health insurance plan that people pay into. As
102.
by yequalsx 9y ago
I see the logic in what you are saying but I wonder if it would just lead to a situation where every problem just becomes, "not severe enough to warrant attention". I've sort of seen this with opposition to environmental reg
103.
by yequalsx 9y ago
I believe the point the person you were responding to was getting at is that the person's proof assumes that the reals are a field. It's not a convention that cancellation holds for fields. It's a theorem one proves about i
104.
by yequalsx 9y ago
First you'd need that the integers are an integral domain and then build up to the fact that the reals are a field. At least that's how I'd go about it. Maybe one can start with the reals themselves. Here's the proof
105.
by yequalsx 9y ago
With the anti-regulatory view Ayn Randians have it most certainly would lead to a heads I win tails you lose style of capitalism. A wild west approach to capitalism would be disastrous. A society without proper regulation of corporations
106.
by yequalsx 9y ago
I haven’t added the sum total of all misery (how can this be meaningfully quantified?) caused by capitalists and compared with the sum total of all misery caused by autocracies. Both are horrible and good people ought to strive for a world
107.
by yequalsx 9y ago
Yes. And E.g. Ayn Rand style capitalism and capitalism without proper regulation.
108.
by yequalsx 9y ago
I believe your first paragraph is naive. There are lots of examples of bad actors in capitalism that are never punished by the market or the government. Your belief in the wonders of the market correcting abuses is especially hard to unde
109.
by yequalsx 9y ago
The worst of capitalism is sort of like death by a thousand cuts. It occurs in pockets and has a much more diverse set of bad actors. But a few slaves here and a few deformed babies there and pretty soon we are talking about misery On a g
110.
by yequalsx 9y ago
Given the use of slave child labor on cocoa plants, blood diamonds and the chopping off of hands, abuses in the pursuit of rubber in Africa, the willful dumping of toxic chemicals that cause birth defects, etc. that occur in the pursuit of
111.
by yequalsx 9y ago
The takeaway of Mao, Stalin, Kim Jong Il, etc. is not that communism is bad but rather that concentrating too much power in too few hands is bad. For instance Hitler, Shah of a Iran, etc. Especially when the leaders have simplistic notion
112.
by yequalsx 9y ago
Most people understand that the choice is not between Ayn Rand style capitalism or Soviet style communism. Between these two extremes is quite a large space. There are examples of successful capitalist economies with good social programs.
113.
by yequalsx 9y ago
The case was then settled out of court for an undisclosed amount that was reported to be around $20 million. I know a medical malpractice attorney. He only takes cases he is absolutely sure to win. The gray areas he leaves alone. It is
114.
by yequalsx 9y ago
I teach math at a community college. Your question is not so simple to answer. Much of mathematical teaching involves lying and not justifying statements. The details are often way more complicated than the idea. It is "obvious&quot
115.
by yequalsx 9y ago
The $500 million comes from CVS's belief in the profitability of Aetna and the future returns it sees. Aetna would not be worth as much money as CVS believes it is worth if Aetna did not profit so much. And part of its enormous profi
116.
by yequalsx 9y ago
This money would not have paid a single claim, ever. That is the essence of my point and we agree on this. Yes, if the CEO did not get this $500 million it would have gone elsewhere but certainly not to paying claims or enhancing healthc
117.
by yequalsx 9y ago
Yes, categorically. If Aetna signs an agreement to pay health expenses and fails to follow through they face three major consequences: - They can be sued for breach of contract. - They can lose market power as their brand loses public trus
118.
by yequalsx 9y ago
Revenue comes from selling policies. The company has a financial incentive to deny care because that increases the profit. It's one way they try to control expenses and thereby increase profit. After Katrina State Farm famously denie
119.
by yequalsx 9y ago
This is from be ACA but I think it gives the general idea of the tactics insurance companies use: https://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2008/08/25/ho... Here's one from after ACA passe
120.
by yequalsx 9y ago
In France the health insurance companies are non-profit. I'm guessing that insurance CEOs in other countries don't get $500 million bonuses so I'm thinking there must be some sort of regulation controlling profit levels and

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