Saturday, December 26th, 2015
Alexandra Jacobo , - Nation of Change
Stephan: Because so few people turned out to vote -- an increasingly American phenomenon -- a tea party ideologue was elected governor of Kentucky. True to form he immediately set about trashing the state government to the detriment of thousands. Way to go Kentuckians., you're on track to follow Wisconsin, Louisiana, and Kansas and watch your state slide into second world status, and economic disaster. No one to blame but yourselves.
Newly elected Republican Governor of Kentucky Matt Bevin
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
The newly elected governor of Kentucky, Matt Bevin, filed five executive orders this week. Among them were decisions that will strip former felons of voting rights and will lower the minimum wage for government workers and contractors.
Governor Bevin is a Tea Party Republican who took office less than a month ago from former Democratic Governor Steve Beshear.
While in office, Gov. Beshear restored voting rights to 140,000 former felons that have served their sentences. Now Gov. Bevin has reversed this.
Bevin stated:
“While I have been a vocal supporter of the restoration of rights, it is an issue that must be addressed through the legislature and by the will of the people.”
His decision will affect mainly African Americans and individuals from lower income brackets, it will not, however, affect those who have already received a certificate confirming their restoration of rights.
Now former felons will have to petition for the restorations of […]
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Saturday, December 26th, 2015
Paul Krugman, Nobel Laureate Economist and Op-ed Columnist - The New York Times
Stephan: I am not a fan of Obamacare because it is still profit based, not wellness based, which can only be achieved through a single-payer government system, Medicare expanded.
That said, it should be clear now that even when it is flawed, a policy which puts wellness first is more successful and cheaper than the profit only alternative. Imagine what healthcare would be if we went all the way, and joined the rest of the developed world.
Ask yourself: Why isn't this coming up in the debates?
Credit: AP Photo/LM Otero
One of the remarkable aspects of the politics of health reform is the way conservatives — even relatively mild, seemingly informed conservatives — have managed to keep believing that Obamacare is unraveling, despite the repeated failure of disaster predictions to come true. Part of the way this works is that captive media and the right’s pet “experts” hype every bit of bad news, but go silent when the news is good (and, often, when the bad news turns out to have been a false alarm.) How many will even hear about the news that enrollments are once again running above expectations, and the pool is getting younger?
Anyway, it’s really helpful to have this new report from the Commonwealth Fund comparing actual performance with pre-implementation predictions. Premiums came in far below expectations; part, but only part, of this positive surprise was given back by 2016 premium hikes, with overall costs still looking very good.
On enrollments: fewer people than expected signed up for the exchanges, but […]
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Saturday, December 26th, 2015
Katie Fehrenbacher , - Fortune
Stephan: Old centralized power corporations are not going to go gently into that dark night. Here is an example of what I mean. This decision is going to have a significant and detrimental effect on the economic wellbeing of Nevada.
It also stands as an example of the corruption that pervades the American states.
The largest solar installer in the U.S., SolarCity, said on Wednesday that it will stop selling and installing solar panels on rooftops across Nevada after the state’s regulator approved a new plan to add fees and lower compensation for owners of home and commercial solar systems.
SolarCity’s SCTY 0.97% CEO Lyndon Rive called the new changes, which would take effect Jan. 1,, and would retroactively apply to the state’s 12,000 solar owners, “unethical, unprecedented, and possibly unlawful.” Rive said the Nevada Public Utility Commission’s decision would “damage the state’s economy, and jeopardize thousands of jobs.”
The state regulator’s decision is the latest move in the complicated landscape of how utilities, and the states they operate in, are adjusting to the emergence of solar panels on the rooftops of their customers. Utilities, like Nevada’s NV Energy, argue that solar customers aren’t paying their fair share for upkeep of the power grid, and have benefited from overly high compensation for the solar electricity they produce.
Other utilities like Arizona’s Salt River Project have approved similar extra fees for solar customers, […]
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Friday, December 25th, 2015
Stephan A. Schwartz, Editor - The Schwartzreport
Stephan: I wish for each of you, and those you love, the most joyous Christmas and holiday season. And I urge you as the new year is upon us to make the commitment to vote in the November elections, and to choose the candidates most committed to that which is compassionate and life-affirming. No one is going to help us but we ourselves and in this holiday time of taking stock, there is no better time to choose to support the creation of wellness.
-- Stephan
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Friday, December 25th, 2015
Summer Allen and Jill Suttie, - Greater Good - UC, Berkeley
Stephan: The Ayn Rand people see generosity and kindness as just a tool to advance one's own interest. Speaker Paul Ryan reflects this view. Unfortunately most of Rand is BS, including this. Here's a report on the growing science of kindness.
People volunteering at food drive
Each year, people in the United States give billions of dollars to charity. Every day, people volunteer their time to help complete strangers. Routinely, we hear of selfless acts where people put their own lives in danger to help someone else.
Economists and evolutionary psychologists have struggled to explain why people act in such altruistic ways. Typical explanations suggest that these behaviors involve suppressing our true, selfish nature and must instead be motivated by external factors, such as the possibility of future rewards or to avoid negative consequences, like appearing selfish to a potential love interest.
But what if helping others is an innate part of being human? What if it just makes us feel good to give?
Those questions have inspired a series of ground-breaking neuroscience studies conducted over the past several years by researchers Jamil Zaki, an assistant professor of psychology at Stanford University, and Jason Mitchell, an associate professor of the social sciences at Harvard University.
Their results have shed light on the relationship between empathy and altruism, and they have offered unique insights […]
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