I’ve been dealing quite a bit with our health insurance industry in the states, attempting to provide insurance for the employees of fxphd. That’s a different and fucked up story, but it has opened my eyes to how state-supported healthcare in other countries is, at the very least, a great safety net. But that’s the insurance aspect — let’s just talk about where we stand in the world regarding life expectancy: 50th. Pathetic. See The CIA World Factbook for the … read more

C.E.O.’s of the largest American companies earned an average of 42 times as much as the average worker in 1980, but 531 times as much in 2001. Perhaps the most astounding statistic is this: From 1980 to 2005, more than four-fifths of the total increase in American incomes went to the richest 1 percent. From the New York Times.

It was an old-fashioned butt kicking that the Democrats received in the midterms this week. And it was certainly a reflection of the tough economic times in our country. But there’s an interesting article in the Washington Monthly which points out that the loss of seats in midterms is certainly not something unusual. http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_11/026452.php