Topic #5: Personal Finance
This is a topic I’d like to continue to discuss. You found an absolutely great book to start the discussion. I learned a lot about investing and would actually like to buy the book. Do you know of any socially responsible word-wide broad based index funds as mentioned in the book? It looks like PAX might be one and you might know about it from your former job. I feel like economics is a language I should speak but don’t. What do you think about finance being a required class in high school and/or college? Do you have any friends that know a lot about finance who don’t do it for a living?
Topic #5: Personal Finance
The Elements of Investing by Burton G. Malkiel and Charles D. Ellis
Knowing our city
Here are some interesting facts about the city:
* 4.2 square miles (we should run the borders sometime and do the historic tour www.somervillema.gov/CoS_Content/…/ProspectHillTourWalkingTour.pdf), most densely populated city in part due to triple deckers
* 7 hills - Central, Clarendon, Cobble, Mt. Benedict, Prospect, Spring, Winter (can you find a map of these?)
* role in Revolutionary War, Civil War times (many historic houses from 1850s), very industrial (bricks, metal, meat packing), and WWII (influx of people, triple deckers built - when was your house built?)
* Grand Union Flag (first national flag of U.S.) raised on 1/1/1776 on Prospect Hill (Munroe and Greenville St.) by George Washington signifying colonist’s desire to win independence
* Governor John Winthrop, first Governor of MA, lived on Ten Hills Farm, a 1-square mile estate stretching through Medford and Somerville, he (like many other colonists) had Native American and Carribean slaves, rest of Somerville was grazing land
* Marshmallow Fluff and Stop and Shop originated here
* American Academy of Arts and Sciences - founded by James Bowdoin, John Adams and John Hancock in 1780, now promotes education, pubplishes essays on arts, sciences and humanities
I like that our city has such history and current diversity of income and people. It would be nice to get involved and meet people outside of the young professional community. We should check out city events and find other ways to get involved.
Health Care reply
I agree, one of the biggest criticisms of the health care bill is that it does not do enough to address the problem of rising health care costs. I know there was talk about including incentives for preventive medicine and wellness, but I don’t know how many of these made it into the bill. The big thing that is in the bill, however, is the mandate for everyone to have health insurance. In theory, at least, this should mean that people address health problems before they become so severe that the person needs to go to the emergency room. Does this actually cut costs, or does it just make people healthier?
Another important problem that you bring up is the shortage of family care doctors and community health care workers. There is an incentive for doctors to specialize in high paying fields. This is an acute problem especially in rural areas. I know there has been talk about incentivizing doctors to go into these lower paying specialties and to work in underserved communities. But, again, I don’t know how much actually made it into the bill.
Thoughts on the report on Genetically Engineered crops
The National Research Council reports summarizes the impact of GMO in their April 2010 report, and has overall found the use of GMO to be helpful economically, environmentally, and on the health of farmers who work with pesticides. It’s interesting that it’s only been in place since 1996 and that there are many questions remaining about their long-term impact. The report did not appear to investigate the effect on the health of consumers who eat GMOs, though they recommended further exploration into this issue. One factor to consider would be to see whether shoppers began to eat healthier (i.e., more fruits and vegetables) due to a reduction in produce cost. Increased nutritional food consumption might outweigh the risks to health of consuming GMOs.
The next time I purchase produce at the grocery store, I’m going to attend to the price look-up code (PLU). That’s the 4 or 5 digit code on the apples, grapes, tomatoes, etc. Apparently if the PLU begins with 8 its a genetically modified organism and if it begins with a 9 its been farmed organically. Any PLUs beginning with 0-7 would presumably have been farmed with “traditional” methods.
No-dig gardening appears to be a small-scale method of growing organically. This involves removing weeds manually and then adding compost to make soil richer. Gardening in this manner creates a healthy balance of organisms in the soil which makes crops healthier and free of disease and pests. Local, small-scale, no-dig gardening with “traditional seeds” and no use of pesticides seems to be the healthiest option available. I think it’s great that the idea of eating locally has been illuminated in national media, and is so highly available in MA.
Health Care comments
The changes to the industry addressed in the bill, specifically access, accountability, and consumer protection/advocacy seem positive to me. These articles mention that some people still want the bill to do more, such as offering a public insurance option, reducing drug costs by supporting generic brands (brand-name drugs protected until 2022, Medicare can’t negotiate drug prices with companies), expanding drug discounts to some hospitals serving low-income (in)patients, and providing more money to implement changes by 2014.
I see two major problems with the health care system in this country that were not addressed directly in these articles, and therefore in this bill. The first is access to needed services — there are not enough resources to give people the care they need. The second is the lack of emphasis on prevention of health problems. Unfortunately, these aspects do not constitute the thrust of the reform bill.
Addressing the resource issue does not seem like something that could really be addressed by reforming the insurance industry. However, extending coverage to all people will spread resources even thinner. These shortfalls could be addressed through increased access to higher education so more people could be trained to provide these services and creative service delivery models. Perhaps hospitals and clinics could work with insurance companies to develop creative service delivery models to make the most efficient and effective use of time and financial resources. Leveling doctor’s salaries through this bill is a step in the right direction.
Preventing health problems does seem like it could fall within the purview of insurance companies. Why shouldn’t new insurance regulations require a certain percentage of an insurance company’s budget go to preventative measures? For example, routine screenings, gym incentives, patient case managers, nutritional counseling, etc. would all be helpful. The calorie labeling is a preventative measure included in the bill.
Perhaps we’ll see these issues addressed over time. What do you think?
Topic #3: Pesticides and GMOs
There seems to be two narratives about healthcare. One is the partisan rhetoric on both sides of the political spectrum. Either this is a “big fucking deal” as Biden said, or this is an affront to liberty and the constitution. But, I think the more interesting healthcare narrative, which is capture in these New York Times articles, is the actual consequences that this legislation will have on people. Depending on an individuals situation, they will be affected differently. And, some of the changes won’t go into effect for a few years. Like any bill that is 1,300 pages long, I’m sure there are some good parts and some bad parts. Ideally, as part of the implementation procses, the kinks will be worked out.
