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[quote=FlyerInHi]I wonder if anyone will go to jail over this.
We will see what the American justice system delivers.

In China, a few officials would probably get executed over something like this.[/quote]

It’s corrosive because the rivers and streams have fairly high levels of chloride in them. You know chloride, the same compound use to treat the water for pathogens.

They have old infrastructure and aren’t using anti corrosive agents in the water. It’s that simple.

As for why is the river higher in chloride, the knee jerk finger point is road salt being partially being responsible.

So this man made disaster is really simple, the water agency didn’t do basic water agency duties.

And every winter, our northern cities basically salt their earth.

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I think UBi or BIg are interesting concepts that will need to be explored as the tech revolution obsoletes people. Giving the compromise me on universal healthcare to push ACA through, a bit scary though.

Nor do I see government simplifying it and eliminating their bereaucracy. With ow changes, we could do something like Alaska’s dividend to residents.

And perhaps Bernie will win Iowa and accelerate the discussion..

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[quote=harvey]And what percent of the workforce has their incomes tied solely to the govt. inflation numbers?

Answer: Not enough to make a difference.

Supply and demand still rules the day.

But maybe the 70s will make a comeback. Star Wars is back.[/quote]

Not entirely correct. Even with supply, companies fear turnover. The raise cycle is a major satisfaction issue and tying back to the voter anger issue, part of it is the big lie that has been being told to the middle three quintiles. Inflation is low, and we only have this tiny raise pool.

If the government was saying inflation was 3.5-4%!or more instead of virtually zero, I think corporate merit raise pools would be much larger, instead of typical raise pools in the 3-4% range, they’d be more in the 6-7% or higher if inflation was reported higher than say 4%.

It would give raises for get the staff stewing no leaving.

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[quote=bearishgurl][quote=spdrun]Agreed. Toss the ACA into the sewer. Replace with a base level of public insurance. Done.[/quote]

Between October and December 2015, three out of eight of my “renowned” longtime SD providers have elected to “retire” and close up shop. Two of them cited in letters that their decisions were not based upon their age but the fact that they were unable to keep their offices open due to the low reimbursements from Covered CA plans as well as Medi-Cal (from the one provider who accepted it).

I guess I’ll be out on the hunt sometime this year to replace two of them. They’ve all offered referrals to their patients.

It’s going to get ugly out there, folks. Put yourself in a medical provider’s place (who has fairly high overhead and often has to pay their own malpractice ins premiums). Especially one with 40+ years of experience who has made a name for themselves.[/quote]

That’s what they say, however, participating in a plan is voluntary on part of the provider. My current plan is really good, providers are happy when they see it, yet it has some of the lowest reimbursement rates I’ve seen.

The real problem , IMHO, is that the rate has gone down (significantly for non insured), and the work load has gone up massively. My dentist is a good example, they’ve extended their hours, added hygienists and weekend hours and they’re still booked. My doctor is the same way. It has gone from being able to get a appointment next week if needed to four weeks out and if it’s more urgent, head to urgent care.

But in a nutshell, extending coverage has changed it, instead of $200/unit they make $150, or maybe $125, and if they started taking Some other plans, maybe $100/unit. And demand went from 6 hours of patients scheduled in their office to a full waiting room with twelve hours of patients trying to squeeze in.

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[quote=FlyerInHi]

I wonder why there are so many angry people. What exactly are they upset about?

In the aggregate, things are pretty good. I read the economist and we seem to be managing our affairs pretty well compared to be rest of the world.[/quote]

For 80% of our population their economic situation is getting more precarious, not better. Couple that with the chronic noise stream of rhetoric and their BS meter going off every time a politician opens their mouth and the anger a fascination with no filter Trump is pretty clear, IMHO.

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Net metering dies this year for new installs. The real cost of providing energy, much like water, isn’t the cost of the energy, it’s really the cost of maintaining that ubiquitous delivery network.

Installing batteries for storage and solar panels really aren’t a set it and forget proposition either.

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That’s funny you don’t want that on cars, but that essentially is positive train control.

Los Angeles and California is experimenting with a road diet. Whether you agree with it or not, one of key premises is separation of pedestrians and bicyclists from motor vehicles. That’s good, because IMHO, pedestrians and cars don’t mix.

Walkability is great. Mobility is better. I enjoy a couple cafe, ice cream shop, and grocery store in walking range. I don’t need a department store, clothing store, fast food, home store in walking distance.

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Injuries aren’t really tracked unless they involve a vehicle and overall you’re wrong. In 2014 in NyC, twice as many pedestrians died as motor vehicle drivers. Not including those that just get injured. Bicyclists about half as many.

[quote=spdrun]I haven’t heard of an epidemic of people dying in NYC by slipping and falling. Walking to the train is perfectly doable — most people where I grew up did it, and I didn’t hear of anyone dying. But there are fewer fats around NYC than in the rest of the US.

Icy sidewalks are why we have laws requiring sidewalk clearance. If sidewalks/bike lanes are not treated on par with streets for cleaning, you’re preferring cars over humans. Which is a problem in itself.

And you don’t carry the bags of groceries by hand. You either dump them in a backpack or use a folding cart.

No one dying here either. You just need proper tires for the bikes. Yep, they make little snow chains.

http://thecityfix.com/files/2010/12/bicycling-snow.jpg%5B/quote%5D

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Again, back to reality, we don’t have “proper” urban design. We have what we have. Now to find the best solutions for it. And yes, while an hour and half of walking is healthy for people, picking it as a standing part of their commute isn’t realistic. Nor is it realistic to factor it for a stroll on their basic errands.

I’ve done the mile plus walk from the grocery store by the train to the house in NY in December lugging two smallish bags of groceries navigating icey walkways, slop, the mist of salt and road water as cars go by and the relative warmth of upper teens temps with a good stiff breeze.

Invigorating, sure, as a one off. As dangerous as driving? Likely. Time consuming, yep. Possible on a bike, yep as long as I don’t mind the express ticket to meet my maker.

Most urban planners place the max reliable distance from public transit at a 1/4 mile, 400 meters and slightly longer for faster transit, i.e. 500 meters for the Paris Metro. That’s reality. It’s pretty consistent the world over.

Now, how to plan public transit for a population of 4 million covering 2.5 billion square meters roughly rectangular measuring 65000 meters by 40000 meters when they’ll reasonably travel 500 meters to use it.

edit: oops, dropped a zero…

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Lol, unrealistic. Sure you could walk, there goes the time factor, a two mile walk will take 30-40 minutes. you could bike, now youre back to the parking issue.

Again, time, cost, and quality. The individual car is a very high standard.

And yes, I laugh hesterically when I see cars circling the parking lots at gyms.

Now, the important question: how much will the Tour de France 4D stationary training bike with integrated vehicle recharging option in my autonomous electric SUV cost and is it packaged with the full recline sonic shower seats?

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Ah, yes the subway in NYC proper is awesome. Even then in the burbs, it’s fairly common for car services to bulk price commuters, taking three or four at a time from the train station to the surrounding hoods for flat $5 fee each.

Still, owning a car runs around $15/day plus massive convenience. If we introduce a third apex, quality, I’d argue that it’s moderately high compared to current alternatives. NYC being a notable exception, were quality is on par or lower due to hassles of parking and congestion.

So much like the cost, quality, time paradigm for development, the existing automobile, is cheap, fast and relatively high quality. The future replacement can be cheaper, faster or high quality to supplant.

Self driving cars are here. By the time they go for sale, surely they’ll include a autonomous drop off and pickup.

There’s a major difference between “could” getaway without a car and no car being the more convenient, flexible and cost effective choice.

If I lived in DC, Boston, San Fran or NYC proper, I’d be sans car.

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Taxis are $2/mi in nyc, unless I’ve missed a major change.

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[quote=spdrun]

I think that you’re wrong. Density will become the norm because you no longer have to worry about parking in the city. Call a self-drive car when you need one. Take mass transit for daily commuting.

Don’t we already have that with taxis/Uber/buses/subways? All of these can be improved, but a lot of people don’t want to sit in a seat that’s just been sat in…[/quote]

No we don’t. Public transit today is either horribly inconvenient or horribly expensive. In Orange County, a taxi is $2.75 per mile. And Metrolink while ‘affordable’ on a monthly basis for getting to downtown LA, is extremely time constrained.

My car is a capital sink but with regular use, averages less than 50 cents per mile and goes whenever I want.

A self driving taxi fleet has the potential to push the cost per mile with a ‘profit’ for the fleet down.

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[quote=moneymaker]Powerball should be worth atleast $5,just don’t want to be one of the 28 people last time that had all numbers except the powerball,of course that could still happen. Now at $1.5B[/quote]

I don’t know, as much as not getting a million for the five would suckI’m beginning to think it would be better than the jackpot. This is crazy money zone, as in all the crazies will come looking for you.

California publishes winners names. Can a trust claim a winning ticket?

If you win do you need to start sending your kid to school with a security guard to make sure they don’t get nabbed on the way home?

How long after claiming the prize before the media stops camping on your lawn?

Maybe we will be lucky and the winning numbers will match a fortune cookie and there will a thousand winners like several years back that matched five for five.

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Yes, I think we’re on the cusp of a very interesting deflationary period. I say deflationary, but I think it’ll be a wild mix of inflation and deflation. Things like food, energy, water and housing will experience inflation while manufactured goods and many services will deflate.

We’re not there yet, but you can see the forerunners. IBM’s Watson to replace much of the purpose of doctors, financial advisers and business ‘professionals’. While personal service jobs which can’t be automated such as hospice care become every greater in demand. With the 99% having less and less, the deflationary impacts are nil, 76% have literally nothing, living paycheck to paycheck. 95%, have less than two million and of those many of yearly consumption patterns that will blow through any savings quickly.

I can see a scenario were capital is in a race to the bottom of providing ever cheaper good and services while physical labor is robust with much more stringent people controls. IMHO, the big fights in the future will be about immigration and the continue importing of ‘cheap’ labor.

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