Category Archives: U.S.

Business/Economics, U.S.

Extra Long Receipts, saving paper?

When going to the store, even if it is just to purchase a few items, you are often faced at the end of your shopping trip with a long, very long receipt.  Gone are the days of simple receipts with a barcode at the bottom, company logo at the top, and you items purchased in the middle.  Surveys, coupons, even company bios can be found causing your receipt to grow.

This is what a receipt should look like.

Whether this is a good choice for the company financially, well, I don’t know.  I do know that it is a hassle for consumers, most of which don’t even read their receipts.  However, I can crunch some numbers.

On Amazon.com, I can buy 50 85 ft rolls of receipt paper for $18.29, which is 4250 ft.  Now, if the average receipt length I print is two feet, then I can print 2150 receipts at a cost of .8¢ a piece.  If I print an average receipt length of 8 inches, then I can print 6381.38 receipts at a cost of .2¢ a piece.  Of course there are some variables that can be involved, but this is to be used a static comparison.  The averages are not a number from any sort of study, simply made up as a comparison.

That may not seem like much, but for a very large retailer, that is a lot of money per week spent on paper.  Which, of course, could be potential jobs.  Maybe not very many jobs, but still jobs none-the-less.

There is hope, however.  Apple, Inc. has been asking if you would like the receipt emailed to you instead of a paper one since 2005.  Many store are following suit.  Also, some stores are starting to reduce the length of their receipts.  Alas, the store that aren’t cutting back on receipt length, are still complaining of running out of paper and their printers breaking all the time.

Here is a bit I personally would like to see on my receipts; percentage of the total an item cost, so I can see where I am spending the most.  This wouldn’t require a longer receipt, just a little number in the white space next to the item price.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Idaho’s New Privatized Medicaid. Patient Care Falls, Company Profits Up.

“…Americans will not stand for privatization of the nation’s most successful programs.” This is what a critic of President Bush Jr. said back in 2007, regarding the privatization of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. I think the critic is uninformed because many states have already privatized some or most of their Medicaid programs. And there is plenty of evidence that shows it is not successful, at least for the recipients.

Idaho is one of the states leading the country in radical reforms to it’s Medicaid program. On June 7th, 2010, they contracted out the medical payment program of Medicaid to a California company called Molina. Payments were expected to restart July 1st. The Idaho Medical Association says some providers have been paid for only 1% of what they billed (yes, one percent). A small number of providers have been overpaid, to the sum of $1 million. Most health care providers get a message stating “pending hold”. At the same time, Molina is reporting a net income of $10.6 million for the 2nd quarter of this year. $5 million of that coming from their Medicaid unit, know as Molina Medicaid Solutions.

Idaho had another contractor running Medicaid payments, for 30 years. Then the state decided to get a new contractor, one that could provide more flexible technology. Is that new lingo for cutting services?

Molina initially blamed the payment issue on it’s computer program, but, then in August, said it was because they were understaffed. The state is also being blamed by some critics for intentionally holding back claims until the Molina takeover.

Some providers say they’re getting the “pending hold” message because Molina’s program is designed to take care of people with secondary insurance first. Patients with no secondary insurance seem to be stuck in limbo under Molina’s system.

The Idaho government shares some of the blame, of course. On top of hiring the new contractor, the state wants to cut Medicaid funding by $22 million. I can’t help think that the cuts have something to do with this Medicaid payment fiasco.

Now, Idaho has contracted out the dental care program of Medicaid. The contractor, DentaQuest, has been given the green light to cut 150-200 providers from the program (in Idaho that’s a lot). The changes go into affect on November 1st. Several East Idaho dentists said it could force people with serious dental problems into hospital emergency rooms. Also, according to Dr. Justin Bell of Idaho Falls, DentaQuest is reducing compensation to .30 cents for every dollar of care. Dr. Bell thinks this will force dentists to stop taking Medicaid.

Here’s a couple of questions: If Americans don’t want privatized Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security, where is the protest?

Also, what’s the use of the Federal Health Care Reforms if states are making up their own reforms?

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Food Crisis: Idaho Hit by Crop Diseases


This afternoon, after a long awaited rain finally hit (possibly redeeming local weather forecasters), I discovered that my small plot of maize is suffering from an infestation of Smut. In researching this Smut I discovered that Idaho grain farmers are facing a new disease potentially more harmful, because it is attacking wheat & barely as well as corn.

Smut infected corn kernel. Some South Americans eat this.

Smut is a common corn fungus. It looks almost like the maize had been popped right in the husk. It’s nasty looking, the puffed corn kernels turning black as the fungus progresses. According to some sources, South Americans like to eat the young Smut galls as a delicacy.

I’ve grown maize for several years now, changing the location in my backyard field every year, but I’ve never had this problem. Turns out that weather plays a big role in the growth of Maize Smut. The weather factors are; cooler than normal temperatures, and dryer than normal conditions during the growing season (ipm.illinois.edu). That’s exactly what we’ve had this year in South East Idaho.

Maize Smut, Chubbuck, Idaho.

This is no problem, corn Smut shouldn’t cause a food crisis. But, in my research I discovered that, for the first time, the Pacific Northwest is being hit by a crop disease that attacks maize, wheat & barely. Earlier this year it was discovered in the Magic Valley of Idaho.

It is a type of Fusarium (not associated with Corn Smut), a fungus that is common in soil, but this particular version is dangerous to crops, and people. The Soviet Union actually developed a strain of Fusarium into a biological weapon during the Cold War (en.wikipedia.org).

According to the University of Idaho, Idaho is getting hit with this strain because of increased corn production (thank you ethanol). After the maize is harvested, Fusarium hangs around in the soil, attacking any wheat or barley planted in the same field. The U of I recommends not planting other grain crops in the same field that corn was grown. Also, plow under the field and spray with fungicides. As with Smut, cooler than normal temperatures promote Fusarium growth. (www.capitalpress.com)

Just one more concern over the coming food crisis.

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Opinion, U.S.

Europeans Strike! Who Cares About Terrorism?

Europeans were told that a Mumbai style terrorist attack in Europe was foiled, do they care? Hell no! Why? Because, according to strikers in Latvia, people are dying because of the drastic measures undertaken by their government to deal with their crashing economy. In other words, Europeans are more afraid of their governments than random terrorists.

Today, people in France, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Greece and several other countries not mentioned in U.S. media, went on strike. What happened to the economic recovery? A former European Union commissioner is quoted as saying “The party is over…”. European governments want even more drastic belt tightening, increasing the burden of paying for the partying of political and business leaders upon the average European taxpayer. No wounder Europeans are outraged.

Is this a sign of pending doom for the U.S. recovery? The same caca del toro is happening with our leadership here in the U.S. Where are the mass strikes? Are we so afraid of our leadership that we’d rather continue playing along with their war on terror game?

The real terrorism is being waged on the average U.S. worker, by corporate America and their puppets; our political leaders. Let me give you an example: When my son was 17 he got a job working for a movie theater here on the east side of Idaho. His first two weeks he put in 90 hours. We though he was going to get overtime pay, nope, not under the Fair Labor Standards Act. According to the Idaho Department of Labor, movie theater employees are number 5 on the list of jobs exempted from overtime pay.

We also learned that Idaho employers do not have to provide breaks under Idaho state law. My son was told that he would be fired if he was caught taking a break or eating, even when he worked 8-9 hour shifts. Here is what Idaho says: “IDAHO LAW DOES NOT REQUIRE
1. vacation, holiday, severance or sick pay;
2. a discharge notice or a reason for discharge;
3. rest periods, breaks, lunch breaks, holidays
off or vacations;
4. premium pay rates for weekends or holidays
worked;
5. pay raises or fringe benefits; or
6. a limit on the number of hours an employee
can work per day or week for employees 16
years of age or older.”

Visit labor.idaho.gov

Wake up America!

Opinion, U.S.

Issues with the U.S. education system, and how to fix them -Opinion

The United States has been facing an education crisis for the past 10 years, getting worse, and worse.  Now, 2010, many are thinking of ways to fix the education system.  However, most arguments are for one of three probable issues; techers, students, or administration.

Teachers

From my experience in school, more and more of the good teachers are getting fired, retiring, or quitting.  These teachers mostly get replaced with teachers that either care less about teaching, and more about their paycheck, or are very opinionated in their teaching.  There are the good teachers, those who know what they are teaching, how to teach it, and keep their own personal views and life outside of school, out of the classroom.  Then there are the bad teachers, who like to add their own view, talk about their personal life while teaching something, don’t know or care about what they are teaching, don’t know how to teach what they are teaching.

Students

While I was in school, most of the students with me seemed to care about their studies, and tried to get good grades.  Even those who didn’t want to be in school, tried to get at least D’s.  However, there were those who frankly didn’t care.  They didn’t care either because of drugs, laziness, or even, they were so rich, they didn’t ever have to have a job.  I don’t see this as an issue in the education crisis.

Administration

This is a big one I have seen.  Rules are set in the aspect of money, not how well the teacher can teach with that rule in effect.  Administrators get paid too much.  When the superintendant of one school district gets paid more than the governor of the state, there is money getting thrown away that could be spent for education.  Administration does not have to do what a teacher does, their work is much simpler.

How to fix it all

First off, teachers need to be taught how to teach in the real world, not like how one of my high school teachers told me, “…they told me that the students are craving for someone to teach them, and they come to school ready to learn.”

This is obviously not the case.  Teachers also need to know how to teach their subject, and care about that subject or teaching for that matter.  More time needs to be spent teaching the information, and not review the past year, or “teaching how to learn”.  Teachers also must not get mad at a student for being an open atheist, or dressing a way the teacher does not like.  Teachers are there to teach a specific subject.  If the teacher is teaching “how to be like the majority of the populous” or “Ethics”, then fine, but in math, who cares what the student is wearing or thinking.

Administration needs to be reduced, drastically.  Administration came into the picture in the mid to late 20th century.  We got along just fine without it.  That is basically it for Administration.  More power to the teachers.

U.S.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Fails

WASHINGTON - MARCH 18: People sign their names during a rally in support of a repeal of the 'Don't Ask, Don t Tell' policy March 18, 2010 at the Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC. The policy is currently under review by the Pentagon and Democrats in the House and the Senate have unveiled legislation to repeal the policy. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

While it was not a bill itself, the defense funding bill failed to get the required 60 votes to pass Tuesday.  Although it had majority support, many senators voted against the bill because it had too many amendments.

“…I cannot vote to proceed to this bill under a situation that is going to shut down the debate and preclude Republican amendments,”  Senator Susan Collins (ME – R.), a supporter of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.  Collins was the only Republican to vote to put the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell in the defense bill.

More than 3/4th’s of Americans support the repeal, even Senator John McCain’s (AZ – R.) wife and daughter support it.  One of the more popular supporters is Lady Gaga, who rallied in Maine on Monday in an attempt to get the two senators to vote for the defense bill.

Business/Economics, U.S.

LED street lights for Arlington County, VA

Over the next 6 years, Arlington County, Virginia, is planning to replace all 4,200 high pressure sodium (HPS) street lights owned by the county with LED street lights. Spending approximately $1.5 million just in 2010 to replace 1,800 fixtures with LED technology.

However, Dominion Power owns 12,000 street lights in Arlington County. The county is discussing with Dominion Power about working together to replace all 16,200 street lights with LED technology over the next decade. This will result in an estimated a $1 million per year savings once the project is complete.

“We anticipate reducing our total streetlight energy costs by nearly 50%, and when we successfully convert all 16,000 streetlights, we will be saving about $1 million per year.” Chief of Transportation Wayne Wentz, Arlington County.

from www.newstreetlights.com

Arlington County, VA, isn’t the only one switching to LED street lighting. Los Angeles, CA, Seattle, WA, and Pittsburgh, PA, are just a few of the many cities planning to convert to the new lighting.

LED street lighting emits a whitter and brighter light, which studies suggest may decrease or displace crime in the better lit areas. Some argue the bluer light has a calming effect as opposed to the harsher orange-yellow HDS street lights. However, some argue that it may increase crime due to the increased visibility.

Reasons for opposition include; glare, light pollution, light trespass, operations to upgrade lighting being disruptive, officials attempting to disrupt livelihood. Opposition can also come from nearby neighborhoods in the form of jealousy or concern for displacement of crime to their neighborhood. Opposition in business districts can be similar.

from U.S. Department of Justice – Improving Street Lighting to Reduce Crime in Residential Areas

U.S.

Repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

PORTLAND, ME - SEPTEMBER 20: General view of atmosphere at the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Grassroots Rally in support of repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' at Deering Oaks Park near the University of Southern Maine campus on September 20, 2010 in Portland, ME. (Photo by Cliff Kucine/Getty Images)


Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV – D.) wants to push a bill that repeals the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ rule put in place by the Pentagon in 1993.  This rule bans gays from openly serving in the U.S. military.

This repeal is attached to the $726 billion defense bill, which is set to be on the floor in the Senate next week (has passed in the House).  In order for this move to go through, it would need 60 votes and support from at least one Republican senator.  Of course, the bill still has a veto threat looming in its horizon.

The Department of Defense is going to study what the effects of this bill would be in practice, due by December 1.  Many want to see this study first before taking action on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’, including Senator John McCain (AZ – R.)