Mammon category archive
Facebook Frolics 0
Zuckerborg assimilation frolics. Here’s a bit from the EFF’s deep dive into Facebook’s proposal for “reforming” the decades old law that regulation the internet; follow the link for the complete piece.
Afterthought:
I believe that law is long overdue for a second look. The central provision currently in question was designed to protect neutral platforms from liability for content posted by users.
At the time the law was enacted, the primary platforms were web hosting providers, BBSes, and services such as AOL and Compuserve.
The era of the algorithm had not yet arrived. I believe that now, in the era of the algorithm, when platforms manipulate content to promote “engagement” and “attract eyeballs,” those platforms are no longer neutral in any sense and should be held accountable for the actions of their algorithms.
But the Zuckerborg’s plan to perpetuate its predominance is not the way to go about it.
Rather, what we need is another Teddy Roosevelt.
Vaccine Nation, the Rich Are Different from You and Me Dept. 0
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
The Fee Hand of the Market 0
At the Inky, Harold Brubaker takes a look at hospital fees for various services that have been recently made available under a new federal regulation strongly opposed by hospitals and insurers. He concludes that they make no sense when exposed to the light. A snippet; follow the link for more.
Those are the prices consumers with high-deductible plans would have to pay to scan their knee and find out how serious the source of their pain is.
And replacing that knee would cost from $12,300 to more than $44,000 under insurance plans that IBC sells to employers and individuals.
The notion, often promoted by persons who call themselves “conservative,” that someone who is sick will comparison-shop for health care has always been fanciful. The reality is that, if there is a choice, a patient will go where his or her doctor says, and, in rural areas, there is often little or no choice from the git-go. Add in a landscape of wildly variable and irrational pricing schemes, comparison shopping for health care becomes an impossible dream all-too-possible nightmare.
The Fee Hand of the Market, Cruz to Mexico Dept. 0
And, in related news (more at the link),
Having conserved power after briefly losing it twice during rolling blackouts, Astrein, 36, said he was shocked when he logged on to view his electric bill from his provider, Griddy: $2,796.85 since Feb. 1.
“Pluck Me, I’m a Chicken” 0
I sometimes watch streaming video on Tubitv.com, which is free. (It’s free because it has commercials; in fairness, it has far fewer ads than commercial television and the volume of the commercials is lower than that of the shows. All-in-all, I find it a fair trade-off.)
Last night, as I watched an episode of the 1960s ITV series, The Saint, new commercials appeared for a cell phone app called “Stash” for stock trading (no link–look it up yourself). In the ad, clueless 20-somethings confess that they don’t know anything about the stock market, but then decide that they’ll give the app a whirl and make their fortunes. My guess is that the recent Game Stop kerfuffle inspired this.
I’m old enough to remember day trading and the dot-com bubble.
So I have one question for novice investors who think an app can turn them into financial wizards.
Wanna buy a bridge?
Vaccine Nation 0
Harry Shearer interviews Matt Stoller about how America’s monopolistic health care industry (and it’s an industry, not a system) gives you the business, with a focus on the roll-out (stagger-out might be a more appropriate term) of the coronavirus vaccines.
This is a must listen.
All the News that Fits . . . 0
. . . and none that doesn’t.
The Privilege Flew 0
At Above the Law, Joe Patrice explains why the Morgan Lewis law firm’s attempts to claim attorney-client privilege regarding certain Trump transactions and conferences that were not subject to said privilege were rejected by the judge. A nugget; follow the link for the details.
The Privatization Scam 0
At the Des Moines Register, Randall Balmer explains how it works.
The Wisdom of the Marketplace 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Utpal Dholakia marvels at the loyalty of Tesla owners, which seems contraindicated by any rational measure. A snippet (emphasis in the original):
In the 2020 Initial Quality Study conducted by the marketing research company J.D. Power, Tesla was the worst-performing company, reporting 250 problems per 100 vehicles during the first 90 days of owning a newly purchased vehicle.
Tesla Customer Satisfaction
The 2020 J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study measured owners’ satisfaction based on their “experiences with design, performance, safety, usability, comfort, perceived quality, and other factors.” In the study, Tesla received the highest score of 896. To give context, Porsche had the next highest score of 881.
Follow the link for his theories as to the reasons for this.