Sunday, January 15

Commenting on Brad and the NFL playoffs

+ Brad links Is 37signals The New Google? The answer is 'no', of course, but it's a fun little article. 37signals is great. They play a great role. But I think they themselves would say they'd never want to be Google. It'd be inimical to their minimist philosophy. Unless you mean 'the latest new hot little web shop that produces cool, free apps', in which case the answer might be 'yes'.

+ Saturday footballl report: Seattle eked out a win without Shaun Alexander and the Patriots battled but made too many mistakes to win (truth in reporting: including a Tom Brady interception). They did get ripped off on an interference call that basically spotted the Broncos a touchdown, but that's how the ball bounces. I still think they're a dynasty (now that we're in the era of salary caps and free agency), and they'll probably be back tough next year. We'll see. More good football today.

+ Based on the Wal-Mart law I commented on the other day, Brad asks who should be paying for health care, and discussion ensues. My comments:

right now those costs are being born by taxpayers (ie, Medicaid). is that preferable? why should Wal-Mart and its stockholders get richer and the employees not even get better health care?

and

not suggesting we chuck capitalism. it's not an all-or-nothing choice. like Brad, i'm wondering who should pay for healthcare. and i do think it's more important for a company to take care of its employees than it's shareholders. or i might settle for equal treatment.

the good thing about employer-provided healthcare is that bigger employers can get good rates and packages. group buying or something to get better options for all employees sounds good to me. i liked Kerry's idea of everyone having access to Congress' package, if just for the chutzpah of it. shake 'em up a little.

i don't really think socialized medicine is the answer, either, though the economics sometimes
point me there. we waste a lot of money on health care expenses in this country, though it's probably better than the alternative.

bottom line: i wish we had something better.

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