over the cliff, onto the rocks.: Reason enough

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Reason enough

I'd happily pay higher taxes for results like that.
[from yes! magazine]

6 comments:

Keifus said...: I agree, but I'll pedantially note that their life expectancy scale is sort of out of whack with the other two. Half the infant mortality rate, but though it's scaled to look the same, increased life expectancy was by 4%. (But ask me, are three extra years worth it? Hell, yes they are! I'd double my investment for three extra years)

I'll accept causality wrt the infant mortality stats (related to availibility of care and poverty in obvious qualititative ways), but curious how life expectancy may be skewed by things Americans' predilections for driving everywhere and shooting at stuff.

But those numbers are damning either way, even if the left two charts were the same.

good catch

K

fyilewo: for your information: Lewis owes
gitelqc: (Cockney accent) We need to git 'ealth QC; Monday, February 05, 2007 10:01:00 AM
Anonymous said...: shooting at stuff. somewhere in my dozens [hundreds?] of bookmarks on this, is an article stating that our prison population is slightly healthier than the rest of us, those of us out here roaming free in the wild. if i find it, i'll let you know.

yep, they skewed the charts to (1) look pretty, and (2) exaggerate for the sake of making their point. both are no-nos. very bad reporting, both in journalism and in science. but yeah, three more good years? i'd pay for that too.

somewhere in the text of that article, they state that those 3 measures were essentially the same for canada and the united states 35 years ago. i haven't looked for actual hard numbers yet.

the article also goes on to say that the US has inadvertently been the control for a 35-year-long experiment in health care [and not just compared to canada, but to countries around the world].

rttkray: rat-a-tat-tat krazy
gjxdh: i give up
jwgomtfx: gee, i get yet another chance that i'm going to blow off; Monday, February 05, 2007 10:48:00 AM
Keifus said...: Thanks for deciphering what I was trying to say up there. Last stop on the hamster wheel, and my hour was up.

nytokn: nylon token, or goodnight to Ken (but an easy one at last); Monday, February 05, 2007 1:54:00 PM
hipparchia said...: last stop on the hamster wheel! damn it, keifers, where were you when i needed to come up with a name for this blog?! that would have been a good one.

pfgvkk: piffle goose vikki carr
cwadculk: current world affairs caulked; Monday, February 05, 2007 4:59:00 PM
Keifus said...: Oh, I don't know, I'm not very quick on my feet. Four to five months is about how long it usually takes to think up just the right witty rejoinder.

And below: corn prices, actually yes, at least on a very microeconomic scale. Drain tile, I don't think so much, but not impossible.

K

owjjluaa: Ouige luau; Tuesday, February 06, 2007 8:57:00 AM
hipparchia said...: ha. we're kindred spirits in commodities, as well as science. and yeah, that's about my lag time for rejoinders too.; Tuesday, February 06, 2007 7:28:00 PM