National - Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:39 - 0 Comments
Health Insurance Exchanges
Part three in our week-long overview of health care reform.
Despite all of the concern about and posturing on the public option, the fact is that it shouldn’t be considered such a vital provision. One can make a case that it’s important, but not that it’s necessary to comprehensive health care reform. (Why do you think the Obama Administration has been so hot and cold on the subject?)
The more important way to improve markets, create more competition, and allow for more consumer choices is to create health insurance exchanges – marketplaces in which individuals can purchase health insurance policies with much more information than is currently available.
Continue…
National - Wednesday, September 9, 2009 17:32 - 3 Comments
The Public Option Explained
Part two in our week-long overview of health care reform.
Opponents of health care reform (or, at a minimum, opponents of the reforms being proposed in Congress) often decry “Obamacare” as a move towards (take your pick) socialism, rationing, death panels, bureaucrats controlling your health care, forced euthanasia, and budgetary nightmares.
Yikes. Sounds bad. It’s a good thing the reforms under discussion have nothing to do with any of this.
It’s important to remember that, although “Obamacare” has become synonymous with health care reform legislation like “Hillarycare” was during the ’90s, the White House has yet to propose any legislation. All of the talk about health care reform centers on the legislation working its way through Congress. There are many distinct plans (though the majority are quite similar) – the Senate HELP bill, the forthcoming Senate Finance Committee bill, the tri-committee House bill, Baker-Daschle-Dole, and Wyden-Bennett. And this list is just a selection of the more prominent plans.
To truly be engaged in the debate, we must both understand the underlying issues and what each of these different bills proposes to do.
Continue…
National - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 9:19 - 9 Comments
Why We Need Health Care Reform
This is the first post in a week-long survey of the health care debate. Tune in tomorrow for a look at the different reform proposals on the table.
After months of Congressional deliberation, endless news coverage, town halls carpeted with a lush mix of grassroots and astroturf, and political hand wringing, the health care reform enters its final stage this week as our representatives and senators return to Washington and President Obama prepares to redefine the debate with a prime-time speech to a joint session of Congress.
After this long (usually slow, news-wise) August, one would expect to be fully informed about the health care reforms being proposed and their impact on insurance coverage, consumers’ wallets, and the federal budget. However, the media have done a poor job of explaining even the basics of health care/insurance reform. The focus has been on politics and process, not policy. For example, the Washington Post ombudsman examined the paper’s 80 A1 health care articles since July 1 and found that “all but a dozen focused on political maneuvering or protests.” The Pew’s Project for Excellence in Journalism found that only 8% of media health care coverage this year focused on proposed policies and their real-world impacts.
This lack of policy coverage lets lies and distortions (death panels, e.g.) that have been bouncing around the echo chamber fester, muddying the debate and making smart reform less likely.
So, this week, NYU Local will take a deeper look into the health care debate with an emphasis on policy and its effects. Of course, politics plays a large role in what policies become reality, so we’ll discuss it as well. Continue…
National - Sunday, May 10, 2009 2:47 - 9 Comments
Abu Dhabi Sheikh Issa Detained
According to CNN, a Senior State Department official is reporting that Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, the brother of the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, has been detained and placed under house arrest. Last month, video was released that showed Sheikh Issa torturing a grain dealer.
The news comes after the Abu Dhabi government “unequivocally condemn[ed] the actions” and said they would “conduct a comprehensive review of the matter” last week.
Human Rights Watch, who earlier sent a letter to the UAE urging them to bring the Sheikh to justice, said the arrest was “reassuring,” but reiterated their call for “an independent body” to investigate the incident.
On Campus - Saturday, May 9, 2009 15:15 - 10 Comments
Housing And ResEd To See Layoffs
In a letter to all employees of the Housing and Residential Education units of NYU, the university basically told them that the two programs will be combined into one, some new positions will be created, some will be modified, and some will be eliminated. “At the end of this process, there will be job eliminations,” it states.
I spoke with an administrator with friends in the Housing department. She told me that many of the Housing employees, including mid- and high-level people, fear losing their jobs.
It appears that this is the first place NYU will be looking to trim their labor budget (after the salary freeze) to help alleviate the drop in revenue from a slumping economy, a smaller-than-normal tuition increase, and a big boost in financial aid.
Full letter after the jump. Continue…
On Campus - Saturday, May 9, 2009 11:52 - 1 Comment
Sexton Interview On WNYU
On Thursday, WNYU aired their interview with NYU President John Sexton on their current events show, Earshot.
The hosts asked great questions about the university, the 2031 plans, NYU Abu Dhabi, financial aid and tuition, and the recent decision to call poorer students to warn them of the cost of NYU. Sexton even talked a bit about the controversy over what he said to NYU Local writer Jessica Roy at a townhall roundtable luncheon last year.
Sexton spoke convincingly on some issues (financials, in particular), but dodged questions or gave weak answers to others. When asked if he was worried about ethical issues tainting Abu Dhabi dollars (presumably referring to Human Rights issues and the torture story), he said he was convinced that Abu Dhabi was the best possible government to work with in the region. He made it sound as if NYU had lots of options throughout the Middle East to build a campus costing $250 million a year at no cost to the university. Somehow I doubt that. Continue…
Entertainment - Friday, May 8, 2009 20:01 - 2 Comments
Puke Your Way To The Finish
Spewer sounds really weird, but it’s dangerously addicting. You play as a little…spewer…and avoid pitfalls to reach the finish.
Use WASD to move, mouse click to puke, and spacebar to eat.
Just play.
Entertainment - Wednesday, May 6, 2009 17:43 - 6 Comments
Bubble Spinner
This game takes a little practice to get good, but, once you do, you won’t be able to stop playing.
Eliminate groups of 3 or more same-colored orbs to earn points. You can ricochet off the walls. But, watch out, when orbs hit the mass it causes the whole thing to spin.
Occasionally, more orbs fly randomly onto the mass. If any orb on the mass touches the wall — game over.
Earn double points by eliminating the mass.
On Campus - Wednesday, May 6, 2009 15:34 - 5 Comments
Sexton Budget Email: Some Good News For Students
Well, tuition is going up again. That’s not a surprise. What may be a surprise is that the increase, 3.85%, is the lowest in almost a decade. And when you include the increase in room & board (2.5%) and fees, it is the lowest jump in 20 years.
Financial aid will be increasing (in aggregate) 7.8% – twice the increase in tuition. And Sexton writes, “we will increase the base stipends in financial aid packages for fully funded graduate students by 2 percent (Ph.D. students will continue to receive a full-tuition scholarship, NYU will fully pay their health care premiums, and the minimum cash stipend will be increased to $22,440).”
It’s unclear whether the additional money in the financial aid pool will be allocated to current students or just incoming freshman. Because of the tuition-driven nature of NYU, it’s likely that they found ways to admit more full-tuition paying students this year – perhaps that means more funds available to the rest of us?
The other big question is how staff and services will be affected by ‘Re-engineering II,’ which might cut pay for some administrators by 25% and “will almost certainly involve layoffs.”
Sexton’s full email after the jump.
