Cell phones, optimism, health care systems, and latin america

SCSU also talks about the cell phone industry. Phone-carrier exclusive contracts are frustrating! I wonder when we'll move on from that.

Professor Emerson at Oregon State tells us that we have reason to be optimistic about the economy. I wonder what he thinks about the relationship to inflation.

The WSJ Numbers Guy tells us about the problems of ranking health care systems in different countries. I don't think geography should come into the mix, personally.

The IMF examines why latin america did better during this crisis than during past crises and also other emerging markets. I read a similar observation about Chile, before.

Maternity leave, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, the world, Venezuela, and the US federal budget

The Economic Policy Institute points out that the United States is severely lacking in maternity leave benefits. I wonder how that affects our national birth rate.

I've heard a lot about problems in Jamaica recently--I was surprised, and I think this article reflects why I was surprised. Socialism doesn't work.

The IMF provides an update on Zimbabwe. As you might expect, things aren't going so well there.

Simon Johnson reminds us that the rest of the world matters, too. Since the US economy is 20-25% of world output, they have an impact on us.

Speaking of the rest of the world, there's apparently some research showing how Venezuela's Chavez has hurt his opposition. This isn't a surprise to those who have been following Venezuela, but it's nice to see the research.

Lastly, the Obama Administration takes a jab at trimming the federal budget.

World Economic Forum on Latin America, Bernanke, charter schools

President Lula, of Brazil, calls for ethics ahead of the World Economic Forum on Latin America. Brazil has been doing much better than most countries in that region, so I'm hoping for Brazil to take the lead. Obama is there too, which will be interesting, as Chavez has spoken against the United States (well, Bush at least) for the past eight years. While reports say that Obama plans to talk about Cuba, I'm hoping for a more diverse agenda for the US president and maybe talk about problems in Venezuela.

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has apparently been explaining his policy decisions. While it may be helpful for some, I'm not sure it's necessary. I think he's been doing a pretty good job anyways.

Why do charter schools fail? Well, at least 68% of them fail because of "finances, mismanagement, or other organizational problems." Wow. That's an impressive percent of them.