Contrary to impressions outside the US America is a very expensive country. Mobile phones, for instance cost on average $100 a month, twice the cost of a similar service in France and Germany. Healthcare costs are huge. I recently spent ten minutes with a foot doctor for correcting an in-growing toenail, billed at $473.00 Pharmaceuticals …
Continue reading ‘Monopolies again, and why they are un-Epicurean’ »
“The tyranny of home delivery is creating a new class division. There are those who deliver the boxes and those who get the boxes. There are now millions employed delivering more stuff to more people more quickly than ever before. Wages and work conditions are rock bottom . Insecurity, stress exploitation and alienation are sky …
Continue reading ‘Home delivery: sign of our divided times’ »
The Japanese may have devised the idea; I refer to their crass ”innovation” Where products have barely the life of a year. Oh, the speed from launch to truncation! Every few months a new model is born – – New colour, new size, or new speed – – And the prospect of spares for a …
“I do a lot of online shopping. I try to stick with the merchants that offer free two-way shipping and unlimited return policies (e.g., any time, any condition, no questions asked). I often order items in three sizes and four colors and return most of them. I keep something for a year or more and …
Continue reading ‘An ethical dilemma: taking advantage of generous guarantees’ »
Boeing timeline: 29 October 2018: A 737 Max 8 operated by Lion Air crashes after leaving Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board 31 January 2019: Boeing reports an order of 5,011 Max planes from 79 customers 10 March 2019: A 737 Max 8 operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashes, killing all 157 people on board …
Continue reading ‘Boeing again: crashes and lousy management’ »
