A study of how teenagers use social media has found that Facebook is “not just on the slide, it is basically dead and buried”, but that the network is morphing into a tool for keeping in touch with older family members
By Matthew Sparkes
1:30PM GMT 27 Dec 2013
A study of how older teenagers in eight countries use social media has found that Facebook is “not just on the slide, it is basically dead and buried”.
Professor Daniel Miller of University College London, one of the researchers working on the project, said in a blog post: “Mostly they feel embarrassed even to be associated with it.
“This year marked the start of what looks likely to be a sustained decline of what had been the most pervasive of all social networking sites. Young people are turning away in their droves and adopting other social networks instead, while the worst people of all, their parents, continue to use the service.
By John H. Cochrane
This article appeared in The Wall Street Journal on December 25, 2013.
The unraveling of the Affordable Care Act presents a historic opportunity for change. Its proponents call it “settled law,” but as Prohibition taught us, not even a constitutional amendment is settled law—if it is dysfunctional enough, and if Americans can see a clear alternative.
This fall’s website fiasco and policy cancellations are only the beginning. Next spring the individual mandate is likely to unravel when we see how sick the people are who signed up on exchanges, and if our government really is going to penalize voters for not buying health insurance. The employer mandate and “accountable care organizations” will take their turns in the news. There will be scandals. There will be fraud. This will go on for years.
Yet opponents should not sit back and revel in dysfunction. The Affordable Care Act was enacted in response to genuine problems. Without a clear alternative, we will simply patch more, subsidize more, and ignore frauds and scandals, as we do in Medicare and other programs.
There is an alternative. A much freer market in health care and health insurance can work, can deliver high quality, technically innovative care at much lower cost, and solve the pathologies of the pre-existing system.
The U.S. health-care market is dysfunctional. Obscure prices and $500 Band-Aids are legendary. The reason is simple: Health care and health insurance are strongly protected from competition. There are explicit barriers to entry, for example the laws in many states that require a “certificate of need” before one can build a new hospital. Regulatory compliance costs, approvals, nonprofit status, restrictions on foreign doctors and nurses, limits on medical residencies, and many more barriers keep prices up and competitors out. Hospitals whose main clients are uncompetitive insurers and the government cannot innovate and provide efficient cash service.
We need to permit the Southwest Airlines, Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Apples of the world to bring to health care the same dramatic improvements in price, quality, variety, technology and efficiency that they brought to air travel, retail and electronics. We’ll know we are there when prices are on hospital websites, cash customers get discounts, and new hospitals and insurers swamp your inbox with attractive offers and great service.
The Affordable Care Act bets instead that more regulation, price controls, effectiveness panels, and “accountable care” organizations will force efficiency, innovation, quality and service from the top down. Has this ever worked? Did we get smartphones by government pressure on the 1960s AT&T phone monopoly? Did effectiveness panels force United Airlines and American Airlines to cut costs, and push TWA and Pan Am out of business? Did the post office invent FedEx, UPS and email? How about public schools or the last 20 or more health-care “cost control” ideas?
Only deregulation can unleash competition. And only disruptive competition, where new businesses drive out old ones, will bring efficiency, lower costs and innovation.
Health insurance should be individual, portable across jobs, states and providers; lifelong and guaranteed-renewable, meaning you have the right to continue with no unexpected increase in premiums if you get sick. Insurance should protect wealth against large, unforeseen, necessary expenses, rather than be a wildly inefficient payment plan for routine expenses.
People want to buy this insurance, and companies want to sell it. It would be far cheaper, and would solve the pre-existing conditions problem. We do not have such health insurance only because it was regulated out of existence. Businesses cannot establish or contribute to portable individual policies, or employees would have to pay taxes. So businesses only offer group plans. Knowing they will abandon individual insurance when they get a job, and without cross-state portability, there is little reason for young people to invest in lifelong, portable health insurance. Mandated coverage, pressure against full risk rating, and a dysfunctional cash market did the rest.
Rather than a mandate for employer-based groups, we should transition to fully individual-based health insurance. Allow national individual insurance offered and sold to anyone, anywhere, without the tangled mess of state mandates and regulations. Allow employers to contribute to individual insurance at least on an even basis with group plans. Current group plans can convert to individual plans, at once or as people leave. Since all members in a group convert, there is no adverse selection of sicker people.
ObamaCare defenders say we must suffer the dysfunction and patch the law, because there is no alternative. They are wrong. On Nov. 2, for example, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote movingly about his friend who lost employer-based insurance and died of colon cancer. Mr. Kristof concluded, “This is why we need Obamacare.” No, this is why we need individual, portable, guaranteed-renewable, inexpensive, catastrophic-coverage insurance.
On Nov. 15, MIT’s Jonathan Gruber, an ObamaCare architect, argued on Realclearpolitics that “we currently have a highly discriminatory system where if you’re sick, if you’ve been sick or you’re going to get sick, you cannot get health insurance.” We do. He concluded that the Affordable Care Act is “the only way to end that discriminatory system.” It is not.
On Dec. 3, President Obama himself said that “the only alternative that Obamacare’s critics have, is, well, let’s just go back to the status quo.” Not so.
What about the homeless guy who has a heart attack? Yes, there must be private and government-provided charity care for the very poor. What if people don’t get enough checkups? Send them vouchers. To solve these problems we do not need a federal takeover of health care and insurance for you, me, and every American.
No other country has a free health market, you may object. The rest of the world is closer to single payer, and spends less.
Sure. We can have a single government-run airline too. We can ban FedEx and UPS, and have a single-payer post office. We can have government-run telephones and TV. Thirty years ago every other country had all of these, and worthies said that markets couldn’t work for travel, package delivery, the “natural monopoly” of telephones and TV. Until we tried it. That the rest of the world spends less just shows how dysfunctional our current system is, not how a free market would work.
While economically straightforward, liberalization is always politically hard. Innovation and cost reduction require new businesses to displace familiar, well-connected incumbents. Protected businesses spawn “good jobs” for protected workers, dues for their unions, easy lives for their managers, political support for their regulators and politicians, and cushy jobs for health-policy wonks. Protection from competition allows private insurance to cross-subsidize Medicare, Medicaid, and emergency rooms.
But it can happen. The first step is, the American public must understand that there is an alternative. Stand up and demand it
Jerk of the Week : Mayor of Tenafly, Peter Rustin. personally asks family to remove ‘offensive’ Christmas decorations
TENAFLY, N.J. (PIX11) – The Alvator family, joined by some neighbors, set out to recreate a tradition they themselves had grown up with.
After they say they checked with the local fire and police departments and were given the green light, 300 decorative luminaries were lined along their street on Joyce Road on Christmas Eve.
“Our neighbors, from all different backgrounds, sent their children out to help fill the bags and light the candles early in the evening on Christmas Eve. We loved it. We thought it was a great sense of community,” said Scott Semone.
Daniels family thanks villagers for support
by Kevin, Lori, Anthony, Vincent and Michael Daniels
To the editor:
We would like to thank our community for the tremendous support during the Blood Donor Drive for those in need. More than 500 people walked through the doors of Ridgewood Village Hall between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21. There were actually 512 people joined to the Be The Match registry this day. Several came who were already registered in support of Anthony’s cause.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/237454931_Letter__Daniels_family_thanks_villagers_for_support.html#sthash.ATXpfpsi.dpuf
Ridgewood bone marrow search draws 500 potential donors
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2013 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY DECEMBER 26, 2013, 4:36 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — A donor registration drive for a 22-year-old village resident battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma attracted more than 500 people on Saturday.
Patrice Foresman of Montvale’s Community Blood Services said it was one of the most successful drives in which she has ever participated.
The four-hour drive, which was held in Village Hall, had to be extended an hour to accommodate everyone. The purpose was to find a match for Anthony Daniels, who was diagnosed at age 20 and has twice been in remission.
“It was a sweeping success, due to the tireless efforts of the Daniels family and all the volunteers who wanted to be part of something really important,” Foresman said Monday after shipping the samples to Minnesota for analysis.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system that attacks white blood cells. Daniels needs a bone marrow stem-cell transplant — a procedure he described as “a last resort.”
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/Ridgewood_stem-cell_search_draws_500_potential_donors.html#sthash.mj9Xcgzv.dpuf
TRENTON – The minimum wage hike does not kick in for another few days, but both sides in the debate are still weighing in with opinions about the consequences.
Maybe a year from now pundits will be able to look back and make clear-eyed assessments of how it played out. But for now, both sides are convinced of their respective points of view.
The folks at N.J. Policy Perspective, who admittedly take a more liberal view of such matters, believe that the boost from $7.25 to $8.25 an hour – with a cost of living provision constitutionally mandated – will help New Jersey’s economy in the long run.
NJPP issued an analysis this week in which they used the most recent Census Bureau data to conclude that the increase in the minimum wage will generate more than $173 million in economic growth in 2014.
In addition, they predicted that possibly 1,300 jobs will be created as businesses expand.
Whatever figures NJPP is looking at, they are not the numbers the folks at the N.J. Business and Industry Association are seeing. (Mooney/PolitickerNJ)
North Jersey Catholics find hope in pope’s ‘new vibe’
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 25, 2013, 10:38 PM
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Pope Francis’ humility, inclusive tone and emphasis on helping the poor instilled a sense of new hope for Catholics attending Christmas Mass on Wednesday in Bergen and Passaic counties, especially after a difficult year of revelations about clergy sex abuse in North Jersey..
“We always have a pope who’s appropriate for the time he’s been in office,” said Monsignor Robert Harahan, pastor of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Wyckoff. “Now, we need a resurrection of basics of Christian life, commitment to the faith and service to people in need.”
Kwanzaa 2013 began on Thursday, December 26 and ends on Wednesday, January 1
Drop-off in Kwanzaa observations called disheartening
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 25, 2013, 10:53 PM
BY MONSY ALVARADO
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
The traditions of Kwanzaa will be celebrated this year in North Jersey with school assemblies, crafts at local libraries and get-togethers hosted by community groups.
However, local festivities at churches and other community sites to mark the holiday that celebrates and honors the heritage of African-Americans are harder to find, some community leaders said.
“I used to go to Kwanzaa parties by residents and some that were sponsored by churches and other civic organizations, but I don’t know, it’s not what it used to be, and it’s a little disheartening,” said Mack Cauthen, a former Englewood councilman and deacon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Englewood.
Anthony Cureton, president of the Bergen chapter of the NAACP, said he also has noticed a decline in Kwanzaa-related activities, and he said it likely is not practiced at home, either.
New ObamaCare fees coming in 2014
By S.A. Miller and Geoff Earle
December 25, 2013 | 5:45am
WASHINGTON — Here comes the ObamaCare tax bill.
The cost of President Obama’s massive health-care law will hit Americans in 2014 as new taxes pile up on their insurance premiums and on their income-tax bills.
Most insurers aren’t advertising the ObamaCare taxes that are added on to premiums, opting instead to discretely pass them on to customers while quietly lobbying lawmakers for a break.
But one insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, laid bare the taxes on its bills with a separate line item for “Affordable Care Act Fees and Taxes.”
The new taxes on one customer’s bill added up to $23.14 a month, or $277.68 annually, according to Kaiser Health News. It boosted the monthly premium from $322.26 to $345.40 for that individual.
The new taxes and fees include a 2 percent levy on every health plan, which is expected to net about $8 billion for the government in 2014 and increase to $14.3 billion in 2018.
ABRAKADOODLE’S WINTER WONDERLAND ART CAMP WITH RIDGEWOOD PARKS AND RECREATION DURING THE DECEMBER HOLIDAY RECESS
Children in Grades K-3 are invited to participate in a special art offering on Thursday and Friday, December 26 and 27, from 9:30 am to 12 noon each day. The program will be held at the Stable, 259 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood. All materials will be provided by Abrakadoodle for this creative winter fun to include drawing and painting Frosty and friends on canvas, designing a fabric winter scarf, learning to cut paper snowflakes and designing winter tiles. This cost is $100 (includes all materials). Registration is available online at Community Pass, www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass or in person/by mail to The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue. You may locate the registration flyer on the Recreation homepage, www.ridgewoodnj.net/recreation. Non-residents may register if space allows, an additional $10 fee will apply. For more information, or if special accommodations are needed, please call the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560.
WINTER RECESS LEGO CAMP WITH RIDGEWOOD PARKS AND RECREATION All pre-engineers in Grades K-6 are welcome to join Ridgewood Parks and Recreation for a great time with this terrific and versatile building system. The program will focus on building techniques, development of problem solving and critical thinking skills, and exposure to Engineering, Architecture and Physics vocabularies.
The program will be offered on Thursday and Friday, December 26 and 27 at the Community Center in Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue. Grades K-2 will meet from 9 am to 12 noon, Grades 3-6 from 1 to 4 pm each day. This cost is $75 which includes materials for on-site use only. Registration is available online at Community Pass, www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass or in person/by mail to The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue. You may locate the registration flyer on the Recreation homepage, www.ridgewoodnj.net/recreation. Non-residents may register if space allows, an additional $10 fee will apply. For more information, or if special accommodations are needed, please call the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560.
CHILDREN’S SHOW AT THE COMMUNITY CENTER “ROBERT THE GUITAR GUY”, DECEMBER 26th Ridgewood Parks and Recreation will welcome singer, guitarist, songwriter, educator and recording artist Robert Markowitz to entertain our youngest residents on Thursday, December 26th, 1 pm, at the Anne Zusy Youth Center, Village Hall, 131 North Maple Avenue. Children and parents alike will become totally involved in the make-believe world he creates in song. Tickets are $5 for all who attend (ages 2 and up). They may be purchased online at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass or in person at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue. For more information, or if special accommodations are needed, please call the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560.
First-class stamps to cost 49 cents as of Jan. 26
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 25, 2013, 10:34 AM
BY BRADLEY KLAPPER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mailing a letter is about to get a little more expensive.
Regulators on Tuesday approved a temporary price hike of 3 cents for a first-class stamp, bringing the charge to 49 cents a letter in an effort to help the Postal Service recover from severe mail decreases brought on by the 2008 economic downturn.
Many consumers won’t feel the price increase immediately. Forever stamps, good for first-class postage whatever the future rate, can be purchased at the lower price until the new rate is effective Jan. 26.
The higher rate will last no more than two years, allowing the Postal Service to recoup $2.8 billion in losses. By a 2-1 vote, the independent Postal Regulatory Commission rejected a request to make the price hike permanent, though inflation over the next 24 months may make it so.
The surcharge “will last just long enough to recover the loss,” Commission Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway said.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/national/First-class_stamps_to_cost_49_cents_as_of_Jan_26.html#sthash.hF1f6QpT.dpuf
$5M donation to fund new cardiac care center The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood
TUESDAY DECEMBER 24, 2013, 3:35 PM
BY COLLEEN DISKIN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
A $5 million gift from the Luckow Family Foundation will fund the opening of a new outpatient cardiac care center at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood.
The Michael R. Luckow Heart Center is expected to open in early 2014, hospital officials say.
Michael R. Luckow was the godson and nephew of Wyckoff resident Robert Luckow, who, along with his wife Audrey, have been long-time supporters of the hospital. A three-story pavilion in Paramus, which houses the hospital’s cancer center and same-day surgery center, is already named after the couple.
Michael’s father, who is also named Michael Luckow, is a longtime volunteer at Valley. The younger died at the age 44 from a heart attack in 2010, leaving behind three children.
“This center, named in memory of Michael, will ensure that our community has access to state-of-the art cardiac services in one convenient location,” said Robert Luckow in a statement. “It is a fitting tribute to a wonderful man taken from us at far too young an age due to heart disease.”
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/5M_donation_to_fund_new_cardiac_care_center_The_Valley_Hospital_in_Ridgewood.html#sthash.NtekSmMS.dpuf
fmr Bergen County Freeholder John Mitchell Visited the property last year
Groups fighting to save Ridgewood’s Schedler house
Tuesday December 24, 2013, 9:40 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
Members of the grassroots organization Ridgewood Eastside Development (RED) have been tackling the potential development of the Schedler property from various angles, with safety and planning taking the forefront. But the future of the site’s most notable feature, the 1830s-style Dutch wood frame home, is drawing extra attention from the group as well as others outside of the area.
Historians date the construction of the home’s main section to the 1830s, though the existing kitchen wing might have predated 1825. The four separate parcels at the Schedler tract, in fact, played site to a Revolutionary battle and have yielded artifacts from that time.
