Transparency

I probably should have woken up and hit the gym first thing, but the snow and the fact that I woke up at 8...well, I can hit it in the afternoon.  I am off, today, and, well, it is sort of nice, in all honesty.  Did some stuff around the house, approached the 2/3 point of the Jaffa book -- a look at the rhetoric of Lincoln, a little deep but not uninteresting -- and played mail and checkbook games.  Rah.

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-12-29/if-we-knew-what-things-cost-they-might-cost-less

I completely agree, especially when it comes to healthcare, but also note...

http://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-insulin-prices-20161220-story.html

This resonates for me, obviously, but I can think of two solutions:  One, the government can get involved, such as by denying patent extensions or subpeonaing them to death.  Two -- even better, I think, would be for a state to get involved and start doing this; I mean, Ohio would be an excellent choice...the example I would use is the North Dakota bank, which the state runs and helps keep other banks in line.  There is nothing to stop Ohio from putting in a few billion -- maybe get some minority investors -- to make insulin, death penalty drugs, and a host of other pharmaceuticals...I think it would be a lovely way for the state to put people to work, create a high-tech, science-based industry, and...better yet, shove down prices.

http://www.businessinsider.com/second-avenue-subway-cost-nyc-infrastructure-2016-12

Yet again...transparency...but also note that this stuff tends to happen in blue states where state and local officials -- often with federal assistance -- let this happen.  It needs to stop, and maybe, just maybe, Donald can do it.