ye7 promo code today
2025-01-13 2025 European Cup ye7 promo code today
News
ye7 promo code today
Last week, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot to death on a New York City sidewalk in what was clearly a thoroughly planned-out attack. Over the next few days, as authorities hunted for the killer, online progressives did not try hard to hide their delight that a millionaire health insurance executive like Thompson was killed. Social media was flooded with posts and videos—with different ranges of subtlety—suggesting that Thompson, at the very least, did not deserve to be mourned because of all the health care his company has denied to poor and working people. Progressives framed the shooting as an act of self-defense on behalf of the working class. Before the alleged killer was caught Monday, they promised not to snitch if they saw the shooter themselves and fantasized about a working-class jury nullifying all charges, leading to other CEOs getting gunned down with impunity if they oversaw price increases. The narrative that these online progressives clearly subscribe to and perpetuate is one where, in the United States, healthcare is a totally unfettered, unregulated industry; where—because of a total lack of government involvement—wealthy CEOs charge whatever prices they want and then refuse to provide customers what they already paid for without facing any bad consequences. The characterization of healthcare and health insurance companies charging absurdly high prices while treating their customers terribly without the risk of losing them is spot on. But the idea that what caused this was a lack of government involvement in the healthcare system is completely delusional. And this delusion conveniently removes all the responsibility progressives bear for the nightmare that is the US healthcare system. Today, healthcare is one of the most heavily government-regulated industries in the economy—right up there with the finance and energy sectors. Government agencies are involved in all parts of the process, from the research and production of drugs, the training and licensing of medical professionals, and the building of hospitals to the availability of health insurance, the makeup of insurance plans, and the complicated payment processes. And that is nothing new. The US government has been intervening heavily in the healthcare industry for over a century. And no group has done more to bring this about than the progressives. It really began, after all, during the Progressive Era, when the American Medical Association maneuvered its way into setting the official accreditation standards for the nation’s “unregulated” medical schools. The AMA wrote standards that excluded the medical approaches of their competitors, which forced half of the nation’s medical schools to close. The new shortage of trained doctors drove up the price of medical services—to the delight of the AMA and other government-recognized doctor’s groups—setting the familiar healthcare affordability crisis in motion. Around the same time, progressives successfully pushed for strict restrictions on the production of drugs and, shortly afterward, to grant drug producers monopoly privileges. After WWII, as healthcare grew more expensive, the government used the tax code to warp how Americans paid for healthcare. Under President Truman, the IRS made employer-provided health insurance tax deductible while continuing to tax other means of payment. It didn’t take long for employer plans to become the dominant arrangement and for health insurance to morph away from actual insurance into a general third-party payment system. These government interventions restricting the supply of medical care and privileging insurance over other payment methods created a real affordability problem for many Americans. But the crisis didn’t really start until the 1960s when Congress passed two of the progressive’s favorite government programs—Medicare and Medicaid. Initially, industry groups like the AMA opposed Medicare and Medicaid because they believed the government subsidies would deteriorate the quality of care. They were right about that, but what they clearly didn’t anticipate was how rich the programs would make them. Anyone who’s taken even a single introductory economics class could tell you that prices will rise if supply decreases or demand increases. The government was already keeping the supply of medical services artificially low—leading to artificially high prices. Medicare and Medicaid left those shortages in place and poured a ton of tax dollars into the healthcare sector—significantly increasing demand. The result was an easily predictable explosion in the cost of healthcare. Fewer and fewer people could afford healthcare at these rising prices, meaning more people required government assistance, which meant more demand, causing prices to grow faster and faster. Meanwhile, private health “insurance” providers were also benefiting from the mounting crisis. In a free market, insurance serves as a means to trade risk. Insurance works well for accidents and calamities that are hard to predict individually but relatively easy to predict in bulk, like car accidents, house fires, and unexpected family deaths. Health insurance providers were already being subsidized by all the taxes on competing means of payment, which allowed their plans to grow beyond the typical bounds of insurance and begin to cover easily-predictable occurrences like annual physicals. And, as the price of all of these services continued to shoot up, the costs of these routine procedures were becoming high enough to resemble the costs of emergencies—making consumers even more reliant on insurance. With progressives cheering on, the political class used government intervention to create a healthcare system that behaves as if its sole purpose is to move as much money as possible into the pockets of healthcare providers, drug companies, hospitals, health-related federal agencies, and insurance providers. But the party could not last forever. As the price of healthcare rose, the price of health insurance rose, too. Eventually, when insurance premiums grew too high, fewer employers or individual buyers were willing to buy insurance, and the flow of money into the healthcare system started to falter. The data suggests that that tipping point was reached in the early 2000s. For the first time since the cycle began back in the 1960s, the number of people with health insurance began to fall each year. Healthcare providers—who had seemingly assumed that the flow of money would never stop increasing—began to panic. Then came Barack Obama. Obama’s seminal legislative accomplishment—the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare—can best be understood as a ploy by healthcare providers and the government to keep the party going. Obamacare required all fifty million uninsured Americans to obtain insurance, and it greatly expanded what these “insurance” companies covered. Demand for healthcare shot back up, and the vicious cycle started back up again—which is why the bill enjoyed so much support from big corporations all across the healthcare industry. Before it was passed, economists were practically screaming that the Affordable Care Act would make care less affordable by raising premiums and healthcare prices while making shortages worse. Progressives dismissed such concerns as Reagan-era “free market fundamentalist” propaganda. But that is exactly what happened . Now, the affordability crisis is worse than ever as prices reach historic levels. And, because Obamacare brought American healthcare much closer to a single-payer system, the demand for healthcare far exceeds the supply of healthcare—leading to deadly shortages. There are literally not enough resources or available medical professionals to treat everyone who can pay for care. Also, the tax code and warped “insurance” market protect these providers from competition—making it almost impossible for people to switch to a different provider after their claims are unfairly denied. If it were simply greed, denying customers who already paid would be a feature in all industries. But it’s not. It requires the kind of policy protections progressives helped implement. And on top of all that, despite paying all this money, Americans are quickly becoming one of the sickest populations on Earth. This is one of the most pressing problems facing the country. A problem that requires immediate, radical change to solve. But it also requires an accurate and precise diagnosis—something that, this week, progressives demonstrated they are incapable of making. Related Articles Commentary | John Stossel: Your tax dollars not at work Commentary | After so many years of failure, time’s up for California Democrats Commentary | Vince Fong: We don’t need Newsom to lecture us. We need him to listen to us. Commentary | Deregulation rather than fossil fuel controls needed to fix California insurance market Commentary | The FBI has been political from the start The American progressive movement is responsible for providing the political class the intellectual cover they needed to break the healthcare market and transform the entire system into a means to transfer wealth to people like Brian Thompson. Now, they want to sit back, pretend like they’ve never gotten their way, that the government has never done anything with the healthcare market, and that these healthcare executives just popped up and started doing this all on their own—all so they can celebrate him being gunned down in the street. It’s disgusting. Brian Thompson acted exactly like every economically literate person over the last fifty years has said health insurance CEOs would act if progressives got their way. If we’re ever going to see the end of this century-long nightmare, we need to start listening to the people who have gotten it right, not those who pretend they are blameless as they fantasize online about others starting a violent revolution. Connor O’Keeffe ( @ConnorMOKeeffe ) produces media and content at the Mises Institute. This commentary is republished with permission from the Mises Institute.By Falles Kamanga BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost) -Malawi’s opposition parties have once again exhibited an astonishing level of ignorance regarding the vital functions of the National Registration Bureau (NRB). Their recent foray into the NFRA warehouse in Lilongwe, hired by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and housing crucial national identity cards for Malawians, underscores a reckless attempt to tarnish the reputation of the NRB and the current government. The opposition’s actions are not only misguided but reflect a blatant misunderstanding of the operational protocols and the significance of the NRB’s work in facilitating a transparent electoral process. By targeting this essential institution, the opposition reveals their willingness to sacrifice integrity for political expediency. Accusations from the opposition claiming that the current government through NRB is conspiring to rig the upcoming September 16,2025 general elections are not just unfounded; they are a desperate attempt to invoke fear and uncertainty among the electorate. This tactic is reminiscent of the tactics employed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), whose legacy of electoral malfeasance continues to haunt our political landscape. However, unlike the DPP, which thrived on deception and manipulation, the current MCP administration is committed to upholding democratic principles and ensuring that the electoral process remains above board. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. president, who was also the nation's oldest living president, died on Sunday at age 100. Prior to his life in politics, Carter was a peanut farmer and a U.S. Navy lieutenant. He was elected governor of Georgia in 1970 and U.S. president in 1976. James Earl Carter Jr. was born on Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, and was the eldest son of Bessie Lillian Carter and James Earl Carter Sr. Carter had three younger siblings: Gloria Spann, Ruth Stapleton and Billy Carter. Carter attended Plains High School in 1941 and briefly studied engineering at Georgia Southwestern College before transferring to the Naval ROTC program at Georgia Institute of Technology. Carter earned admission to the Naval Academy in 1943 and graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. Carter was assigned to serve on the USS Wyoming in 1946. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1952 before resigning in 1953 to manage his family farm following the death of his father. See Also: A History Of Businessmen In Politics Carter’s career in politics began when he served as chairman of the Sumter County Board of Education in the early 1960s. Within eight years, Carter became governor of Georgia, where he championed government efficiency, ecology and continued desegregation in the South. Carter defeated incumbent Republican Gerald Ford in the 1976 U.S. presidential election and remains the last Democrat to win the majority of the Southern states in the general election. During his one term as president, Carter created 8 million jobs and cut the budget deficit despite near-record inflation and interest rates. He established the Department of Education, strengthened Social Security, appointed record minority applicants to federal jobs, expanded national parks and combatted an energy crisis by proposing a plan to decrease the consumption of petroleum and increase the use of nuclear power. In addition, Carter championed human rights, helped bring peace between Egypt and Israel, completed a nuclear limitation treaty with the Soviet Union and improved diplomatic relations with China. As a presidential candidate and as president, Carter also supported the LGBTQ community at a time when few public officials did. For example, in 1978, Carter urged California voters to defeat Proposition 6 (aka the Briggs Initiative), which would have barred gays and lesbians from teaching in the state's public schools. Voters rejected the anti-gay and lesbian measure by more than 1 million votes. When Carter ran for reelection in 1980, he was the first Democrat to endorse a gay rights plank in the party's platform. A combination of domestic economic trouble, extremely high inflation and a hostage situation at the U.S. embassy in Iran weighed on Carter’s popularity among the U.S. electorate, and he was defeated by Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election. See Also: This Day In Market History: Jimmy Carter Blocks Iranian Oil Imports Following his stint in the White House, Carter focused his efforts on championing human rights causes around the world. Carter and his wife Rosalynn founded the Carter Center in 1982 with the goal of alleviating human suffering and advancing human rights initiatives. Over the years, the Carter Center has promoted and supported global democratic elections and worked to reduce and treat the spread of disease in impoverished regions. Carter was also well-known for his volunteer work supporting Habitat for Humanity. Twenty years after he left office, Carter earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts in peace, democracy, human rights, and social and economic development. Carter is the author of 30 books, including the 2006 New York Times Best Seller “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” Carter’s passion for music was portrayed in the 2020 documentary “Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President.” Carter is survived by his children Amy, Jack, Donnel and James Carter. His wife Rosalynn died on Nov. 19, 2023 at 96. Contributors: Elizabeth Balboa, Anthony Noto Photo: Jimmy Carter in 1977, Photo by Bernard Gotfyd, courtesy Library of Congress © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
PORTLAND, Maine — Honey, they shrunk the catalogs. While retailers hope to go big this holiday season, customers may notice that the printed gift guides arriving in their mailboxes are smaller. Many of the millions of catalogs getting sent to U.S. homes were indeed scaled down to save on postage and paper, resulting in pint-sized editions. Lands’ End, Duluth Trading Company and Hammacher Schlemmer are among gift purveyors using smaller editions. Some retailers are saving even more money with postcards. Lisa Ayoob, a tech-savvy, online shopper in Portland, Maine, was surprised by the size of a recent catalog she received from outdoor apparel company Carbon2Cobalt. “It almost felt like it was a pamphlet compared to a catalog,” she said. Catalogs have undergone a steady recalibration over the years in response to technological changes and consumer behavior. The thick, heavy Sears and J.C. Penney catalogs that brought store displays to American living rooms slimmed down and gave way to targeted mailings once websites could do the same thing. Recent postal rate increases accelerated the latest shift to compact formats. The number of catalogs mailed each year dropped about 40% between 2006 to 2018, when an estimated 11.5 billion were mailed to homes, according to the trade group formerly known as the American Catalog Mailers Association. In a sign of the times, the group based in Washington rebranded itself in May as the American Commerce Marketing Association, reflecting a broadened focus. But don’t expect catalogs to go the way of dinosaurs yet. Defying predictions of doom, they have managed to remain relevant in the e-commerce era. Retail companies found that could treat catalogs with fewer pages as a marketing tool and include QR and promo codes to entice customers to browse online and complete a purchase. Despite no longer carrying an extended inventory of goods, catalogs are costly to produce and ship. But they hold their own in value because of growing digital advertising costs, helping retailers cut through the noise for consumers barraged by multi-format advertisements, industry officials say. In an unlikely twist, notable e-commerce companies like Amazon and home goods supplier Wayfair started distributing catalogs in recent years. Amazon began mailing a toy catalog in 2018. That was the same year Sears, which produced an annual Christmas Wish Book starting in 1933, filed for bankruptcy. Fans of printed information may rejoice to hear that apparel retailer J.Crew relaunched its glossy catalog this year. Research shows that the hands-on experience of thumbing through a catalog leaves a greater impression on consumers, said Jonathan Zhang, a professor of marketing at Colorado State University. “The reason why these paper formats are so effective is that our human brains haven’t evolved as fast as technology and computers over the past 10 to 20 years. We retain more information when we read something on paper. That’s why paper books remain relevant,” Zhang said. “The psychology shows that three-dimensional, tactile experiences are more memorable.” Pint-sized presentations still can work, though, because the purpose of catalogs these days is simply to get customers’ attention, Zhang said. Conserving paper also works better with younger consumers who are worried about the holiday shopping season’s impact on the planet, he said. Postal increases are hastening changes. The latest round of postage hikes in July included the category with the 8.5-by-11-inch size that used to be ubiquitous for the catalog industry. Many retailers responded by reducing the size of catalogs, putting them in a lower-cost letter category, said Paul Miller, executive vice president and managing director of the American Commerce Marketing Association. One size, called a “slim jim,” measures 10.5 by 5.5 inches. But there other sizes. Some retailers have further reduced costs by mailing large postcards to consumers. Lands’ End, for one, is testing new compact formats to supplement its traditional catalogs. This year, that included folded glossy brochures and postcards, along with other formats, Chief Transformation Officer Angie Rieger said. Maine resident Ayoob said she understands why retailers still use catalogs even though she no longer is a fan of the format. These days, she prefers to browse for products on the internet. “Everybody wants eyeballs. There’s so much out there — so many websites, so many brands,” Ayoob said. Targeting customers at home is not a new concept. L.L. Bean was a pioneer of the mail-order catalog after its founder promoted his famous “Maine Hunting Shoe” to hunting license holders from out-of-state in 1912. The outdoor clothing and equipment company based in Freeport, Maine, is sticking to mailing out regular-sized catalogs for now. “By showcasing our icons, the catalog became an icon itself,” L.L. Bean spokesperson Amanda Hannah said. “Even as we invest more in our digital and brand marketing channels, the catalog retains a strong association with our brand, and is therefore an important part of our omni-channel strategy, especially for our loyal customers.” Get local news delivered to your inbox!How are states spending opioid settlement cash? KFF Health News is tracking
Two down, two to go. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading At the start of December, Justin Tatum stated that his Illawarra Hawks could win their four upcoming challenging games against the Perth Wildcats, Melbourne United, Perth and Sydney Kings. On Friday night, the Hawks made it two from two after a breakthrough win over United in Melbourne. The Hawks' 106-93 win at John Cain Arena improved their win/loss record to a league-leading 10-5. As importantly, the performance showed Tatum's team was the real deal and a genuine championship contender. The Hawks' coach was also happy to pick up just his second win over United in nine outings in Melbourne. But Tatum said the round 12 win wasn't a top-tier win as United were missing key players Chris Goulding and Rob Lee. He was, however, happy to see his team play well for four quarters and fight through adversity. "I'm happy how they trusted each other out there. I'm happy how they encouraged each other not to get caught up in anything and just worry about the game. So I was proud of the growth of my group," Tatum said. 'It's a tough place to play. We have not had so much success since I've been the head coach here, but this is not playoffs; this is regular season for us to get better, so I don't really put it as a top-tier win; it's just something to help us grow as a group." Hawks' co-captain Sam Froling was fantastic for Tatum's team, finishing with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds. In his previous six outings against United, Froling averaged 18 points on 71.9 per cent shooting. Asked why he always did well against United, Froling praised his long-time partner in crime, Tyler Harvey, who also had a big game, contributing 31 points, seven rebounds and four assists, for freeing him up to shine. "It's the beauty of having Tyler on this team. So much focus goes to him, Trey, now, we've got shooters everywhere. They back their bigs in a one-on-one matchup, and I back myself in that matchup, and it tends to work," he said. "The first three minutes, we didn't get some great shots, and I told the guys, to Tyler, get me one, and he straight in. "I think it's a good outlet when we're not getting great shots; you can roll it in. I think I'm smart enough to make the right play and get us a good shot. And many of those shots in the third quarter were me going up low; there was no help. "That's why we have so many good shooters." Froling added the Hawks took a lot of confidence out of beating United convincingly and leapfrogging them to the top of the table. "We come into this game confident with a good game plan. We backed ourselves, and everyone was talking about the record, and we pushed that to the side. This is another game, a team we can beat, and we went out there and executed the game plan and got that." Tatum added that the Hawks weren't overly concerned with recognition and were focused on gaining as many wins as possible. "I think winning speaks for everything, speaks volumes. I think the more games we can win, the more respect we'll get. "We haven't been at the top of the echelon in the league for a while. And so what we're doing is probably surprising the league, but every day, we come to practice and work, and we're not surprising ourselves; we're trying to get to the point where we see our potential together. "We are just going to keep winning." The Hawks' next chance to win is against the Perth Wildcats in Wollongong on Sunday, December 22. Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure. Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure. More from Basketball Newsletters & Alerts DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Get the latest property and development news here. WEEKLY Find out what's happening in local business. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily!Juan Soto gets free luxury suite and up to 4 premium tickets for home games in $765M Mets deal