50 – number of driverless car companies in CA

0 – number of applications

No driverless cars in California? Why April 2 won’t make history

One basic philosophy of the Graham-Cassidy bill was to provide decision making authority closer to where the impacts are felt, i.e., the states. Devolution of power is nice, but beware unintended consequences.

There are lots of decisions that states can make that create entirely different markets separated just by state borders. These differences could lead to migration of underserved people from one state to another and break markets.

Let’s say California maintains the ACA’s pre-existing provisions. And suppose Arizona ends up allowing insurers to charge different prices based on condition.  That will leave Arizona with a significant underserved, higher-cost population, some of whom will find California a tempting state to move to. Leading to ever increasing cost pressure on California’s medical system and higher premiums. Some 25% of the U.S. population are supposed to have pre-existing conditions. So, there is significant risk for these kinds of market instabilities.

Maybe the dream of a border wall does not end with the national border. Do states now decide to have similar walls to protect their insurance markets from collapse?

I guess my main concern is that heath care is a big, complex problem. It is one-sixth of the U.S. economy, or about the same size as the Federal Government. You just cannot rush a bill impacting so much of the U.S. without knowing much about the details or the consequences, which I figure is true of the mindset for almost all the senators, representatives and President.

I was just looking to see how California (home state) did when it came to women’s wages, as compared to men. Really, I was looking to see if there was a connection between women’s representation in state legislatures (a very good thing) and the wage gap. Nothing detailed, just simple armchair empiricism, which is the worst (best?) kind of empiricism. And found nothing obvious.

Then I came across a Gallup poll on Donald Trump’s approval rating by state. So, just decided to plot one against the other. And found a correlation of almost 70%. Yikes!! It can’t mean anything right? In any case, here it is.  Looks pretty persuasive.  Of something.

On the original topic, California does alright.  If, we are grading on a curve.  What’s up with Delaware?!?  And, shame on you Wyoming.

Sources: National Women’s Law Center; Gallup