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Thursday, September 09, 2004 |
Serbia wises up
Good news! Serbia has retracted their retraction of evolution from their schools. The Serbian government has reversed an order to ban Charles Darwin's theory of evolution from schools, following widespread criticism from scientists. "I have come here to confirm Charles... [The Panda's Thumb]
9:37:18 PM Permalink
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woops.
well, this doesn't look too good.
Health-insurance premiums paid by U.S. employers rose 11.2 percent this year, five times as fast as wages, according to a study that may reinforce voters' concerns over rising medical costs.
Rates have soared 59 percent since President George W. Bush took office in 2001, researchers at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust said. Health insurance now costs an average of $9,950 for families and $3,695 for individuals, the survey showed.
Workers are paying higher fees for medical care even as their wages fail to keep pace with premiums. Bush promotes an $89 billion plan that would cut health-care costs by using tax credits and limiting malpractice awards against doctors. Democratic challenger John Kerry is campaigning on a $653 billion proposal to expand government programs and help employers cover large medical claims.
``It's these out-of-pocket costs that's driving voter concern in this election,'' said Drew Altman, Kaiser's president, at a Washington news conference. ``People don't pay a percentage of GDP. They're paying real dollars.''
The increase was the fourth in a row to exceed 10 percent and followed a 13.9 percent jump in 2003. Last year's gain was the biggest since a 14 percent increase in 1990. [Sisyphus Shrugged]
2:53:07 PM Permalink
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© Copyright 2004 Steve Michel.
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