Justification, lying and some news

How often do you lie? You might say that you do not; but, how often do you justify your actions with the excuse that you could have had a good reason for doing something. For about the past 40 years the schools have taught kids that they don't have pure reasons for doing things and that our decisions are made based on a variety of factors. That is not quite true, in fact we tend to usually have a single reason that tips the balance in most of our decisions.

What we have been teaching in schools is that IF we could have considered something or even did in our decision making then we can take credit for that being our reason. This is what we call justification and it quickly turns into lying. I see it all the time, people want to do something, consider all the possibilities and then claim the one that seems the best intended; but, in reality their decision was tipped on what was best for them. You know when you do something that has a harsh effect on someone else and then you tell them that it is best for everyone. That is justification.

Yahoo - Reuters - Feeling tipsy? New apps read blood alcohol levels, hail a taxi. A new phone app can tell people when you are drunk. How many ways can this be used, hmmmm, lets think about that. Lets say for insurance purposes, a bar can get a liquor license so long as they make sure that no underagers are allowed to drink and they cannot let people drive away who are above the legal limit. Maybe that bar might require you to test your alcohol level.

Yahoo - The Canadian Press - Chocolate companies to pay $23.2M in chocolate price-fixing class-action lawsuit. If there is a market, they will find a way to rig it. This is not capitalism and it isn't socialism, it is corruption.

Yahoo - SPYETF - Hank Paulson Warns of Another Financial Crisis. My question is what took him so long? Second question is why should we believe anything he says when he has been so very wrong in the past? Perhaps he is like a broken clock, he is right twice a day.

CNBC - Priced to sell: Sweet Obamacare deals for young. I want to try and explain something about what "Obamacare" does. If your company provides you health insurance, it is not based on your age that much. My organization pays the same for me as for a young kid, it is a per employee price. Now, these insurance exchanges operate differently, you are priced based on age. It comes down to spreading costs. Insurance companies use actuarials and if you keep employees for 30 years then the keep the price the same by spreading it. I think this is one of the hardest things for me to explain and I don't know that I am doing a great job of it.

Let me use life insurance as an example. When you sign up, they consider your age and health. The amount you pay is based upon their guess as to how long you will live and the return they will get on their investments in the meantime. If I get the insurance when I am young and healthy, the monthly cost will be cheap because they expect to collect from me for decades and inflation means that when my family does collect the amount will be minimal compared to what it was originally.

Lets get back to medical care. If I pay insurance for 30 years, odds are that I will need more medical assistance when I am older than when I was young. If I am a cautious person then it would make more sense to pay more when I am younger on a policy that will remain basically the same, one that benefits me for staying with them. It is like paying the minimum on your credit card, it is stupid and you never pay off the principal. They are creating a system that means you are less likely to have good medical care when you are most likely to need it.

Just to be a jerk, I shall end this with a question. What does solid mean?