“Free marketers” laud the efficiency of corporations over the inefficiency of government. I think there is no difference between the forms. What it depends on is management. A good mayor or governor can get some great things done. A lousy CEO or low-level corporate manager can make a real mess of things, such a mess as to cause death or injury.
What follows are my notes in trying to navigate vanguard.com to find a report that I was told today was available.
Vanguard site navigation
You sent me email that I had a report for Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund Admiral Shares Report, but you provide no direct link to it. I finally reread the message and find that there is a link to Fund Reports.
I clicked on that but did not find Vanguard High-Yield Corporate Fund Admiral Shares listed!
Oh, there is a little drop-down box in the upper right corner that toggles between regular and admiral shares.
I toggle to admiral and then I get "Please wait". I waited! I went downstairs to get a snack! I came back! The "Please wait" box was still present. I did something or another and got a page that asked me to log in. But I already had a page up that had me logged in! I am using that page, without logging in again, to send this message.
Off to try to get back to where I was ten or fifteen minutes ago.
Comment in satisfaction form
Recd msg today, 2016-09-20 of fund report for High Yield Corp Admiral. No link given in msg. Finally found my way to page with list of reports. Latest report is 2016-07-xx!?!?
Also added in another part of satisfaction request: hire some good human interface people.
Follow up after signing off ins satisfaction.
Downloaded report, but Vanguard was unhappy with my Adobe Reader XI. Report would not open, damaged. Version is 11.0.17, undated. Finder gives date modified as 2016Aug 5. Checking for updates gives “Already up to date”.
End of notes.
Showing posts with label private enterprise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label private enterprise. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Friday, December 19, 2014
Software glitch gives ambiguous headline
The following is from the Olive edition of the Duluth News Tribune, 2014-12-19:
leaderskilledinairstrikes Three top Islamic State
This is the headline given when one asks for an expanded view of an article.
Just what does is mean?
“Leader skilled in air strikes”
or
“Three top Islamic State leaders killed in airstrikes”
This kind of headline frequently appears in the Olive Editions of both the Duluth News Tribune and the Star Tribune. The Olive Edition is the newspaper as printed with the user benefit of expanding a page or a given article. Really neat when it works. But too often, a page is blank for several minutes.
The irony is that both the Duluth News Tribune and Star Tribune frequently have front page stories about problems that MNSure may be having. Granted, this garbled headline problem is a minor nuisance compared to delays in accessing MNSure, but...
leaderskilledinairstrikes Three top Islamic State
This is the headline given when one asks for an expanded view of an article.
Just what does is mean?
“Leader skilled in air strikes”
or
“Three top Islamic State leaders killed in airstrikes”
This kind of headline frequently appears in the Olive Editions of both the Duluth News Tribune and the Star Tribune. The Olive Edition is the newspaper as printed with the user benefit of expanding a page or a given article. Really neat when it works. But too often, a page is blank for several minutes.
The irony is that both the Duluth News Tribune and Star Tribune frequently have front page stories about problems that MNSure may be having. Granted, this garbled headline problem is a minor nuisance compared to delays in accessing MNSure, but...
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
VA: problem is not the government
Many have been raising complaints about service at many Veterans Administration centers, and many of those blame President Obama and his administration. But what critics overlook is that they got what they wanted: a smaller government.
How is there a smaller government? By outsourcing management to private companies. In the case of the Veteran Affairs Clinic in Hibbing, Minnesota, it is managed by Cincinnati-based Sterling Medical Associates. See “Elected leaders meet with Hibbing VA workers over scheduling concerns”. http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/283912201.html
According to many of these same critics the purpose of a company is to generate profits. In other words, good service is secondary. Some companies do provide good service as a means of increasing profits. Too many others will short-change good service if it means costs are cut and profits raised.
The sole purpose of government is to provide service. Sure, this gets side-tracked too, but it is far easier to bring that leviathan back to its purpose than it is to get profit-driven companies to put service first.
How is there a smaller government? By outsourcing management to private companies. In the case of the Veteran Affairs Clinic in Hibbing, Minnesota, it is managed by Cincinnati-based Sterling Medical Associates. See “Elected leaders meet with Hibbing VA workers over scheduling concerns”. http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/283912201.html
According to many of these same critics the purpose of a company is to generate profits. In other words, good service is secondary. Some companies do provide good service as a means of increasing profits. Too many others will short-change good service if it means costs are cut and profits raised.
The sole purpose of government is to provide service. Sure, this gets side-tracked too, but it is far easier to bring that leviathan back to its purpose than it is to get profit-driven companies to put service first.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
If government is so bad then why…
...do so many companies try to get government business?
Privately run prisons
Military contracts
Highway and bridge contracts
Private schools with government vouchers
Sports stadiums with tax money
And to boot they want government to protect their businesses with
Courts to adjudicate disputes among companies
Courts to protect copyrights with large judgments against individuals (what's this about tort reform?)
Enforcement of patents
Trade negotiations
Employees educated and trained at government expense
I'm sure you can think of many more things that governments want from government without paying any taxes to support their wish lists.
Like a little kid, they want the tooth fairy to leave a quarter under their pillow every morning. That's a quarter million or even a quarter billion.
Privately run prisons
Military contracts
Highway and bridge contracts
Private schools with government vouchers
Sports stadiums with tax money
And to boot they want government to protect their businesses with
Courts to adjudicate disputes among companies
Courts to protect copyrights with large judgments against individuals (what's this about tort reform?)
Enforcement of patents
Trade negotiations
Employees educated and trained at government expense
I'm sure you can think of many more things that governments want from government without paying any taxes to support their wish lists.
Like a little kid, they want the tooth fairy to leave a quarter under their pillow every morning. That's a quarter million or even a quarter billion.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Corporations are efficient…at hiding problems
Admittedly, many corporations are run quite well and are open about their products and their effect on customers and the environment.
But those who extol corporate efficiency over government efficiency should seriously consider the malfeasance and ineptitude of many companies like Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) whose Fukushima nuclear power complex is rapidly poisoning our planet. Talk about externalities being covered in a "free market", not!
Now the Japanese government has taken over management of the containment, citing the among other things TEPCO's "Whack-a-mole" approach, inadequate monitoring, and faulty record keeping. The president of TEPCO, Naomi Hirose said, "We are very grateful that we are getting government support". He didn't mention all the government subsidies to even get the facility started and running.
It's Adam Smith all over again: this "order… has deceived and oppressed the public."
See "TEPCO 'Whack-a-Mole' Means Government Takeover in Fukushima", Yuji Okada, Takashi Hirokawa, and Jacob Adelman, Bloomberg, 2013-08-26.
But those who extol corporate efficiency over government efficiency should seriously consider the malfeasance and ineptitude of many companies like Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) whose Fukushima nuclear power complex is rapidly poisoning our planet. Talk about externalities being covered in a "free market", not!
Now the Japanese government has taken over management of the containment, citing the among other things TEPCO's "Whack-a-mole" approach, inadequate monitoring, and faulty record keeping. The president of TEPCO, Naomi Hirose said, "We are very grateful that we are getting government support". He didn't mention all the government subsidies to even get the facility started and running.
It's Adam Smith all over again: this "order… has deceived and oppressed the public."
See "TEPCO 'Whack-a-Mole' Means Government Takeover in Fukushima", Yuji Okada, Takashi Hirokawa, and Jacob Adelman, Bloomberg, 2013-08-26.
Sunday, April 07, 2013
Health care or wealth snare
The following are notes I took this morning on a presentation on health care fraud titled "Lifting the veil: The Citizens Federation’s discoveries of financial mischief by insurance executives and regulators". It was given by Buddy Robinson of the Citizens Federation at the Lake Superior Freethinkers meeting.
His talk was based on "Who Is Minding the Store", a report by the Citizens Federation.
Added up numbers and found that non-profits took profits. Put into reserves which became excessive – twice the safe amount and four times the required amount.
Reserves went into investments which in turn increased reserves. Insurance companies didn't report this to Minnesota legislature.
Several Minnesota counties are dealing directly with the state for employees' health care. Some are now considering opening to public.
Strange things found about financial reporting. CEO compensation reported at half actual - Health Partners
Money from state increased at greater rate than payments to providers.
Overpayment reimbursement not in contracts but if fraud involved then overpayments can be recovered.
Insurance companies don't want to divulge payments to providers.
State allowed companies to police themselves.
Motivation? Medica contracts with former parent UHC, giving it 2/3 of income.
Insurance companies use government money to subsidize commercial policy losses.
Private insurance was to save money; it wound up costing a lot more.
Are HMOs too big to fail or jail?
End of my meeting notes.
So much for the efficiency of private enterprise. Efficiency (sometimes) in lining corporate management pockets!
I gave as my comment Adam Smith's "The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order…" See "The Invisible Adam Smith".
His talk was based on "Who Is Minding the Store", a report by the Citizens Federation.
Added up numbers and found that non-profits took profits. Put into reserves which became excessive – twice the safe amount and four times the required amount.
Reserves went into investments which in turn increased reserves. Insurance companies didn't report this to Minnesota legislature.
Several Minnesota counties are dealing directly with the state for employees' health care. Some are now considering opening to public.
Strange things found about financial reporting. CEO compensation reported at half actual - Health Partners
Money from state increased at greater rate than payments to providers.
Overpayment reimbursement not in contracts but if fraud involved then overpayments can be recovered.
Insurance companies don't want to divulge payments to providers.
State allowed companies to police themselves.
Motivation? Medica contracts with former parent UHC, giving it 2/3 of income.
Insurance companies use government money to subsidize commercial policy losses.
Private insurance was to save money; it wound up costing a lot more.
Are HMOs too big to fail or jail?
End of my meeting notes.
So much for the efficiency of private enterprise. Efficiency (sometimes) in lining corporate management pockets!
I gave as my comment Adam Smith's "The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order…" See "The Invisible Adam Smith".
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Who does "snail mail"?
Ever since the Internet started, many people have dubbed postal mail as "snail mail". It may be a cute phrase, but I think it is grossly unfair.
In general, despite the detractions of many, including Grover Norquist, the U.S. Postal Service gives very good service. Within a city and sometimes even within a state, deliveries are often the next day. If it takes longer, it is often because the sender didn't put it in the mail on day the letter was dated.
When I worked for Univac years ago, a standing joke was that one could put identical pieces of mail in a company mail tray and in the U. S. Postal Service box outside. If the mail was addressed to one's home address, the mail put in the box outside would arrive the next day and the mail put in the tray inside would arrive sometime later.
As for customer service, I've always found that carriers and counter clerks do all they can to provide cheerful and helpful service. No matter how long the line, counter clerks offer a choice of rates and always ask "Anything more?" At least this is true in Minnesota.
Today I saw a great irony in service. I ordered a small item from Amazon and was told it would be shipped via UPS. Today if arrived in my mail box!!??!! The postage section of the package was labeled "US Postage Paid/UPS Mail Innovations". In other words, the "superior service" private company is depending on the U. S. Postal Service to do its job efficiently.
In general, despite the detractions of many, including Grover Norquist, the U.S. Postal Service gives very good service. Within a city and sometimes even within a state, deliveries are often the next day. If it takes longer, it is often because the sender didn't put it in the mail on day the letter was dated.
When I worked for Univac years ago, a standing joke was that one could put identical pieces of mail in a company mail tray and in the U. S. Postal Service box outside. If the mail was addressed to one's home address, the mail put in the box outside would arrive the next day and the mail put in the tray inside would arrive sometime later.
As for customer service, I've always found that carriers and counter clerks do all they can to provide cheerful and helpful service. No matter how long the line, counter clerks offer a choice of rates and always ask "Anything more?" At least this is true in Minnesota.
Today I saw a great irony in service. I ordered a small item from Amazon and was told it would be shipped via UPS. Today if arrived in my mail box!!??!! The postage section of the package was labeled "US Postage Paid/UPS Mail Innovations". In other words, the "superior service" private company is depending on the U. S. Postal Service to do its job efficiently.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
A little known public-private co-operation
I was driving on some errands on Duluth's Central Entrance today. As I neared the traffic light at Arlington, I saw flashing red lights in my rear view quite some distance behind. I pulled over to the side which surprised the driver behind me. More and more drivers pulled over. An ambulance passed us all, went into the left side of the road to get around the cars stopped at the light.
Right after the ambulance passed, the light turned green and we all proceeded. We were still in sight of the ambulance as it neared the next traffic light and the light turned red. Also a little white light on the crossbar went on. The ambulance went through the intersection, then the little white light went out and the light turned green.
The city of Duluth has put special switches on many of the traffic lights. When an emergency vehicle approaches, either somebody points a special wand at the traffic light or the vehicle has some transponder. When this happens, the lights turn red for all traffic entering the intersection. After the emergency vehicle passes, the traffic signal resumes its normal cycle. I bet these special switches ain't cheap.
How is this public-private co-operation? The only ambulance service in Duluth is a private company. If the city hadn't put up the special switches, the ambulances would have to slow down a lot more at intersections, making their run time longer and more costly.
This is just one more example of the way government and taxes make a civilized and advanced society possible.
Right after the ambulance passed, the light turned green and we all proceeded. We were still in sight of the ambulance as it neared the next traffic light and the light turned red. Also a little white light on the crossbar went on. The ambulance went through the intersection, then the little white light went out and the light turned green.
The city of Duluth has put special switches on many of the traffic lights. When an emergency vehicle approaches, either somebody points a special wand at the traffic light or the vehicle has some transponder. When this happens, the lights turn red for all traffic entering the intersection. After the emergency vehicle passes, the traffic signal resumes its normal cycle. I bet these special switches ain't cheap.
How is this public-private co-operation? The only ambulance service in Duluth is a private company. If the city hadn't put up the special switches, the ambulances would have to slow down a lot more at intersections, making their run time longer and more costly.
This is just one more example of the way government and taxes make a civilized and advanced society possible.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Was Microsoft Office 2011 for the Mac written by the government
After a long wait for a replacement for Office 2008, which took away Virtual Basic macros, I was able to buy Office 2011, which supposedly put macros back.
Guess what? I'm not sure they work.
I put a simple one-line macro back in an Excel spreadsheet, and it worked. But, every time I typed in a cell, Excel would only except one number and then do nothing. I had to enter the data in the formula bar. At least the formula bar seems to be standard in Office 2011; in some update to Office 2008 the formula bar would keep disappearing.
I tried removing the macro and putting it back in again, and now the macro stops with some mysterious error.
If I opened the progress bar in Entourage (Office 2008), it would be there the next time I opened Entourage. In Outlook (Office 2011), it is never present the next time I open Outlook.
The installation process for Office 2011 ignored many of my preference from Office 2008.
Outlook changed the type font and size, and it only remembers the reset type font but not the reset size.
Outlook automatically includes the message I'm answering in my response. I had turned this off in Entourage; I have yet to find a preference for this in Outlook. I have to remember to remove the message in my response, and it is often below my writing area.
Outlook has put some of my old messages in the task list.
Outlook did not get my message categories right. It put "Family" messages in "Iphone, saved to".
Outlook changed the links to many of my Entourage replies. The linked messages sometime bear no relation to each other.
Gosh, with these errors and many others, Office 2011 must have been written by the government instead of an "efficient" private company.
To tell the truth, I do have some sympathy for the Microsoft programmers. When I gave up on my own software programming company, for my far simpler program I had a problem list far longer than the list above.
I do wish Microsoft had had a bit bigger budget on testing.
I also wish that I could just call or email someone with these problems. Instead, the user has to spend hours looking through forums to find a specific problem, which nobody may have raised yet. This is part of the larger trend in far too many enterprises to push costs on to the customers. See "Technology: A big bother we can't do without".
Guess what? I'm not sure they work.
I put a simple one-line macro back in an Excel spreadsheet, and it worked. But, every time I typed in a cell, Excel would only except one number and then do nothing. I had to enter the data in the formula bar. At least the formula bar seems to be standard in Office 2011; in some update to Office 2008 the formula bar would keep disappearing.
I tried removing the macro and putting it back in again, and now the macro stops with some mysterious error.
If I opened the progress bar in Entourage (Office 2008), it would be there the next time I opened Entourage. In Outlook (Office 2011), it is never present the next time I open Outlook.
The installation process for Office 2011 ignored many of my preference from Office 2008.
Outlook changed the type font and size, and it only remembers the reset type font but not the reset size.
Outlook automatically includes the message I'm answering in my response. I had turned this off in Entourage; I have yet to find a preference for this in Outlook. I have to remember to remove the message in my response, and it is often below my writing area.
Outlook has put some of my old messages in the task list.
Outlook did not get my message categories right. It put "Family" messages in "Iphone, saved to".
Outlook changed the links to many of my Entourage replies. The linked messages sometime bear no relation to each other.
Gosh, with these errors and many others, Office 2011 must have been written by the government instead of an "efficient" private company.
To tell the truth, I do have some sympathy for the Microsoft programmers. When I gave up on my own software programming company, for my far simpler program I had a problem list far longer than the list above.
I do wish Microsoft had had a bit bigger budget on testing.
I also wish that I could just call or email someone with these problems. Instead, the user has to spend hours looking through forums to find a specific problem, which nobody may have raised yet. This is part of the larger trend in far too many enterprises to push costs on to the customers. See "Technology: A big bother we can't do without".
Saturday, October 16, 2010
The difference between "greedy teacher unions" and "greedy CEOs"
Have you ever noticed that those who complain about "greedy teacher unions" rarely complain about CEO salaries and that those who complain about "greedy CEOs" rarely complain about teacher salaries?
Well, the teacher unions negotiate with school boards who have some idea about how much money the school district has. The school board members are elected in often competitive elections and serve only part-time for salaries they wouldn't accept for their real jobs.
On the other hand, CEOs often have a say in who sits on the boards of their companies. The boards are "elected" by the shareholders as a single slate chosen by the board. The board also decides on its pay, and in order to justify its six-figure salaries for showing up for five or six meetings a year, grants the CEO seven- or eight-figure compensation. Some companies even go into debt to maintain this compensation.
About the only way a "greedy teacher" can get a six-figure income for showing up five days a week is having a second job or writing a lot of books.
We used to be able to have very successful companies without six-figure boards and seven-figure executives. Would we be able to have successful companies without teachers?
Well, the teacher unions negotiate with school boards who have some idea about how much money the school district has. The school board members are elected in often competitive elections and serve only part-time for salaries they wouldn't accept for their real jobs.
On the other hand, CEOs often have a say in who sits on the boards of their companies. The boards are "elected" by the shareholders as a single slate chosen by the board. The board also decides on its pay, and in order to justify its six-figure salaries for showing up for five or six meetings a year, grants the CEO seven- or eight-figure compensation. Some companies even go into debt to maintain this compensation.
About the only way a "greedy teacher" can get a six-figure income for showing up five days a week is having a second job or writing a lot of books.
We used to be able to have very successful companies without six-figure boards and seven-figure executives. Would we be able to have successful companies without teachers?
Thursday, July 08, 2010
Don't knock government workers
A favorite stereotype of cartoonists and anti-government types is the city worker leaning on a shovel doing nothing.
As I type this, two men are in our neighbors' yard "doing nothing", sitting in or leaning against an idle backhoe. They work for a private contractor who is installing new sewer pipe. Why are they doing nothing? They have just filled a dump truck with dirt and it has gone off to put it someplace else and probably bring back gravel for the bottom of the trench. Meanwhile there is nothing to do for them but wait.
Should they get paid while waiting? Would you like to be required to be somewhere with nothing to do and not get paid for your time? I bet not.
Next time you see city workers doing nothing, carefully observe the situation. They may be waiting because they are waiting for more equipment or material. They may be waiting for advice on how to get around a problem. They may be waiting for supervisors to make a decision. I bet in most cases they would be working if they had all they needed to do the job.
As I type this, two men are in our neighbors' yard "doing nothing", sitting in or leaning against an idle backhoe. They work for a private contractor who is installing new sewer pipe. Why are they doing nothing? They have just filled a dump truck with dirt and it has gone off to put it someplace else and probably bring back gravel for the bottom of the trench. Meanwhile there is nothing to do for them but wait.
Should they get paid while waiting? Would you like to be required to be somewhere with nothing to do and not get paid for your time? I bet not.
Next time you see city workers doing nothing, carefully observe the situation. They may be waiting because they are waiting for more equipment or material. They may be waiting for advice on how to get around a problem. They may be waiting for supervisors to make a decision. I bet in most cases they would be working if they had all they needed to do the job.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Make up your mind: Is the government incompetent or not?
There are many who think no government can do anything right, from building roads to managing health care. They say, "Private enterprise can do things cheaper and better than government can."
However, some of these same people think the government is always right when it comes to war or crime. "The president knows more than we do about …" The people who warned the president that wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would be difficult and nearly intractable seemed to have known more than the president.
"Everybody knows they are guilty." Many authors have made a bundle on novels about falsely accused suspects. At least one organization has freed prisoners falsely accused of capital crimes. Now we have the government as being very competent to know who a terrorist is. Worse yet, many accused of terrorism or being suspected of being a likely terrorist are having difficulty defending themselves. See "Too Scary to Fly, Not Scary Enough to Arrest", David Kravets, Wired, 2010-06-30.
Some of these same people who think government is incompetent think the Constitution should be "strictly interpreted." If so, then isn't putting someone on a no-fly list depriving that person of liberty "without due process of law"? (Amendment V of the U.S. Constitution)
However, some of these same people think the government is always right when it comes to war or crime. "The president knows more than we do about …" The people who warned the president that wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would be difficult and nearly intractable seemed to have known more than the president.
"Everybody knows they are guilty." Many authors have made a bundle on novels about falsely accused suspects. At least one organization has freed prisoners falsely accused of capital crimes. Now we have the government as being very competent to know who a terrorist is. Worse yet, many accused of terrorism or being suspected of being a likely terrorist are having difficulty defending themselves. See "Too Scary to Fly, Not Scary Enough to Arrest", David Kravets, Wired, 2010-06-30.
Some of these same people who think government is incompetent think the Constitution should be "strictly interpreted." If so, then isn't putting someone on a no-fly list depriving that person of liberty "without due process of law"? (Amendment V of the U.S. Constitution)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Federal government has no corner on bureaucracy
In December I signed up for online bill pay for our cabin telephone. Last month I received an email that my online bill was ready, I went online and paid it. A few days later I received the paper bill in the mail. This situation was repeated this month
I emailed that phone company about it. The response was, "It takes 2 to 3 billing cycles before you stop receiving paper statements." Maybe I could paraphrase this as, "It takes 2,000 to 3,000 customer suggestions before a company stops wasteful practices."
See also "The Federal Government Has No Corner on Bureaucracy", Reader Weekly, 2008-01-03.
I emailed that phone company about it. The response was, "It takes 2 to 3 billing cycles before you stop receiving paper statements." Maybe I could paraphrase this as, "It takes 2,000 to 3,000 customer suggestions before a company stops wasteful practices."
See also "The Federal Government Has No Corner on Bureaucracy", Reader Weekly, 2008-01-03.
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