Rich countries spend between 9-10% of GDP on health care.  The US is the outlier on the high end at 16%

Us spend 16-17% of GDP; OECD average is 9%.  the puzzling thing is that most industrialized countries have close to 100% coverage while the US is about 85% even though we spend almost twice as much.  Something is broken.  Reform efforts focus on expanding coverage.  The real problem is the need to cut spending.  If the question is why the US is losing its ability to com

Interesting article that stand the usual pronouncements of our national wonderfulness in innovation on its head.

The Failed Promise of Innovation in the U.S.

During the past decade, innovation has stumbled. And that may help explain America’s economic woes

By Michael Mandel

The July 23 entry reported two new studies that found that immigrants did not form a disproportionate share of high tech entrepreneurs.

If health care eats 17% of the GDP in the US (probably 2 or 3 times the world average) and if health care eats 20% of the Federal budget (on top of 32% for social security and other mandatory spending), how much can we seriously expect to invest in innovation to increase productivity?