Should employers refuse to hire smokers and overweight applicants?
July 2nd, 2008
Depending on whose statistics you believe, healthcare costs have increasing by 8~12% each year over the past five years. Whether the increase has been more like 8% or more like 12%, one thing is for certain: employee healthcare is now a major cost factor for any business.
Many employers have begun to require their workers to bear more of these costs. Employee contributions to health insurance premiums have risen in recent years. This trend will likely continue.
For some workers, the cost sharing has become more personal……
- For more commentary, visit www.edwardtrimnell.com
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Offshore drilling and market psychology
June 29th, 2008
A few clarifications about this podcast:
>When I say “Alaska” I specifically mean “Anwar.” I know that there is already drilling in other areas of Alaska.
>The current perception of supply instability in the oil market is largely due to the fact that most oil comes from unstable countries like Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. (For example, every other week the Nigerian oil lines are disrupted by armed attacks.) The psychology of the market could be improved if more oil were tapped in the United States—even if the availability of this oil was a number of years in the future.
>We must remember that any conversion to solar/wind/etc.-based power is also a number of years in the future. For the time being, we are stuck with an oil-based energy paradigm.
>Our energy policies need to balance the urgency for stabilizing the market in the short-term with the longer term need to break our “addiction” to fossil fuels.
>For more commentary on this and other issues visit www.edwardtrimnell.com
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More on Chinese language education in the U.S.
June 27th, 2008
Although the Chinese government and the U.S. are at odds over various issues, Beijing is apparently supportive of U.S. efforts to teach Mandarin in more American schools. (In fact, the Chinese government has an agency specifically devoted to promoting Chinese language education abroad.)
It is encouraging to see just how far Chinese language education in the U.S. has progressed in a few short years. American high school students can now take an AP Chinese language exam. (Over 3,000 American students took this exam in 2007.) Mandarin is no longer an educational novelty; it has moved into the mainstream…..
For more commentary, visit www.edwardtrimnell.com
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This time I have to side with Obama
June 24th, 2008
Yes, it pains me. But the spirit of truth and my personal integrity demand it. Bear with me, please. This is more than a little painful for me.
Focus on the Family founder James Dobson has accused Barack Obama of a “fruitcake interpretation” of scripture for the following statement:
“I do make the argument that it’s important for folks like myself, who think faith is important, that we try to translate some of our concerns into universal language so we can have open and vigorous debate rather than having religion divide us.” —Barack Obama
What the Big O was trying to say is that personal interpretations of scripture have no place in political discourse about specific issues. In other words, we should frame political arguments in terms of the law, and ultimately the Constitution.
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For more commentary visit www.edwardtrimnell.com
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The unification of Japan
June 23rd, 2008
- This broadcast takes a brief look at the most influential warlords in Japanese history: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
- A brief look at life in Japan under the Tokugawa shoguns.
- For more information visit www.Japanese123.com
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China and oil prices / Obama and hijabs
June 20th, 2008
Part 1: China and oil prices
The Saudis and other oil producers still have the most influence in global crude markets, but the Chinese aren’t far behind.
For years Beijing has artificially pumped up oil demand through government subsidies of gasoline and diesel fuel consumed inside China. (The Chinese government’s objective, of course, was to underwrite industrial growth.)
Yesterday the Chinese government announced that it will discontinue gas and diesel prices by ending subsidies. Oil markets reacted immediately: crude fell by more than $5.
Whether you are fan of China or fearful of it, there is no denying that China now wields power in areas that we would never have imagined a mere ten years ago.
Part 2: Obama campaign: no hijabs, please
Those voters who believe that Barack Obama can simultaneously heal the sick, walk on water, and balance the national budget were disappointed recently. When two Muslim women clad in hijabs sat behind the Great One’s podium at a televised speaking event in Detroit, Obama campaign volunteers shuffled them out of view before the cameras started rolling.
For more commentary, visit www.EdwardTrimnell.com
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Oil politics: exploration or conservation?
June 18th, 2008
The answer is both…This broadcast examines President Bush’s call to open up additional sections of America’s coastlines to oil exploration. Topics include:
>Why solving the energy crisis will require a mix of traditionally conservative and liberal measures.
>How President Bush’s proposal could lower oil prices in the short run.
>Why the price of crude is not just an economic issue—but a national security issue as well.
For more commentary visit www.edwardtrimnell.com
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Obama’s “knives vs. guns” comment
June 16th, 2008
I have been trying to keep an open mind about this whole Barack Obama thing, I really have. But every time this guy opens his mouth, he gives me reason to think: This character is just not presidential material.
Obama’s latest sound bite features talk right out of one of those late 80s movies about the Bloods and the Crips. (I am specifically thinking about the 1988 movie Colors, starring Sean Penn and Robert Duvall.)
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For more commentary, visit www.EdwardTrimnell.com
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Back from Japan….
June 14th, 2008
If you have been wondering where I’ve been, I have just gotten back from a two-week business trip to Japan. I am exhausted and glad to be back. My return trip was quite eventful….
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Visit www.EdwardTrimnell.com
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How the media spun Hillary’s victory in WV
May 18th, 2008
The anointment of Barack Obama continues within the Democratic Party, despite evidence that he would be less electable than Mrs. Clinton in the general election.
On Tuesday, May 13, Clinton scored a blowout against Obama in West Virginia, defeating the Illinois Senator by a wide margin of 67% to 26%.
The media felt obliged to report this, but they didn’t dwell on it for long. Nor did many of them stop to consider the unthinkable: that the Obama personality cult may be losing steam.
For more commentary, visit www.edwardtrimnell.com
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