free market

Amidst Detroit Banktruptcy, Spontaneous Order and Market Anarchy Flourish

"One needs to look no further than the city of Detroit to find the spontaneous order, civic cooperation, and peaceful market forces that take over when government simply isn’t around. Dale Brown and his organization, the Threat Management Center (TMC), have helped fill in the void left by the corrupt and incompetent city government. Law enforcement isn’t the only 'essential government service' that the private sector is taking over and flourishing in. The Detroit Bus Company (DBC) is a private bus service that began last year and truly shows a stark contrast in how the market and government operates." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmidst Detroit Banktruptcy, Spontaneous Order and Market Anarchy Flourish

Walk-in clinics gaining popularity

"Nontraditional healthcare sites such as urgent care centers and retail clinics are gaining popularity with consumers looking to avoid the long waits and high prices of the doctor's office or emergency department. The trend is expected to continue as the Affordable Care Act's full implementation looms and concerns grow over a shortage of primary care physicians. Visits to the country's three largest retail clinics — CVS Caremark's MinuteClinic, Walgreen's Take Care Health and Kroger's Little Clinic — have skyrocketed in recent years. Their popularity, a report found, is due to their convenience, accessible hours and low cost. The average cost of a visit is about $78." Continue reading →

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A Rare – and Encouraging – Glimpse at How a Free Market Could Work in the Health Sector

"I’ve already cited the case of a North Carolina doctor who decided to use market-based pricing, and I’ve shared a very powerful video from Reason TV about a hospital in Oklahoma that’s doing the same thing. Now we have a free market revolution by a doctor in Maine: Dr. Michael Ciampi took a step this spring that many of his fellow physicians would describe as radical. The family physician stopped accepting all forms of health insurance. In early 2013, Ciampi sent a letter to his patients informing them that he would no longer accept any kind of health coverage, both private and government-sponsored. He posted his prices on the practice’s website." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Rare – and Encouraging – Glimpse at How a Free Market Could Work in the Health Sector

Is This the Future of Bitcoin?

"When it comes to Bitcoin, the fast-growing 'digital currency,' there are good ideas, bad ideas and pie-in-the-sky ideas galore. All of these were on display Thursday night when more than 300 Bitcoin investors and entrepreneurs gathered at Microsoft’s (MSFT) sleek, marble-lined offices in New York City to show off their Bitcoin-based business ideas, munch on free pizza, and ruminate on the future of virtual currency in the company of other enthusiasts. Bitcoin has inspired a range of potential businesses, from physical Bitcoin ATMs to trading platforms, to services that pay videogamers in Bitcoins." Continue reading →

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Small Utah ISP firm stands up to ‘surveillance state’ as corporations cower

"Xmission, an independent company based out of one office in Salt Lake City, Utah, has spent nearly two decades protecting its customers’ privacy as the National Security Agency, Department of Justice, and prosecutors have ramped up pressure on internet service providers (ISPs). Owner Pete Ashdown told RT that every data collection request stops at his desk, since he is the sole proprietor of Xmission. At a larger company, a panel of stockholders would bow to government pressure, he added. 'It’s pretty basic for me. Most of their requests are not constitutional. They’re not proper warrants so I turn them back,' he said." Continue reading →

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Shanghai sees global status via new free-trade zone

"Under the plan, endorsed by the State Council on Wednesday, Shanghai is expected to allow companies to freely convert foreign exchange within specified areas of the city while allowing free capital and commodity inflow for the entire city. Mayor Yang Xiong said Shanghai’s future hinged on the free trade zone, which could give the city a leg-up over rivals. Shanghai’s ambitions to become the nation’s economic engine, leapfrogging Hong Kong as the dominant financial hub in the region are an open secret. The long-awaited policy incentive granted by the cabinet will only add heft to the city’s attempts to attract global capital and talent." Continue reading →

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Austrian Steelmaker Offshores Production To … Texas

"Like many titans, the company is under pressure to increase profits while revenues are declining. Hence the need to cut costs. One solution: offshoring to cheap countries! The company announced in its annual report that it would undertake 'its largest ever foreign investment – construction of a direct reduction plant,' not in cheap countries like China or Indonesia, but in Texas. The plant will employ 150 people. The price of natural gas in the US is 'about one quarter of the price in Europe,' the company conceded. It would allow the company to produce low-cost HBI for its plants in Linz and Donawitz and ensure 'their competitiveness in the long term.'" Continue reading →

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Health Care Non-Insurance

"Health care insurance premiums in 2014 will rise 100%. Some will rise 400%. Premiums will not rise for my wife. She is exempt from ObamaCare, yet she has no health insurance. She has health care non-insurance. She pays $85 a month for a program of shared liability for sickness. It's not insurance, legally. It is not regulated by the government. If she has to get an operation or major medical service, she will not have to pay. For an extra $2 a month, she is in a supplemental program in case the bill goes above $125,000. It does not pay for office visits or prescriptions." Continue reading →

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Manhattan Law Firm Accepts Bitcoin

"On July 1, Nesenoff & Miltenberg LLP ('N&M') made the decision to give its clients the option to pay legal fees in Bitcoin. The full-service commercial law firm is among a few that offer legal services for businesses in the Bitcoin space. Led by attorney Marco A. Santori, who also serves as Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation’s Regulatory Affairs Committee, Nesenoff & Miltenberg LLP is uniquely positioned to offer exclusive insight into the complex and evolving legal and regulatory issues surrounding Bitcoin commerce." Continue reading →

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300 Year Old Russian Watch Factory Raketa Accepts Bitcoins

"Just this week, Russia’s historical watch factory Raketa, began accepting Bitcoins. Raketa was founded in 1721 by Peter the Great and is the oldest factory in Russia. For almost 300 years, Raketa, formerly known as Petrodvorets Watch Factory, has produced and sold wristwatches to individuals in Russian and those around the world. Petrodvorets Watch Factory was renamed Raketa in 1961 to honor the World’s first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Yuri was the first human to travel to outer space." Continue reading →

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