Florida County Spends Tens Of Thousands On Ambulance For Obese Patients « CBS Tampa

Florida County Spends Tens Of Thousands On Ambulance For Obese Patients « CBS Tampa

EXCERPTS:

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS Tampa) —

"Central Florida News 13 reports that the ambulance was purchased after emergency responders had to transport at least two dozen patients who weighed more than 500 pounds last year.

“With some of these morbidly obese patients, we have to send more firefighters just to lift and to move the patient. So once they’re in and we get them to the hospital, someone has to be at the hospital to unload them,” one Orange County fire official told News 13. “That’s pulling a lot of resources from emergency calls just to do that.”

"Orange County paid $23,000 alone for the lift gate and stretcher and the stretcher is 10 inches wider than the average one.

“In the past you’d have to get five, six, seven firefighters to physically lift the patient in. It increases the chance that something could happen to the patient,” a fire official told News 13. “It also greatly increases the chance that something could happen with back injuries within fire services.”

On failing to see the obvious

10 Things Minimum Wage Haters Don't Want To Admit

It is amazing the extent to which people can fail to see the obvious when it conflicts with what they want to believe. In this list of arguments for raising the minimum wage, compiled by a proponent and published at a well-known media site,

1. Compare point 3 with point 4.
2. Compare point 5 and point 10.

See any problems here?

$175,000 Mattress Sold as 'Investment' in Good Sleep

$175,000 Mattress Sold as 'Investment' in Good Sleep
EXCERPTS:

"British mattress manufacturer Savoir Beds this week is launching a limited edition "Royal Bed" with a $175,000 price tag at Kensington Palace in London. Savoir describes its mattress as "an investment" in your well being – presumably since "buying" a $175,000 mattress would just seem ridiculous.

"Ultimately, a "great night's sleep" is what it's all about, said Savoir Beds' managing director Alistair Hughes. "It's an investment that pays off every morning of your life."

"Each mattress will require more than 700 hours of labor. It will contain "masses and masses" of curled Latin American horse tail, "mountains" of pure Mongolian cashmere, and enough specially woven silk to be strung from New York to Miami and almost halfway back again (more than 1,600 miles worth).


"Only 60 of the beds will be made."

"The mattress is fully customizable in size and support – each side of the bed can be made with a different firmness to make both you and your significant other as comfortable as possible.

"Of course it's a massive amount of money and it will only appeal to the very lucky and very wealthy," Hughes acknowledged. But "if you're buying Gucci handbags, a suit from Saville Row or a Rolls Royce, you're looking for the best. And you spend a third of your life in bed."

"And consider this: the bed, mattress and box spring are guaranteed to last at least 25 years (although you'll have to replace the topper every 5-7 years for $5,000-$10,000).
If you divide $175,000 by 365 nights for 25 years, it comes out to less than $20 per night.
Sounds completely reasonable.

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"To not be afraid of conflict, we have to see conflict as thinking"

Margaret Heffernan: Dare to disagree | Video on TED.com

Greek unemployment reaches record 26 percent

News from The Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- "Unemployment in debt-crippled Greece rose to a record of 26 percent in the last quarter of 2012, as austerity measures combined with a deep recession took a harsh toll on the workforce.

"The figures were worse than the previous quarter's 24.8 percent, and 20.7 percent a year earlier.

The national statistical authority said Thursday that 1.29 million people were out of a job in October-December 2012. In the under 25 age group, unemployment was 57.8 percent.

"The rate for women was 29.7 percent, compared with 23.3 percent for men.

"Greece's economy has been falling apart over the past three years, savaged by its financial crisis. The country is surviving on international rescue loans, released on condition it keeps up a tough program of spending cuts and tax hikes.

Macroeconomics in two pictures (from Greg Mankiw)

This is really good. Macro policy summarized in two pictures: