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Marginal Revolution

The Census Bureau, the authoritative source of health insurance data for more than three decades, is changing its annual survey so thoroughly that it will be difficult to measure the effects of President Obama’s health care law in the next report, due this fall, census officials said.The changes are intended to improve the accuracy of the survey, being conducted this month in interviews with tens of thousands of households around the country. But the new questions are so different that the findings will not be comparable, the officials said.An internal Census Bureau document said that the new questionnaire included a “total revision to health insurance questions” and, in a test last year, produced lower estimates of the uninsured. Thus, officials said, it will be difficult to say how much of any change is attributable to the Affordable Care Act and how much to the use of a new survey instrument.

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The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Blog by Mike Michalowicz for First Speaking Speed Have you ever been talking with someone and they speak so slllooowwwlllyyy, that you want to shake them? Or, have you ever been talking with someone who speaks so quickly that you want to shake them even more? The reason is that we feel the most comfortable with people who are the most like us. […] Read more The Key To Persuading Others ClickZ - News and expert advice for the digital marketer since 1 The importance of headlines should never be overlooked, a little time spent finding the right headline can make a lot of difference. A good headline means more people will click on your article wherever they see it, it ensures that the effort you spent in writing an article doesn’t go to waste, and it can also help your content to be picked up by search engines in the weeks and months after publishing. Here are a few areas to think about when writing headlines. It should be noted though, that its not about writing sensation headlines for short-term traffic gains, it’s about ensuring that, if you write a quality article, the headline works to sell it.

Instapundit OBAMA SAYS HE DOESN’T WATCH ENOUGH TV, AND THE NEW YORK TIMES TACITLY ADMITS IT CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THE MEMORY HOLE. I’m not sure which is more damning, the following passage… In his meeting with the columnists, Mr. Obama indicated that he did not see enough cable television to fully appreciate the anxiety after the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, and made clear that he plans to step up his public arguments. Republicans were telling Americans that he is not doing anything when he is doing a lot, he said.

Real Time Economics China’s GDP growth fell in the first quarter to its slowest pace since September of 2012, slipping to 7.4% on-year growth from 7.7% the in the fourth quarter. The increase was slightly higher than economists’ expectations of a 7.3% gain. Authorities released other data that suggested continuing weakness, but not at a quickening pace. Industrial production grew 8.8% on year in March below expectations of 9% but up from an average 8.6% expansion in January and February, combined to limit distortions from the Lunar New Year holidays. Retail sales were 12.2% higher on-year in March, up from 11.8% growth in January and February. Fixed-asset investment, meanwhile, slipped to 17.6% on year in the first quarter from 17.9% growth in the first two months.

What Did Canada Ever Do To Deserve The Likes Of Stephen Harper? Canadians are nice people. We work hard. We care about our neighbors both at home and abroad. A wonderful country made up of unique and distinct regions, cultures and peoples. Our citizens have roots in ever nation on the planet. We have fought in wars when the world was threatened and we have worked to ensure peace in volatile hot spots. The Career Doctor Blog W.J.S. writes: I am a middle-aged, formerly middle-management, middle-income man who has been downsized from a corporate position. I have been actively seeking employment and have been trying to network, send out resumes etc. I have had my resume professionally written, have a B.S. and an excellent career history with excellent reviews. All this considered, I am working as a security guard which I took as an interim job.

Cliff Pickover's RealityCarnival April 1st Submit a Link (04/01/13) "If someone gave you the entirety of Wikipedia from 100 years in the future for 10 minutes, what would you read?" (03/31/13) The broken walls of fractaloid Carthage, in the math-encrusted city beyond your dreams. Click to mag.

Tim Harford's Undercover Economist blog on the economics of everyday life Tuesday archive : If the price is right From 8th July, 2006. If you want to be rich, you can try to set up a brilliantly successful company. Or you can steal money. Trans-parency International, the corruption watchdog, has estimated that Mohamed Suharto embezzled up to $35bn when he was Indonesia’s president, a figure that is in the same league as the entrepreneurial fortunes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. On a humbler scale, we all face the same choice.

Related:  economics