Economist articles on the US

[dieseltaylor]

In a generally favourable article on business in the US a couple of things stood out:

a]The legal lottery system. Litigation cost the country $252billion in 2007 which is about 2% of GDP - or double any other country. A figure derived from the Pacific Research Inst. puts the cost at $865billion. They include indirect costs such as products never launched. Out of the figure about 66% is wasted as it neither compensates the injured nor deters the reckless.

If this were not enough there is also the jury system where Wyeth were required to pay $7m damages to a patient who lost their arm. However given the FDA approval and the numerous notices that the drug should not be injected into arteries, which the hospital staff ignored, Wyeth got screwed.

Hardly an example of the rule of law being advanced.

Patent trolls are another submarining menace to businesses which inhibits the growth of business. The USPO is a cowboy.

b] Healthcare. The US spends about $2.5trillion !!!!! or 16% of GDP on healthcare. Here again double what Japan or Britain spends and for a shorter life span. And whilst most countries in Europe provide a free heaqlth system in the US 46m are not covered.

They give what might be thought an amusing anecdote if it were not so futile -

IBM executive gets a chest pain

off to cardiologist tests done nothing found [bear in mind the doctor is making a profit on every proceure/test done, and the patient is only paying 15%]

Anyway tomography reveals possible lump on neck

goes to neck specialist, nothing found

back to cardiologist, does angiogram - this causes complications

into hospital

cost 150000$

back at work gets pains again

speaks to colleague who by training was a preventive medicine

asks about life-style changes

guy has taken up gardening and strained a chest muscle weed-whacking

And of course the chance of being sued by the patient being so high means that cost has to be factored into the system and unnecessary tests added to obviate any potential claim.

my opinion is - What a system. Too may friggin' lawyers can really suck a system dry. Guess how many lawyers are in politics to protect the gravy train - I wonder. Total 761000 in 2006 so getting towards 1 for every 400 people in the US. Of course excluding children who rarely employ lawyers means that your chances of getting one is quite high.

If I seem unduly harsh on lawyers it is because they, as a group, seek to make money out of situations that do not warrant it or could be solved more easily. Of course there kneejerk answer to any problem is more law - great to continually to add to the existing plethora : (

Employment change. Employment of lawyers is expected to grow 11 percent during the 2006-16 decade, about as fast as the average for all occupations. The growth in the population and in the level of business activity is expected create more legal transactions, civil disputes, and criminal cases. Job growth among lawyers also will result from increasing demand for legal services in such areas as health care, intellectual property, venture capital, energy, elder, antitrust, and environmental law. In addition, the wider availability and affordability of legal clinics should result in increased use of legal services by middle-income people. However, growth in demand for lawyers will be constrained as businesses increasingly use large accounting firms and paralegals to perform some of the same functions that lawyers do. For example, accounting firms may provide employee-benefit counseling, process documents, or handle various other services previously performed by a law firm. Also, mediation and dispute resolution increasingly are being used as alternatives to litigation.

Job growth for lawyers will continue to be concentrated in salaried jobs, as businesses and all levels of government employ a growing number of staff attorneys. Most salaried positions are in urban areas where government agencies, law firms, and big corporations are concentrated. The number of self-employed lawyers is expected to grow slowly, reflecting the difficulty of establishing a profitable new practice in the face of competition from larger, established law firms. Moreover, the growing complexity of law, which encourages specialization, along with the cost of maintaining up-to-date legal research materials, favors larger firms.

Job prospects. Competition for job openings should continue to be keen because of the large number of students graduating from law school each year. Graduates with superior academic records from highly regarded law schools will have the best job opportunities. Perhaps as a result of competition for attorney positions, lawyers are increasingly finding work in less traditional areas for which legal training is an asset, but not normally a requirement—for example, administrative, managerial, and business positions in banks, insurance firms, real estate companies, government agencies, and other organizations. Employment opportunities are expected to continue to arise in these organizations at a growing rate.

As in the past, some graduates may have to accept positions outside of their field of interest or for which they feel overqualified. Some recent law school graduates who have been unable to find permanent positions are turning to the growing number of temporary staffing firms that place attorneys in short-term jobs. This service allows companies to hire lawyers on an “as-needed” basis and permits beginning lawyers to develop practical skills.

Because of the keen competition for jobs, a law graduate’s geographic mobility and work experience assume greater importance. The willingness to relocate may be an advantage in getting a job, but to be licensed in another State, a lawyer may have to take an additional State bar examination. In addition, employers increasingly seek graduates who have advanced law degrees and experience in a specialty, such as tax, patent, or admiralty law.

Job opportunities often are adversely affected by cyclical swings in the economy. During recessions, demand declines for some discretionary legal services, such as planning estates, drafting wills, and handling real estate transactions. Also, corporations are less likely to litigate cases when declining sales and profits restrict their budgets. Some corporations and law firms will not hire new attorneys until business improves, and these establishments may even cut staff to contain costs. Several factors, however, mitigate the overall impact of recessions on lawyers; during recessions, for example, individuals and corporations face other legal problems, such as bankruptcies, foreclosures, and divorces requiring legal action.

and for physicians

If you want to be a doctor, you should like to help people. You should be willing to study a lot.

You have to know how to talk to sick people. And you should be able to make decisions and handle emergencies.

How much does this job pay?

Of all jobs, being a doctor usually pays the most money. The Medical Group Management Association's Physician Compensation and Production Survey says that most doctors earned between $132,953 and $321,686 in 2005. How much they earned depended on how long they had been doctors and where they lived. It also depended on how many hours they worked and how good a doctor they were. And it depended on what kind of doctor they were—specialists usually made more than general practitioners.

How many jobs are there?

Physicians held about 633,000 jobs in 2006. More doctors are working as partners or in a group.

What about the future?

BLS expects the number of jobs for physicians to grow faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2016. This is partly because new machines and tools are letting doctors treat more health problems. And it is partly because people are living longer and need more healthcare.

Job opportunities for doctors are expected to be good, especially in rural and low-income areas. Some of these areas do not have enough doctors.

http://www.bls.gov/k12/help06.htm