Time Inconsistency

There are things I really don't like doing, yet I know I should. And since I know I should, I schedule them well in advance in a way that it is basically impossible to call them off. I don't really mind - it is far away, so it does not seem to be that bad. But as it is approaching, I realize how unhappy I'm doing that particular stuff. Yet, I cannot call it off, so I keep thinking "I won't do it next time". But I know I will...

Runaway health care costs

Health care system in the US is extremely expensive. Yet, it seems that quality does not necessarily reflect these costs. For example, it is sometimes argued that incentives are poorly set: doctors do unnecessary test of *insured) patients, who don't have many reasons to care about the costs.
Yet it seems at least possible if not plausible, that the US bears disproportionate share of research costs that lead to (significantly) higher prices of new treatments. I'm not sure how significant this can be, but maybe European systems are cheaper also because these system free-ride. Well, other reason can be that doctors cannot afford a Porsche in Europe (at least in Czech Republic).

Why CEOs are paid so much?

This question comes back every now and then and there does not seem to be an easy answer. The ratio of CEOs pay to workers wages is increasing (this guy is not probably trustworthy, but claims it grown 12 times over the last couple of decades), one might say escalating.
Presumably, this should be bad, but I don't really see why. Anyway, there IS a simple explanation:
Now, more than anytime in the history of the world, there is both plenty of capital and unskilled labor force. There is probably also plenty of skilled labor force. What is scarce is the ability to manage this resources effectively.
Maybe there are some obstacles in entry (education, manners, persistence, pragmatism are obvious candidates), but I'm more and more convinced that most people are simply bad at management.
That's why Scott Adams has such an easy life making jokes of the managers - most of them are indeed bad, but there is nobody better!
So if you think you've got the potential, go for it. The rewards are unlimited.

Being stupid. Or smart.

Well, we did not evacuate, even though told to do so. Many people did not. Are we stupid? Yes?
Think again. What are the incentives for the mayor / fire department etc. to evacuate (or not) any given area? If you do not evacuate and a fire gets there, you are in a really big trouble! If you tell people to evacuate and nothing happens, you are safe (unless you exaggerate absolutely excessively) as a bureaucrat.Of course, we are "smart", we know that. So we evaluate the signal "evacuate" with this knowledge. And we do not move. We wait for either information that the fire is close (the map is almost real-time and the fire is still far away and there is no wind) or the "real evacuation", when somebody comes here and kicks us out.
Another incentive to evacuate is that it makes the situation seem worse than it is, motivating more people to bring additional resources(National Guard, firemen from other states and federal funds)
The conclusion? The "evacuation" lost its meaning. If I knew that they evacuate us when the real need is here, I would not hesitate any minute. But with fire far away, sky clear and air fresh (neither of those were true yesterday), we do not see the reason.