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It is doubtful whether there has been anything like the present insurance industry’s commercial liability price spiral in American economic history. If you think your auto insurance policy premium is going up fast, take a look at what these policyholders are going through: Offshore Boat Corp., a small Miami boat manufacturer had their premium Q0…

Women pour about $10 billion a year into beauty shops and salons in this country to make them look and smell better. Sitting or reclining in their chairs, they are worked on closely by tens of thousands of people who cut, shampoo and dye their hair and paint their faces and nails with designs and…

Ronald Reagan, meet Isaac Asimov! With over three hundred books to his credit, Asimov is arguably the nation’s leading science writer. In a rare public protest and call to action, Asimov has taken a stand against Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative or proposed Star Wars project. His letter, mailed earlier this month to hundreds of…

He was born in Buffalo in 1910 and has practiced medicine in China for fifty two years. He is Dr. George Hatem, but to millions of Chinese who view him as a hero of their Revolution, he is known as Ma Heide. A lot of history has transpired since Dr. Hatem graduated from The University…

If before, during or after receiving a medical or dental x-ray, you have wondered if you were overexposed to radiation, consider the unrequited crusade of one Senator Jennings Randolph (D-WV) who retired in 1985. For thirteen years the venerable Senator urged legislation to establish minimum standards for the accreditation of x-ray machine operations. He finally…

It was 3 a.m. Saturday, two days after this past 4th of July on a rural two-lane road southwest of Irwinton, Georgia. Pulpwood laborer, Joseph Anderson, 26, was driving home in his 1974 Oldsmobile Delta 86. He did not know the road well; it was dark and when a sharp right turn came up Anderson…

During several debates with representatives f the atomic power industry in the mid Seventies, I was asked what they thought was the clincher question for their side: “What would replace nuclear power?” (At that time, ten percent f electricity production was nuclear, now it is 12%.) I replied: “With several alternatives, starting first and foremost…

The every ten years of malpractice insurance crisis is off and running. Insurance companies are canceling policies for some specialists or raising their premium two, three, four even six fold. One Maryland physician, with a clean record, saw his insurance bill this year go from $6000 to over $40,000. Physicians in some states, such as…

I just received a news release from a corporate public relations firm in New York which reads as follows: “SCENTRON is here and Bloomingdales has it! For the first time ever, America’s favorite department store will offer an automobile accessory. But in true Bloomingdales style, it’s not just any accessory. “SCENTRON is a replacement for…

The insurance industry is gambling for high stakes. By massively canceling policies or refusing to sell coverage without 300% to 1000% increases for many day care centers, nurse-midwives, transit authorities, physicians, municipalities, fishing fleets — to name a few sectors of the economy, the industry is betting that the resultant pressure will lead to the…