Word: lowered
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Dates: during 2000-2000
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...Someone remarked: "The opposite of friendship is death." Melodramatic, I thought. But also true, up to a point. Death has many opposites, and so does friendship. At a lower metaphysical level, the opposite of friendship is loneliness, or isolation, or narcissism--all of which of course can be lethal. You could hold the death/friendship sentence up to the light and turn it in your hand and find interesting meanings glinting...
...thrust of the plan is rather odious from a free-marketeers' perspective. Canada employs socialized medicine to provide U.S.-made medicines at lower prices. America's free-market system, which makes drug companies (gasp!) profitable, also motivates them to develop the blockbuster drugs that Americans are so sick of paying market prices for. The plan would try for the best of both worlds, using Canada's socialized medicine as an end-run around U.S. pricing - and screwing U.S. drug-companies out of their profit margins in the process...
...Greenspan has told Congress debt reduction would be first on his economic wish list. Deficit reduction was his idea in 1993, and now that there's no deficit he'd like the next president to continue to whittle down the national debt for the same reasons: lower long-term interest rates, lower inflationary risks, less government spending on debt servicing. An all-around good thing...
...INSURANCE Take higher deductibles to get lower premiums. Switch to term life, which is cheaper than similar policies with a death benefit. Auto coverage is rising, but underwriters offer highly specific policies. A good driver in a tanklike SUV (less likely to be hurt by bad drivers) can get a rate cut. Sounds wacky, given that SUVs are more likely to cause injury to others. But, hey, like getting frugal in a slowdown, it's O.K. to think of yourself first...
...good time to think refinance. Although rates will probably continue to ease, some experts suggest refinancing now, while the saving is assured. This is not like the last refinancing boom, in 1992, when homeowners needed at least a 2% differential to make refinancing pay. Lower bank refinance charges have changed the equation...