Dann Todd's 'Dain Bramage'^**

Medical Tourism

A small story on medical tourism among Americans.

In our survey of major U.S. employers, we found very little interest in medical tourism.

But there is a great deal of interest in it among the major media – the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and today, Forbes (via the Associated Press) have done major stories on it.

But here’s something curious.

All three stories have featured the exact same medical tourist – Ben Schreiner of Camden, South Carolina.

by Dann 

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Re-Compacting Society

Rolling around in what passes for my brain is a science fiction story of the near future. One of the elements of that story is level of government intrusion that would be incomprehensible today, yet is acceptable to [most of] the residents of this story. Part of the story is how the few that retain a sense of freedom work to oppose and perhaps subvert the constant state of government tracking of their activities.

Another theme of this story that has yet to see a single word typed is use of property tax and housing codes to reduce the square footage of residential space used on a per person basis. This change in our culture comes as a combination of environmentalism, urban planning, and an attempt to soak the rich with higher taxes....again. The reasoning is that people that live in a smaller space ought not to be punished for the loads placed on public services by those that live in more palatial environs. The secondary benefit is that with a smaller home, you have much less of a need to buy stuff to fill the walls and cupboards.

The story blends not only my neuroses regarding an ever encroaching government but also the use of energy efficient technologies, future energy production systems, and the determination of the individual to live as unfettered a life as possible.

The result is a depopulated heartland. People live mostly clustered about major public transportation hubs and ports as the new society has also opted to limit the number of roads available for public travel as well. There is a return to living on an employer's land rather than owning your own.

The effect is to bring the cramped living style of New York or Chicago to Ottumwa, Peoria, and Lodi.

Via Glenn Reynolds comes this tidbit from the Knoxville News.

Reversing our suburban, commuting lifestyle

The National Research Council will release a congressionally mandated report next week that looks at "suburbanization" and how it impacts driving habits, reliance on petroleum, and greenhouse emissions.

According to advance info distributed to the news media by the National Academies, "The report looks at studies on compact, mixed-use development where people live in denser environments with jobs and shopping close by, to determine whether a shift to this type of land use could lessen vehicle use, energy consumption and CO2 emissions."

The report is titled, "Driving and the Built Environment: The Effects of Compact Development on Motorized Travel, Energy Use and CO2 Emissions."

Can you imagine the thrill I'm feeling? A prize winning novel trapped in my noggin and the government is making it happen faster than I can get it down on paper.

by Dann 

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