Spotlighting what you might have missed on BirdDog and why a few headlines from elsewhere matter for Tennessee.
FROM BIRDDOG
The BirdDog experiment: Phase II
Report: Tight labor market highlights skills gap, wage obstacles in South
FROM ELSEWHERE
1. Doctor’s offices are a hot investment — what does that mean for profit vs. patient care?
Emma Court, MarketWatch
Specialty physician groups, ranging from dermatology to physical therapy and allergy, are attractive targets to private equity shops looking for areas to increase efficiency and generate returns.
But there are many critics, as MarketWatch notes, of the shopping sprees which point to the disconnect that can arise when people who don’t have a clinical background try to manage and grow physician practices.
Tennessee as been pegged as an area of interest for ophthalmology consolidation, by PhysiciansFirst, an M&A advisory shop.
Becker’s: Why large physician groups should consider private equity: 5 thoughts with Todd Mello
2. AI gives silenced radio journalist his voice back
Mary-Ann Russon, BBC
A neural network developed by Scottish company CereProc listened to an archive of a U.S. radio journalist’s programming to recreate his voice, which he lost because of a rare neurological disease.
Anyone can read a script on CereProc’s website and for $663 (GBP500), the AI system can recreate their voice.
The radio journalist will be able to use the generated voice for his on-air reports.
3. The difference between being broke and being poor
Written by Erynn Brook and illustrated by Emily Flake
A poignant look at the calculations of “survival math” at the grocery story while living in poverty. The illustrated thought process — it’s more of a graphic novel style than an article — walks the reader through the tough decisions and mental stress that consume the lives of people with different economic realities.
It’s a must read for anyone who works in a company that interacts with people of all socioeconomic levels.
4. Our Social Security system is in even worse shape than we think, according to one academic
David Brancaccio and Janet Nguyen
Laurence Kotlikoff, a Boston University economics professor, talks to MarketPlace about why he’s concerned about Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s comments on the longevity of Social Security and Medicare.
A new trustees report on Social Security and Medicare found the systems need to tap into reserves for the first time in more than 35 years.
Kotlikoff says the country’s fiscal operations is “all take as you go. And that’s why the country is really in terrible fiscal shape. It’s probably in the worst fiscal shape of any developed country when you do the analysis correctly.
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