6A – Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends
Economic Opportunities:
Renewable Energy Development and Infrastructure
a) As someone invested in sustainability and environmental issues, I have seen multiple studies that show high job creation and a desperate need for sustainable energy.
(b) There are a plethora of reports and studies that show how much money and effort are being put into renewable energy (sadly not enough yet), and I think there is plenty of opportunity for science minded people to make a huge difference.
(c) Already most areas of the country use renewable energy for at least some of their energy load, and will be transitioning into more soon.
(d) The need is so great that I think there is a huge demand for people to step in and utilize it.
(e) I hope most people are able to see the need for this today, but my last job was working with an environmental nonprofit and I have been surrounded by people who care and are worried about the environment and Climate Crisis.
Arbitrage Comparison Catalog
a)https://truthout.org/articles/millions-of-americans-flood-into-mexico-for-health-care/
(b) I saw something discussing the article above showing that millions of Americans drive down to Mexico for their cheaper dental care, and in the discussion of that learned the word arbitrage which means to make a profit by manipulating markets with different costs and prices for the same service. The service I want to make is to make one website that compare the relative price of large services like healthcare procedures and expenses, drug prices and import costs (assuming a bill passes that actually allows us to import generic drugs from other countries because right now there is a bit of a monopoly in the US for most), and other similar fees so that consumers can clearly see how the prices where they live compare to other nations.
(c) I think that the people who would use this would be those that already have the sense that they are paying and unreasonable amount for basic needs, but hope that this idea might help more people become aware and demand change.
(d) I think finding the difference in pricing would be easy once I chose what exactly to track, but as I don't have any experience coding the website might be difficult.
(e) I am a Sociology major so these kinds of differences in how we regulate between countries is really interesting to me.
Arbitrage Comparison Catalog
a)https://truthout.org/articles/millions-of-americans-flood-into-mexico-for-health-care/
(b) I saw something discussing the article above showing that millions of Americans drive down to Mexico for their cheaper dental care, and in the discussion of that learned the word arbitrage which means to make a profit by manipulating markets with different costs and prices for the same service. The service I want to make is to make one website that compare the relative price of large services like healthcare procedures and expenses, drug prices and import costs (assuming a bill passes that actually allows us to import generic drugs from other countries because right now there is a bit of a monopoly in the US for most), and other similar fees so that consumers can clearly see how the prices where they live compare to other nations.
(c) I think that the people who would use this would be those that already have the sense that they are paying and unreasonable amount for basic needs, but hope that this idea might help more people become aware and demand change.
(d) I think finding the difference in pricing would be easy once I chose what exactly to track, but as I don't have any experience coding the website might be difficult.
(e) I am a Sociology major so these kinds of differences in how we regulate between countries is really interesting to me.
Regulatory Opportunities:
Lawsuits for health concerns of reduced Asbestos regulation
a) https://www.curbed.com/2018/8/9/17671336/asbestos-trump-epa-architects-aia
(b) In the past, Asbestos class action lawsuits have been some of the largest legal cases and have lead to millions of dollars being given to the millions of people effected. With the current government decision to lower regulations on the harmful substance I think more people could be harmed and I bet lawyers will get paid because of it.
(c) Like I said, I think there are a lot of people who could be harmed by this, and if that does happen I expect lots of work for lawyers.
(d) This opportunity is difficult to exploit right now, but if it becomes clear that the deregulation does in fact place people in danger then I think it becomes not only easy, but necessary to pursue.
(e) I thought of this as an opportunity after a discussion I had on dangerous deregulation as part of the political and social awareness I have been trying to build in the last year. The damage caused, and subsequent money owed from Asbestos in the past is something I hope we learn from.
Third Party Zoning Commissions
a) http://www.endgerrymandering.com/
(b) I think that we are in desperate need of change in how we create voting districts in most states, and there have been a few that pass legislation to allow impartial third parties to create the districts hopefully without a political bias.
(c) This service could help millions of people across most states.
(d) I think this would be a extremely difficult need to capitalize on sine there and many with vested interests in preventing it and choosing how to redistrict in ways that best serves them.
(e) This should be a issue more people care about, but is not spoken of enough. I think I see it as an opportunity for change because I am currently a Sociology major and this is very important in looking at large policy and political change.
a) https://www.curbed.com/2018/8/9/17671336/asbestos-trump-epa-architects-aia
(b) In the past, Asbestos class action lawsuits have been some of the largest legal cases and have lead to millions of dollars being given to the millions of people effected. With the current government decision to lower regulations on the harmful substance I think more people could be harmed and I bet lawyers will get paid because of it.
(c) Like I said, I think there are a lot of people who could be harmed by this, and if that does happen I expect lots of work for lawyers.
(d) This opportunity is difficult to exploit right now, but if it becomes clear that the deregulation does in fact place people in danger then I think it becomes not only easy, but necessary to pursue.
(e) I thought of this as an opportunity after a discussion I had on dangerous deregulation as part of the political and social awareness I have been trying to build in the last year. The damage caused, and subsequent money owed from Asbestos in the past is something I hope we learn from.
Third Party Zoning Commissions
a) http://www.endgerrymandering.com/
(b) I think that we are in desperate need of change in how we create voting districts in most states, and there have been a few that pass legislation to allow impartial third parties to create the districts hopefully without a political bias.
(c) This service could help millions of people across most states.
(d) I think this would be a extremely difficult need to capitalize on sine there and many with vested interests in preventing it and choosing how to redistrict in ways that best serves them.
(e) This should be a issue more people care about, but is not spoken of enough. I think I see it as an opportunity for change because I am currently a Sociology major and this is very important in looking at large policy and political change.
Hey Paul! Your post for blog 6A looks stellar. Lots of thought and effort went into this assignment. When referring specifically to your post on renewable energy, I have to agree with you there regarding the economic opportunity there. Many people seem to be adopting more economical, or "green" types of innovations. As these technologies become more advanced, I do believe more people will adopt technologies which focus on the use of renewable sources of energy. Excellent post!
ReplyDeleteI’m a fan of this blog post for a couple reasons. It is very well organized and easy to follow, which makes it enjoyable to read and hard to get lost in text. I also like some of these opportunities and I can tell you did your research. The arbitrage one is particularly interesting to me and I think that you being a sociology major is definitely a good tie to this opportunity.
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