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The Affordable Care Act has long been a divisive topic among politicians, with many feeling that the reform attempt best exemplifies a system of government that has become extremely partisan over the years. However, one element of the ACA's legislation has ironically become one of the few issues to unite both Democrats and Republicans: a medical device tax, enacted in January 2013, has drawn the ire of politicians and lobbyists on either side of aisle for over two years. Somehow, the controversy over the bill, which places a 2.3% levy on everything from IV bags to artificial hip joints, has continued unabated, with a number of proponents and opponents publishing their arguments in the first few days of 2015. This raises an important question: is the medical device tax hurting or helping t...

2015 is expected to be the year of solar power, with lower costs and technology improvements bringing solar energy to new areas all over the country. As of 2014, 10 states have residential solar power available that costs the same or less than local electricity. Hawaii was not included in this count, as solar energy has been cost-competitive there for a long time. By 2017, that number is expected to jump to 28 states -- over half the nation! One of the keys to expanding the solar energy market is competitive pricing, and companies are striving to fulfill that goal. Solar energy makes up just 1% of electricity generation worldwide, so the market is wide open for new firms to enter. To compete with newcomers, existing firms are improving technology, and adding storage options and expanding...

After poor performance in the first half of the fiscal year, General Mills has shifted its focus to three areas of the business in hopes of improving sales. The company's focus over the next six months will be on cereal, yogurt and healthy snacks. Altogether, the first half of the fiscal year brought a 3.5% decrease in sales for General Mills due to poor demand for its products, according to Food Business News. The company is hoping that through a combination of new products, improvements to its current products and strong marketing and advertising efforts they will be able to improve performance. Although General Mills's cereal brands have grown in the market over the last six years, the first half of the fiscal year did not reflect this trend and resulted in a decrease in retail sa...

With the holidays still in full swing, the last thing on most people's minds is shopping for a new home, much less selling one. Many people are deterred by cold weather and poor driving conditions, or distracted by holiday vacation plans. But according to data released this week by online realty brokerage firm Redfin, winter is when the housing market really comes alive. Redfin compiled home listing data, sales prices and time-on-the-market data from Oct. 2010 to Oct. 2014 and came up with some surprising results. Not only is winter the best time to sell a home for more than the asking price, it's also the best time to list a home and sell it fast. Redfin determined that homes listed in December, January, February and March have a higher chance at selling above the asking price than home...

As new areas of information technology continue to emerge and demand more attention from skilled workers, colleges and universities across the country are soon to find themselves in greater competition with the corporate world for IT professionals. While small schools will have the most trouble recruiting IT grads, colleges and universities across the board will have to ramp up their recruitment efforts if they want to attract skilled workers to meet their IT needs. “We have found that many IT departments are buying "off the shelf" modules rather than recreate the wheel,” says Rick Friedman, President, ScholarlyHires.com. “Many opportunities are implementation or support personnel, as opposed to programmers, in order to combat the lack of available talent. The one exception to this seems...

Christmas miracles really do happen, it seems. A while back, Sumey and David Hageman's four-year-old dachshund, Lola, slipped a disc, crippling her. Her owners had recently bought a house, and therefore couldn't afford the $6,000 surgery Lola needed to walk again. "When Lola came to us, she was completely paralyzed in her back legs, so she was dragging both of the back legs, and the cause of that was a slipped disc in her spinal cord," said veterinarian Michael Wong to the Miami Herald. Unable to pay for their pup's surgery, the heartbroken couple was forced to give their dog away to an animal rescue group. The decision, of course, was not easy. "We had to do what was best for her," said Sumey Hageman, who knew that his family would lose visitation rights with Lola once she was turned...

Last month marked 73 years since the deadly Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan, but the anniversary became a historic moment in its own right when four out of the nine remaining survivors of the USS Arizona came together for what may be the last reunion of its kind. During the attack in 1941, the USS Arizona came under fire and exploded, sinking to the bottom of the bay and bringing 1,177 sailors with it. Today, the ship remains at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, a final resting place for many of those sailors -- and a memorial for those who come to pay their respects. "Memorial events at Pearl Harbor are always very solemn, as it is a time when we honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our country," says Dale Palileo, Online Marketing Manag...

Since the economy has bounced back from the recessionary landscape that many of us remember all too well, more and more Americans are choosing to make renovations to their homes. Research shows that since 2012, the number of home owners making renovations has increased by 7%. Furthermore, Boston.com reports that according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, the amount spent on home renovations should exceed a whopping $145 billion in 2014. But home owners shouldn't break out the paintbrushes and hammers just yet. Many towns and cities across the U.S. have national and local historical districts which limit what a home owner can do in terms of exterior renovations. The national list, the National Register of Historic Places, is the first place home owners should...

It seems that every day brings another story of exciting applications of 3D printing technology. As recently as Dec. 17, a Princeton University team announced it had printed a contact lens with an embedded LED capable of projecting light. But despite this constant stream of innovation, some printers are turning to older techniques in order to satisfy a growing demand for handmade or artisanal products. “It is a safe bet that at least one Christmas card you receive this year will be printed in the old-fashioned manner, by letterpress,” reads an Economist article from Dec. 18. “You'll recognise it by the way the letters are pounded deep into the paper, like some kind of reverse braille. The point, for a new wave of hobbyists around the globe, is the ostentatious tactility.” Why this desir...