The High Cost of American Health Care

I took a book out of the library on mutual fund investing titled “100 Best Mutual Funds.” Just inside the first few pages was the author’s argument for making investments in equities (another word for stocks) rather than bonds or CDs. The contention is that stocks are responsive to inflation thus are the better investment. To indicate the significance of inflation the author provided these startling facts on the costs of things we all want or need.

	Year	Amount
First-class stamp	1934	3 cents
	1980	15 cents
	2002	34 cents
	Increase	1,133%

A new car	1934	$1,436
	1980	$6,200
	2002	$19,175
	Increase	1,335%

A day in the hospital	1934	$12
	1980	$344
	2002	$2,854
	Increase	23,783%

Sources: U.S. Postal service, U.S. Census Bureau, and the Wall Street Journal, April 2002

I was astonished to see that the cost of hospitalization had inflated at a rate of 17 times faster than the cost of cars. There is no doubt that health care has become an extraordinary burden on our country. The question is how do we bring this ballooning expense under control?

The Los Angeles Times article about a woman’s need for surgery that would have taken a waiting time of 39 months in Canada as opposed to two days in the United States tells me that nationalized health care will not provide the solution we need.

Forget the plans for health care that have been discussed in the House and Senate. This nation has a serious problem. No single person and no political party has all the answers. We need people of good will and intent to meet together to stop this outrageous theft of income. The sad fact is that we do not have the kind of people in our congress that will sit together to find a reasonable solution. Is it the people we elected, the political parties, or the lobbyists who are stopping the process?

Political parties do not matter. Electing people to office that really care about America’s needs ought to be job one.

A Poll Asks “Should Obama be Killed?”

I am quite certain that protecting George W. Bush from an assassin was difficult when he was president. I personally thought he was the devil but I never thought about killing him. Today we have a Black man as president. That fact alone generates hatred. The killing of Martin Luther Kings Jr. proves that many will kill just because someone is not White. A minister in Arizona has asked his church’s membership to pray for Obama’s death.

Protection of Barack Obama and his family has to be far more difficult than the protection of any family that has ever lived in the White House.

So here we have an articulate man and a beautiful family. Why should he run for re-election? I cannot think of one really good reason. Freedom of press can cause many people to speak about horrible deeds.

I found this article on the Toronto Star web site

Sep 28, 2009 04:41 PM

The U.S. Secret Service is looking into the person behind a “Should Obama be killed?” poll on Facebook, according to a report on the Washington Post Company’s online publication Who Runs Gov.

“We are taking the appropriate investigative steps,” Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan told reporter Amanda Erickson of The Plum Line blog, housed on Who Runs Gov. “We are aware of it.”

The poll, first reported Sunday night by another blog, The Political Carnival, offers four choices to the question “Should Obama be killed:” 1) Yes. 2) Maybe. 3) If he cuts my health care and 4) No.

The application – created by an outside party, not Facebook – has since been disabled. It appears that at least 750 people had participated in the poll before it was taken down. (You can see a screen shot of what it looked like here:

http://bit.ly/4lUH0y

Users searching for the original poll are now greeted with the following message on Facebook:

“The application `Polls’ is temporarily unavailable due to an issue with its third-party developer. We are investigating the situation and apologize for any inconvenience.”Facebook’s spokesman for policy matters, Barry Schnitt, tells TalkingPointsMemo.com that the Secret Service asked Facebook on Monday to take down the poll, but that it had already been removed by then.

Meanwhile, TPM notes that a related poll subsequently surfaced: “Should the person who created the ‘Should Obama be Killed Poll’ be arrested?”

It, too, has been disabled.

Toronto Star

Meg Whitman for California Governor, I Don’t Think So

“Hey, I’m rich and I can do anything! I can even become governor of California. It might be fun, I will be giving back to the community that made me so damn rich, and besides I really have nothing else to do.”

I was a supporter of Arnold Schwarzenegger because I hoped that a wealthy, well educated person with moderate views could improve the management of our state. I was wrong.

If you read and listen to Meg Whitman you will know that her goals are the same stated by Schwarzenegger when he was running for office. Creating jobs, cutting state spending and fixing the education system will be her top priorities according to an SFGate on line article. She says she will cut 40,000 state jobs but doesn’t tell us how she will do that. Remember Schwarzenegger’s appointment of accountants who would find all the places where there was corruption and waste? Was he the “girlie man” who didn’t have the courage to stop that corruption and waste? Perhaps there really isn’t any consequential savings.

Remember this well intentioned Schwarzenegger quote, “It’s disturbing to realize that after taking a close look at California’s budget, it’s hard to make any sense out of it. In Sacramento, spending is out of control and as governor, I will work to get the state’s fiscal house in order. Immediately upon taking office I will order an outside, independent audit of the state budget so we can get a clear picture–uncluttered by politics and special interest influence–of how we can bring spending under control without neglecting our most important obligations.”

The Republicans need a gubernatorial candidate who really knows how the state functions and has the skills to reduce the state’s payroll. Meg Whitman’s only credential is she has the money to pay for her run for office.

Repairing California

California, the Golden State, is literally falling apart. The streets, freeways, levees, and even the water distribution system are all breaking apart. The Los Angeles Times reported 34 breaks in the Los Angeles city water distribution system. Add to that the deteriorating educational system, the high taxes, the over budget government systems (city of Los Angeles and state government), and the legislative deadlocks and you begin to understand the depth of our turmoil.

The city and state districting has been so gerrymandered that there is little opportunity to unseat incumbent legislators without an extraordinary uprising of the electorate.

District boundaries are merely a symptom of the overall management of California. Republicans and Democrats have carved up the state in a manner that ensures that when an incumbent retires his successor will be in the same party.

Two examples help to tell the story: 1. The 30^th congressional district held by Henry Waxman. His primary constituency is West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Malibu, and all the immediately adjoining areas. For reasons that will forever remain a mystery his district boundary includes the west end of the San Fernando Valley.

2. The second and sixth council districts in Los Angeles are a perfect example of the no reasonable districting philosophy that has invaded cities as well as state districting nonsense. Clearly these districts were devised to ensure the re-election of candidates based upon the ethnic backgrounds of the constituents rather than neighborhood needs.

The state constitution has 522 amendments and is 110 pages long. To make it useable the regulations in the constitution have been organized into topic “codes” to enable understandability. Many laws have been included in the constitution rather than simple state law to prevent them from being overturned. Thus the Public Housing Project Law is Article 34.

To pass a budget in the state legislature requires 2/3 vote. Thus 1/3 of the legislature controls the budgetary process. Only two other states have this requirement. It is the reason that budgets are rarely passed before their due date. The result is this year’s issuance of I.O.U.s by the state treasurer.

It is the same reason that bond issues are approved by the voters rather than the legislature. The same reason a typical state wide ballot has 10 to 12 initiatives. The legislature can’t agree on most laws and puts the questions to voters who usually lack adequate information to make wise decisions. Voters are influenced by special interest groups that spread lots of lies.

BusinessWeek has just reported that a new state commission to recommend an overhaul the tax system has been established by the legislature. The legislature will abdicate its responsibility and the plan will appear on a future ballot. Voters, with limited knowledge, will be encouraged to vote yes or no by various special interest groups that will try to frighten the public. It’s how this state got into so much trouble by using initiatives to pass property tax regulations, governance laws, bond initiatives, and other laws that should have been determined by the legislature. That is a group that has refused to take responsibility.

The solution is a state constitutional convention. The Bay Area Council, a business group in San Francisco that includes the surrounding bay area, has taken on the leadership role in this endeavor. Through a group called Repair California they have been holding town hall meetings throughout the state and have met with the editorial boards of many newspapers for their support. The Los Angeles Times has become an enthusiastic supporter of this idea. They have published six editorials supporting the idea of a constitutional convention. The first of those editorials appeared on August 16, 2009. The most recent appeared on September 20, 2009.

Moving to Oregon is not an option for me. We have to get this done.

Obama is not Afraid of Public Opinion

Many in the American public hold views that are very different from our new president. The honeymoon is not only over, the divorce proceeding is now in full force. It’s obvious that President Obama came to office with the intent of making over many things that Americans hold dear. Conservative commentators have successfully upset the public on many issues that are not well understood. We didn’t understand the meaning of his campaign words. Too few asked what “change” meant. The color of the president’s skin has only added to the fear.

He is determined to reform health care. He wants to convince the majority that his views are the best for this nation. To accomplish this end he will appear on television networks that are at least not openly opposed to his ideas. The result is his media appearances this Sunday, September 20 on NBC’s “Meet the Press”, ABC‘s “This Week”, CBS’ “Face the Nation” and CNN’s “State of the Union“. Fox’s “News Sunday” is being skipped because the entire network opposes the president on every single issue. Fox’s commentators have repeatedly expressed their hope for Obama’s failure.

Nancy Pelosi is correct in being concerned about the president’s safety. In a nation where people are murdered for expressing their views the secret service needs to be extra vigilant. Protection for the president ought to include banning of guns at town hall meetings where he will appear.

The president’s appearance on many shows is not overexposure. After all he is the person we elected to lead our country. He is doing an outstanding job of conveying his ideas on a variety of issues. It’s not just health care. He is responding to public concern. His appearances on a variety of programs and answering questions is precisely what the country needs. He is someone who is not afraid of public opinion.

The Great Recession of 2007 to 2010

Despite the stock market’s recent optimism there is nothing to celebrate! No industries are in a growth mode now.

New claims for unemployment benefits declined from 574,000 to 570,000 for the week ending August 29. It most likely is no change because the weekly report is a preliminary number. In the previous week the preliminary number was 570,000 and was adjusted up to 574,000. The September 4 report of 9.7% unemployment rate for August supports this column. Retail sales are down for most national chains.

The very worst layoffs are probably over but the rate is still astonishingly high. When there is no recession the weekly layoffs amount to about 350,000 people. The lay off rate in excess of 600,000 people per week lasted for 14 weeks. So now everyone is celebrating nine weeks of layoffs in the 500,000 to 600,000 range. Even as I write this commentary the AP headlines a story Improving economy not likely to lower jobless rate. This does support my contention that we won’t see job growth any time soon.

The stimulus package has not done its job. Those opposing it were correct. The government posted distribution confirms the argument that too little of the stimulus money would not be put into the economy quickly enough to create any short term benefit.

Recessions are frequently the time for new business ideas. I believe that will be the source of our next boom.

There is No New Direction for Our Economy

I am mystified about the economic direction of our country. Despite the optimism in the stock market there really is no new direction for the nation’s economy. It may be accurately reported that net income of many companies has increased but it was mostly the result of reduced labor costs and reductions in inventory. Cash for Clunkers was a great idea for clearing dealer lots but who will buy a car now that the program has ended?

With credit card interest rates up and with far fewer offers from the banks for new credit card accounts there has been an obvious reduction in card usage. Most of us are burdened with too much credit card debt to buy very many new things. After all we consumers had a total outstanding bill of almost $1 trillion. The reduced card use is a good thing for the individual but bad for an economy that relies on consumer spending.

The $768 billon stimulus bill was a great idea to jump start the economy. The problem is that only $89 billion has actually been paid out. That is about 12% of the allocated money. This is particularly maddening to me when I see streets that need resurfacing all over my city. Other projects are talked about but there has been no action.

We are left with actions by private enterprise to invigorate the economy. The wealthy are too happy to care and the rest of us really are praying.

We need more than prayer and hope. The world is changing faster than ever before. Other nations have economies that are far better managed than ours. Even our next door neighbor, Canada, is more successfully managed than the United States. China and India are both reported to having seen a turn around in their economies. Unless there is an inspired government that isn’t involved in political infighting or industries that quickly step up to the table, and that means within the next 12 months, the United States will follow Japan into a longer downward financial spiral.

Military Politics

The Military Industrial Complex Lives

Let’s be honest. There is a big link between the Military and the industries that supply military equipment. This is not news. President Eisenhower warned of this issue in a 1961 speech. In case you have forgotten, he was the supreme commander of our European army in WWII.

Some of us would like to deny that military is not a necessity. There are people and nations in this world who would like to see the United States fail. The problem is that many Americans love military things. They love the fight. They love the equipment that helps the military carry out its assignments.

Military equipment needs evolve as the world changes. Some of that old reliable equipment is not necessary or appropriate in the year 2009 and beyond. That is obviously the result of new items that are technologically superior to those old reliable things. The most obvious item I have seen in news reports is the drone aircraft. Those drones are controlled from points thousands of miles away from the field of battle. 60 Minutes’ Lara Logan provided a report telling how the control of the “unmanned aerial vehicles” is accomplished in Nevada. This equipment really does make many of our manned aircraft obsolete.

The Boeing Company launched its own attack on public opinion by advertising the need for the C-17 cargo plane. A full page ad appeared in the Los Angeles Times. The Times reported that similar ads appeared in major newspapers around the nation. The same article provided interviews with people who are calling the continued manufacture of this plane as corporate welfare. There is a UAW union that of course contends that there is a need for this plane but they are interested in protecting the jobs of its members. The coast will be $275 million each.

I do not know how many other old reliable pieces of equipment are still on the “buy” list. Shouldn’t these decisions be made by the Secretary of Defense? It appears that politics and a need to provide welfare for various companies is taking priority over the nation’s real needs. Those 14,000 people that will be effected by closing down the Long Beach aircraft factory could be utilized manufacturing high speed trains, wind turbines for power generation or other needed products.