Opponents of Barack Obama reported during the campaign the high percentage of "present" votes by then state senator Obama. Clearly Obama was mapping out his political future walking the tightrope of politics by keeping himself out of many controversial positions of record. Voting "present" and dodging tough issues with a present vote may be fine in the state legislature of Illinois. However, when that "present" state senator is now Commander in Chief, voting "present" won't cut it.
The time has come in Afghanistan to fish or cut bait. We need a decision. Obama's commander in Afghanistan and his secretary of defense are pushing for more troops. Obama is a flower child of the 1960s and his gut tells him that all things can be worked out through peaceful negotiations. His far left advisers and supporters also believe that we should bring home the troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq as soon as possible. The problem is that candidate Obama called Afghanistan the "right" war that we needed to fight to secure our future against the terrorist threat. So now Obama is either trying to make the right call to get the best result in Afghanistan or he is trying to find a way to vote "present" and weasel out of taking a stand what will without question be unpopular with many Americans.
Welcome to the big leagues Obama, make a decision..."present" won't cut it. Either pull the troops out ad bring them home or double down and try to win. I can see the merit of both positions. I would double down. What I would not do is dither around looking for a politically palatable solution while brave American soldiers risk their lives. Obama, you are the president, make a decision, it's your job!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The Real World versus Obamaland
In Obamaland, the impossible is possible, I suppose due to the overwhelming persuasive powers of Obama. Unfortunately in the Real World, where all of us with the exception of Barack Obama and his minions live, things like laws of physics, economics, and human nature do not bow to the Obama charm.
In Obamaland, we can add 40 million new subscribers to healtcare roles without stressing the the capacity of the existing system or raising costs. Sadly, according to all who just stop and think about it and also according to those in the CBO who actually crunch the numbers, Obamaland holds no connection to reality.
In Obamaland, bad people with hate in their hearts and nefarious plans in their brains will put aside their hate and join the community of peace through persuasive negotiations with the all feeling, all sensing, all healing Obama. In Obamaland, it is possible for weapons technology to be "banished from the face of the Earth". In the real world, bad people take advantage of the overconfident silliness of Obamaland dwellars. In the real world, people who actually take action when needed and drive results feel their heads explode when Obamaland platitudes suffice where firm action and resolve are needed.
Most dangerously for all of us, people in the real world, with real hate, real plans, and real weapons eat the lunch of those who live in Obamaland. Were Obama not the president of the United States, this would be just another heady idealist being shoved to irrelevance by things they ironically do not understand. However, Obamaland has moved into the White House and many people will suffer the economic consequences of his failures at a minimum. In the worst case scenario, a lot of people who live in the real world could die from the hubris of Obamaland and its disconnect from the reality of evil in the real world.
Obamaland is a great place for university professors, community organizers, and for young idealists short on real world experience. Obamaland is a bad place when decisions of consequence are at hand, when one must delineate between good and evil. The infinite shades of grey and idea that no one is wrong or bad they are just different doesn't play very well when one of those "different" from us in planning to blow Israel off the map. Obamaland doesn't translate very well into the real world in which we live. I guess we are finding that out a little too late.
In Obamaland, we can add 40 million new subscribers to healtcare roles without stressing the the capacity of the existing system or raising costs. Sadly, according to all who just stop and think about it and also according to those in the CBO who actually crunch the numbers, Obamaland holds no connection to reality.
In Obamaland, bad people with hate in their hearts and nefarious plans in their brains will put aside their hate and join the community of peace through persuasive negotiations with the all feeling, all sensing, all healing Obama. In Obamaland, it is possible for weapons technology to be "banished from the face of the Earth". In the real world, bad people take advantage of the overconfident silliness of Obamaland dwellars. In the real world, people who actually take action when needed and drive results feel their heads explode when Obamaland platitudes suffice where firm action and resolve are needed.
Most dangerously for all of us, people in the real world, with real hate, real plans, and real weapons eat the lunch of those who live in Obamaland. Were Obama not the president of the United States, this would be just another heady idealist being shoved to irrelevance by things they ironically do not understand. However, Obamaland has moved into the White House and many people will suffer the economic consequences of his failures at a minimum. In the worst case scenario, a lot of people who live in the real world could die from the hubris of Obamaland and its disconnect from the reality of evil in the real world.
Obamaland is a great place for university professors, community organizers, and for young idealists short on real world experience. Obamaland is a bad place when decisions of consequence are at hand, when one must delineate between good and evil. The infinite shades of grey and idea that no one is wrong or bad they are just different doesn't play very well when one of those "different" from us in planning to blow Israel off the map. Obamaland doesn't translate very well into the real world in which we live. I guess we are finding that out a little too late.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Does Obama Have a Strategy?
I am going to give Obama the benefit of the doubt and say that he does not have a strategy for his administration, because if one assumed he had a strategy based on his actions in 9 months in office, they conclusion would not be a pretty one.
I assume that he is in the business of paying back and buying the future support of his "base". Afterall, that is the Chicago-way and Obama has shown his roots as a born and bred Chicigo politician. His base is 1) Union workers 2) Radical Left Peaceniks and socialists 3) Disaffected America Apologists 4) Naive Peaceniks who really believe we can live together with radical Islam 5) People who do not have health insurance. By the way, it is possible to belong to more than one classification of the Obama base.
Let's see if his actions support my theory, giving him the benefit of the doubt that no one is stupid enough enough to try to turn this great republic into a quagmire of government programs where the vast majority depend on the government to take care of them.
Tariff on low end tires from China..who does that help...oh yes, the union boys. Consumers get the benefit of more expensive produts and we get to see if China decides to retaliate. BTW, has Obama ever heard of Smoot Hawley? A period of recession has historically been a poor time to begin a policy of protectionism.
Healthcare, Insurance, Coverage...whatever it is called to day...reform. Well, this helps those in the 5th category, but it also, as written by the House, help the Union boys as they get special treatment and benefits that the rest of the proletariat have to endure with "reformed" healthcare.
Wavering on Afghanistan policy...this certainly is a payback for Peacenicks of any ilk. I thought Afghanistan was Obama's fulcrum on the war on terror. How can we, after 9 months in office, have to delay a decision on troop levels so we can determine our strategy. We don't have a strategy? Are you kidding me? What has been going on since January? Seems to me this delay is a way to not do anything that looks too hawkish or aggressive and make his peacenik supporters mad.
Investigating the CIA for interrogations we conducted in the post 9/11 war on terror. I've got to tell you, whether we waterboarded the bastards who architected the 9/11 massacre or whether we got potty water on the koran doesn't keep me up at night. Why are we going back to re-investigate something that has already been investigated?
Cash for clunkers...let's see who does this help....certainly the unions, although in a funny and happy twist of fate, Toyota sold the most cars during this ridiculous program. This also helped people who like having someone else'money (taxpayers who did not buy a car) given to them (taxpayers and non-taxpayers did buy a car and got $ 4500 from Uncle Sam).
GM & Chrysler Bailout...hmmm, too big to fail...or not. If GM and Chrysler had been allowed to "fail" like 99.9999% of most American business are "allowed" to do...their assets would have been bought by businesses and investors who thought they could make better use of those assets. There would be jobs in Michigan, just not union jobs....ooops! There's the rub. The fallacy is that if GM and Chrysler had failed, while it would have been a big economic shock, there is still demand for cars and trucks in the markets they serve. New investments, new capital would have remade the assets of GM and Chrysler into something viable in the market, rather than a ward of the state, but that would not have been a happy outcome for the union supporters of Obama.
See the pattern here? There is more and I could add more examples, but after a while it just becomes piling on. I guess the Obama strategy or rather his tactics are paying back those in his base, so he can do whatever it is he intends to do...once he comes up with a strategy...like that Afghanistan thing.
I assume that he is in the business of paying back and buying the future support of his "base". Afterall, that is the Chicago-way and Obama has shown his roots as a born and bred Chicigo politician. His base is 1) Union workers 2) Radical Left Peaceniks and socialists 3) Disaffected America Apologists 4) Naive Peaceniks who really believe we can live together with radical Islam 5) People who do not have health insurance. By the way, it is possible to belong to more than one classification of the Obama base.
Let's see if his actions support my theory, giving him the benefit of the doubt that no one is stupid enough enough to try to turn this great republic into a quagmire of government programs where the vast majority depend on the government to take care of them.
Tariff on low end tires from China..who does that help...oh yes, the union boys. Consumers get the benefit of more expensive produts and we get to see if China decides to retaliate. BTW, has Obama ever heard of Smoot Hawley? A period of recession has historically been a poor time to begin a policy of protectionism.
Healthcare, Insurance, Coverage...whatever it is called to day...reform. Well, this helps those in the 5th category, but it also, as written by the House, help the Union boys as they get special treatment and benefits that the rest of the proletariat have to endure with "reformed" healthcare.
Wavering on Afghanistan policy...this certainly is a payback for Peacenicks of any ilk. I thought Afghanistan was Obama's fulcrum on the war on terror. How can we, after 9 months in office, have to delay a decision on troop levels so we can determine our strategy. We don't have a strategy? Are you kidding me? What has been going on since January? Seems to me this delay is a way to not do anything that looks too hawkish or aggressive and make his peacenik supporters mad.
Investigating the CIA for interrogations we conducted in the post 9/11 war on terror. I've got to tell you, whether we waterboarded the bastards who architected the 9/11 massacre or whether we got potty water on the koran doesn't keep me up at night. Why are we going back to re-investigate something that has already been investigated?
Cash for clunkers...let's see who does this help....certainly the unions, although in a funny and happy twist of fate, Toyota sold the most cars during this ridiculous program. This also helped people who like having someone else'money (taxpayers who did not buy a car) given to them (taxpayers and non-taxpayers did buy a car and got $ 4500 from Uncle Sam).
GM & Chrysler Bailout...hmmm, too big to fail...or not. If GM and Chrysler had been allowed to "fail" like 99.9999% of most American business are "allowed" to do...their assets would have been bought by businesses and investors who thought they could make better use of those assets. There would be jobs in Michigan, just not union jobs....ooops! There's the rub. The fallacy is that if GM and Chrysler had failed, while it would have been a big economic shock, there is still demand for cars and trucks in the markets they serve. New investments, new capital would have remade the assets of GM and Chrysler into something viable in the market, rather than a ward of the state, but that would not have been a happy outcome for the union supporters of Obama.
See the pattern here? There is more and I could add more examples, but after a while it just becomes piling on. I guess the Obama strategy or rather his tactics are paying back those in his base, so he can do whatever it is he intends to do...once he comes up with a strategy...like that Afghanistan thing.
Getting Things Done - Advice for Obama
I recognize that President Obama has never had a private sector job, so he needs some help understanding how the real world, real businesses, and real people work. Here is some free advice, that if he follows it, can help him get is presidency out of the ditch.
Businesses hate uncertainty in their markets. Business risk is a part of our ridiculously successful capitalist system. Business people understand that, work to mitigate risk, and evaluate risk/reward trade-offs everyday. What business people cannot tolerate and what makes them recoil into complete inaction is market uncertainty...things that could change the rules of the game over which they have no control, into which they have no input, and against which they have no defense. This reality also applies to consumers...as small enterprises managing their households and lives. If there are too many balls in the air that have potential to radically change the rules of their existence, businesses and the consumers in those businesses will stand on the sidelines, hunker down and wait to see what is going to happen. These are good and rational business reactions.
Obama has too many balls in the air. He is upsetting too many apple carts and heading down too many rat holes. What will the impact of healthcare reform be on small business? I have no idea. Neither do business people. What will the impact of healthcare reform be on the taxes small business owners and individuals pay? No clue. What mandates will be required by an ivory tower president and legislature? I haven't the slightest. Neither does anyone else. Starting to see the problem?
Cap and Trade...where is this headed? What will be the increased tax burden on consumers and business if Cap and Trade becomes law? I know one thing, whether direct or indirect, the cost of everything will rise for the United States market...and for the US market alone. India and China will be the great beneficiaries of Cap and Trade, while its impact on US business in unknown in in depth, only in its direction. This is a huge potential game changer for American businesses and American consumers. Its economic impact is potentially massive...but know one knows how big of a burden Cap and Trade would create and when it starts to dig.
Cardcheck...where is this headed? I hope to the garbage heap where it belongs. However, the president favors card check to help out his union base of supporters. How will this impact the cost of business? Well, it won't make it cheaper to do business if I have to overpay for labor due to increased unionization through simple cardcheck processes. How much will this cost American businesses, I don't know, and the point is neither do they, but like Cap and Trade it will increase the cost of doing business, we just don't know how much.
See the trend? There are way too many balls in the air. There are far too many potential cost/tax burdens waiting to be thrust upon American business in the name of...well, I am not sure what it is int he name of, since it does not appear to be part of any well thought out plan or strategy. I guess this is all in the name of paying back those who got Obama to the White House.
So advice for Obama, assuming he can see the problems he is creating for the businesses and people he so longs to tax into middle class....pick a one major initiative. Create a value proposition for the majority of Americans (other than giving away someone else' money) and insert that initiative as part of a broad strategy to improve the already fabulous economic system we have in America. If your initiative and plan do not achieve these goals or have the potential to achieve these goals...you are working on the wrong things.
This advice is solid and it is free. You can thank me later by keeping my taxes low, letting keep what I earn, and staying out of my healthcare decisions.
Businesses hate uncertainty in their markets. Business risk is a part of our ridiculously successful capitalist system. Business people understand that, work to mitigate risk, and evaluate risk/reward trade-offs everyday. What business people cannot tolerate and what makes them recoil into complete inaction is market uncertainty...things that could change the rules of the game over which they have no control, into which they have no input, and against which they have no defense. This reality also applies to consumers...as small enterprises managing their households and lives. If there are too many balls in the air that have potential to radically change the rules of their existence, businesses and the consumers in those businesses will stand on the sidelines, hunker down and wait to see what is going to happen. These are good and rational business reactions.
Obama has too many balls in the air. He is upsetting too many apple carts and heading down too many rat holes. What will the impact of healthcare reform be on small business? I have no idea. Neither do business people. What will the impact of healthcare reform be on the taxes small business owners and individuals pay? No clue. What mandates will be required by an ivory tower president and legislature? I haven't the slightest. Neither does anyone else. Starting to see the problem?
Cap and Trade...where is this headed? What will be the increased tax burden on consumers and business if Cap and Trade becomes law? I know one thing, whether direct or indirect, the cost of everything will rise for the United States market...and for the US market alone. India and China will be the great beneficiaries of Cap and Trade, while its impact on US business in unknown in in depth, only in its direction. This is a huge potential game changer for American businesses and American consumers. Its economic impact is potentially massive...but know one knows how big of a burden Cap and Trade would create and when it starts to dig.
Cardcheck...where is this headed? I hope to the garbage heap where it belongs. However, the president favors card check to help out his union base of supporters. How will this impact the cost of business? Well, it won't make it cheaper to do business if I have to overpay for labor due to increased unionization through simple cardcheck processes. How much will this cost American businesses, I don't know, and the point is neither do they, but like Cap and Trade it will increase the cost of doing business, we just don't know how much.
See the trend? There are way too many balls in the air. There are far too many potential cost/tax burdens waiting to be thrust upon American business in the name of...well, I am not sure what it is int he name of, since it does not appear to be part of any well thought out plan or strategy. I guess this is all in the name of paying back those who got Obama to the White House.
So advice for Obama, assuming he can see the problems he is creating for the businesses and people he so longs to tax into middle class....pick a one major initiative. Create a value proposition for the majority of Americans (other than giving away someone else' money) and insert that initiative as part of a broad strategy to improve the already fabulous economic system we have in America. If your initiative and plan do not achieve these goals or have the potential to achieve these goals...you are working on the wrong things.
This advice is solid and it is free. You can thank me later by keeping my taxes low, letting keep what I earn, and staying out of my healthcare decisions.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
What do we really know about Health Care Reform
There is a swirl of "information" flying around about potential reform of the United States' health care system. Sorting through the propaganda, talking points, and spin, there are some things about the current system and the proposed reforms that are irrefutable.
First: The current system is broken for many reasons. One of those reasons is not problem with delivery of quality care. Instead, the reason the current system is broken is due to the rising cost of care and obligations the government has to recipients of government run medicaid and medicare.
Second: Any system in which the connection between the cost of service and the delivery of service is severed is doomed to failure. This is why the current system of government and private insurance is so broken. There is no recognition of usage cost. If a doctor's office visit only costs a $ 10 co-pay or is free, then what the heck, stop in just to see what the Doc has to say. Any product in any system that is priced well below fair market value will be over used. Any system in which there is no incentive to optimize and control costs will see run away costs - like the current system. Therefore any "reform" that makes health care appear "free" will crash and burn.
Third: There is no way to force health care coverage for 47M uninsured Americans without dramatic tax increases to pay for those newly covered with health care. Any suggestion otherwise is pure folly at best and outright deception at worst.
Fourth: Absent political agendas, the fix for health care coverage is not particularly daunting nor difficult.
Fifth: A "public option" for health care where the government both runs the option and sets the rules for the market in which that "option" operates will drive private players out of the market.
None of these concepts are difficult to grasp. All of these are difficult if not impossible to refute. It would be refreshing to see someone on Capitol Hill embrace the reality of our health care situation and propose a responsible reform plan that solves the problem rather than scratching political backs or serving failed political dogma.
BTW - I just read where car dealers are hung out to dry waiting for their money from Uncle Sam's cash-for-clunkers program. These dealers are essentially floating the Feds an interest free loan and have no clue when payments will be dispersed nor when the paperwork nightmare will end. The government cannot run a tiny, insignificant program like cash for clunkers, but there are those who would trust Washington to run health care....you have got to be kidding me. A tried and true phrase describes many on Capitol Hill..."those who could not find their asses with both hands and a map"....and these are the people we want running health care? I want them to go home and stay there, so they don't screw up the tiny flickers of economic recovery that may be taking hold.
First: The current system is broken for many reasons. One of those reasons is not problem with delivery of quality care. Instead, the reason the current system is broken is due to the rising cost of care and obligations the government has to recipients of government run medicaid and medicare.
Second: Any system in which the connection between the cost of service and the delivery of service is severed is doomed to failure. This is why the current system of government and private insurance is so broken. There is no recognition of usage cost. If a doctor's office visit only costs a $ 10 co-pay or is free, then what the heck, stop in just to see what the Doc has to say. Any product in any system that is priced well below fair market value will be over used. Any system in which there is no incentive to optimize and control costs will see run away costs - like the current system. Therefore any "reform" that makes health care appear "free" will crash and burn.
Third: There is no way to force health care coverage for 47M uninsured Americans without dramatic tax increases to pay for those newly covered with health care. Any suggestion otherwise is pure folly at best and outright deception at worst.
Fourth: Absent political agendas, the fix for health care coverage is not particularly daunting nor difficult.
Fifth: A "public option" for health care where the government both runs the option and sets the rules for the market in which that "option" operates will drive private players out of the market.
None of these concepts are difficult to grasp. All of these are difficult if not impossible to refute. It would be refreshing to see someone on Capitol Hill embrace the reality of our health care situation and propose a responsible reform plan that solves the problem rather than scratching political backs or serving failed political dogma.
BTW - I just read where car dealers are hung out to dry waiting for their money from Uncle Sam's cash-for-clunkers program. These dealers are essentially floating the Feds an interest free loan and have no clue when payments will be dispersed nor when the paperwork nightmare will end. The government cannot run a tiny, insignificant program like cash for clunkers, but there are those who would trust Washington to run health care....you have got to be kidding me. A tried and true phrase describes many on Capitol Hill..."those who could not find their asses with both hands and a map"....and these are the people we want running health care? I want them to go home and stay there, so they don't screw up the tiny flickers of economic recovery that may be taking hold.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Health Care Reform that Doesn't Suck - Part II
Let's be clear on one thing before we get started...the house bill on health care reform...it sucks. (Also the vague descriptions of health care that Obama is trying desperately to shove down Americans throats...that "plan" sucks as well.) Face it, any bill over 1,000 pages is likely to suck, and this one does, royally.
Let's fix health care....
Tort reform. Attorneys filing medical malpractice suits...loser pays. If the doc loses, he/she pays. If the filing attorney loses, he pays court and defense costs. Frivolous law suits just ended and billions of dollars of wasteful insurance premiums for malpractice insurance just cut costs of service. I told you this really isn't that hard of a problem.
Inter-state restrictions on buying health care insurance are gone. Anyone or any company can buy a coverage from any licensed firm. Competition just went up and prices just went down - for everyone.
A huge problem in the current system is a total disconnect between delivery of service and cost of service. A public option, by the way makes this problem worse. Increase the size, access, and tax benefits of personal savings accounts.
I am going to take some of the money I just saved and create a low income credit for those who cannot afford insurance to go buy the coverage that best meets their needs. Wait! I just saved more money here because these folks will no longer use the emergency room for primary care. BTW, illegals don't get the benefit. I can solve that problem now too while I have a minute. I am going to totally shut down the boarder and stop illegal crossings. However recognize that there are two ends to a funnel and that having to wait years for adjudication of a legal immigrant request is ridiculous. Therefore all applications for visas will be adjudicated with a yes/no decision within 120 days of the application. There, now those coming here are here legally and can participate in the wonders of a capitalist society. Illegals already here are sent home never to return if they commit a crime. Those here working and living in America can begin a process of becoming legal, but will have to pay a fine. Problem solved.
How many pages under 1,000 is this? We don't need some idiotic public insurance option, please, just use your head.
Just to close, Nancy Pelosi, who may be the stupidest member of Congress ever, and there is stiff competition for that distinction, said that they wanted to remove the insurance companies from the relationship between patients and doctors? Really? And replace them with what? The federal government? Unless we are going totally fee-for-service, then someone or some thing is going to be in between you and your doctor. Would you rather that "thing" be an insurance company or the federal government...which mental giants like Pelosi in positions of leadership.
Let's fix health care....
Tort reform. Attorneys filing medical malpractice suits...loser pays. If the doc loses, he/she pays. If the filing attorney loses, he pays court and defense costs. Frivolous law suits just ended and billions of dollars of wasteful insurance premiums for malpractice insurance just cut costs of service. I told you this really isn't that hard of a problem.
Inter-state restrictions on buying health care insurance are gone. Anyone or any company can buy a coverage from any licensed firm. Competition just went up and prices just went down - for everyone.
A huge problem in the current system is a total disconnect between delivery of service and cost of service. A public option, by the way makes this problem worse. Increase the size, access, and tax benefits of personal savings accounts.
I am going to take some of the money I just saved and create a low income credit for those who cannot afford insurance to go buy the coverage that best meets their needs. Wait! I just saved more money here because these folks will no longer use the emergency room for primary care. BTW, illegals don't get the benefit. I can solve that problem now too while I have a minute. I am going to totally shut down the boarder and stop illegal crossings. However recognize that there are two ends to a funnel and that having to wait years for adjudication of a legal immigrant request is ridiculous. Therefore all applications for visas will be adjudicated with a yes/no decision within 120 days of the application. There, now those coming here are here legally and can participate in the wonders of a capitalist society. Illegals already here are sent home never to return if they commit a crime. Those here working and living in America can begin a process of becoming legal, but will have to pay a fine. Problem solved.
How many pages under 1,000 is this? We don't need some idiotic public insurance option, please, just use your head.
Just to close, Nancy Pelosi, who may be the stupidest member of Congress ever, and there is stiff competition for that distinction, said that they wanted to remove the insurance companies from the relationship between patients and doctors? Really? And replace them with what? The federal government? Unless we are going totally fee-for-service, then someone or some thing is going to be in between you and your doctor. Would you rather that "thing" be an insurance company or the federal government...which mental giants like Pelosi in positions of leadership.
Healthcare Reform that Doesn't Suck - Part I
Few if any in America feel that the current system of health care can survive and thrive over the long term. But let's be clear about a few things before we fix the majority of the problems...which really aren't that hard to fix.
First, let's agree that the quality of health care available in America is the best in the world. Very few Americans are heading to Canada, England, France, or Germany for the health care offered in those countries. Some very sick individuals will have to travel abroad to use cutting edge experimental treatments not approved by the slow and ultra conservative FDA. Seems like that can and should be part of any "fix" for America. However, far more Canadians and Brits are headed to the United States to use our health care system rather than participate in their own free systems. What does that tell you?
Second, let's agree that the ambulance chasing industry of blood sucking personal injury attorneys adds nothing to the health care system. In fact they are a tremendous drag on the system. An OB/GYN friend of mine has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in malpractice insurance over his career, despite never having been sued nor ever paying a claim. Who benefited from that money? Not the patients, not the doctors and staff. So any health care reform that does not address tort reform and take the jackpot chasing frivolous law suites out of the system is not a serious attempt at reform but is a political system of spoils for faithful donors.
Third, there are millions of uninsured people living in America. Many of them are young people who chose not to buy health insurance. Some are here illegally. Others are destitute and cannot afford insurance and need our help. Any reform that does not help the citizens who cannot help themselves is not viable reform.
Fourth, we cannot mandate coverage for an additional 45 million users of health care services without increasing supple proportionally. Without an equivalent increase in supply, vastly increased demand will overrun supply forcing a system of rationing.
Fifth, a public option to compete with private insurance is insanity. The government runs Social Security - it is now a giant ponzi scheme that will go broke. The government runs Medicare and Medicaid, both of which are going broke and have saddled the USA with trillions of unfunded obligations. The government runs Amtrack and the post office - both of which provide poor service and lose money annually. Get the picture? Additionally, if the government is competing with private health insurance firms, and the government gets to make and change the rules, who do you think will come out on top, despite their performance?
So let's fix the health care problems....okay? Coming in Part II
First, let's agree that the quality of health care available in America is the best in the world. Very few Americans are heading to Canada, England, France, or Germany for the health care offered in those countries. Some very sick individuals will have to travel abroad to use cutting edge experimental treatments not approved by the slow and ultra conservative FDA. Seems like that can and should be part of any "fix" for America. However, far more Canadians and Brits are headed to the United States to use our health care system rather than participate in their own free systems. What does that tell you?
Second, let's agree that the ambulance chasing industry of blood sucking personal injury attorneys adds nothing to the health care system. In fact they are a tremendous drag on the system. An OB/GYN friend of mine has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in malpractice insurance over his career, despite never having been sued nor ever paying a claim. Who benefited from that money? Not the patients, not the doctors and staff. So any health care reform that does not address tort reform and take the jackpot chasing frivolous law suites out of the system is not a serious attempt at reform but is a political system of spoils for faithful donors.
Third, there are millions of uninsured people living in America. Many of them are young people who chose not to buy health insurance. Some are here illegally. Others are destitute and cannot afford insurance and need our help. Any reform that does not help the citizens who cannot help themselves is not viable reform.
Fourth, we cannot mandate coverage for an additional 45 million users of health care services without increasing supple proportionally. Without an equivalent increase in supply, vastly increased demand will overrun supply forcing a system of rationing.
Fifth, a public option to compete with private insurance is insanity. The government runs Social Security - it is now a giant ponzi scheme that will go broke. The government runs Medicare and Medicaid, both of which are going broke and have saddled the USA with trillions of unfunded obligations. The government runs Amtrack and the post office - both of which provide poor service and lose money annually. Get the picture? Additionally, if the government is competing with private health insurance firms, and the government gets to make and change the rules, who do you think will come out on top, despite their performance?
So let's fix the health care problems....okay? Coming in Part II
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The Open Hand vs. The Clinched Fist
President Obama's communications skills can't trump the theocratic leadership of the Iran. It is odd to me that Obama thinks of himself as so skilled or so effective in his ability to transcend years of hate, distrust, and cowardice that he feels he can win over the leadership of Iran with speeches and overtures of goodwill...that his open hand of negotiation and even friendship will somehow turn the tide of the fanatical Muslim world. How absurd. Does Obama understand with whom he is attempting to deal?
Maybe Obama should recognize that while his hand is extended and open the hand of the Iranian government would direct their agents in Al Qaeda or Hamas to saw off the head of every western "infidel" if they could and post the video of their vile actions on the Internet. Can Obama be so naive or so obtuse? These people hate him (though they may find his weakness quite useful) just as much as they hate any American. They would kill all of us, Obama included, if they could. These are people we want to reach out to with an open hand? To what end? How does one have a rational conversation with someone who would like to cut your head off? Why would you waste your time? Is this all for show? Is this part of the inner Obama hippie, make love not war, parading itself as foreign policy?
Maybe Obama will start to figure this out sooner rather than later. Ahmadinejad has already hurled a pretty big insult at Obama, charging him with being no different than George W Bush as he batted the Obama Cairo speech back over the net...I am sure that comparison with "W" is considered the lowest of low blows by the Obama people, but get used to it, the Iranians are just getting started.
This naive and unrealistic view of the world and how it works is why the president of the United States needs to have had a job before he or she takes office. This is why community organizers do not rise to great levels of success in business. The lens of community organizing apparently fogged by the haze of "Kumbya" and hubris - which is a dangerous mix when leading the only super power in the world. The world is nothing like the southside of Chicago. Skills developed organizing unemployed steel workers don't translate particularly well in dealing with soon-to-be- nuclear countries who would like nothing more than to detonate a bomb in an American population center.
Feeling good about that open hand? I hope Obama's other hand is drawn back ready to punch Ahmadinejad in the face, but I suspect it is holding a bunch of freshly picked wild flowers or it might have some more money for his friends at the UAW.
Maybe Obama should recognize that while his hand is extended and open the hand of the Iranian government would direct their agents in Al Qaeda or Hamas to saw off the head of every western "infidel" if they could and post the video of their vile actions on the Internet. Can Obama be so naive or so obtuse? These people hate him (though they may find his weakness quite useful) just as much as they hate any American. They would kill all of us, Obama included, if they could. These are people we want to reach out to with an open hand? To what end? How does one have a rational conversation with someone who would like to cut your head off? Why would you waste your time? Is this all for show? Is this part of the inner Obama hippie, make love not war, parading itself as foreign policy?
Maybe Obama will start to figure this out sooner rather than later. Ahmadinejad has already hurled a pretty big insult at Obama, charging him with being no different than George W Bush as he batted the Obama Cairo speech back over the net...I am sure that comparison with "W" is considered the lowest of low blows by the Obama people, but get used to it, the Iranians are just getting started.
This naive and unrealistic view of the world and how it works is why the president of the United States needs to have had a job before he or she takes office. This is why community organizers do not rise to great levels of success in business. The lens of community organizing apparently fogged by the haze of "Kumbya" and hubris - which is a dangerous mix when leading the only super power in the world. The world is nothing like the southside of Chicago. Skills developed organizing unemployed steel workers don't translate particularly well in dealing with soon-to-be- nuclear countries who would like nothing more than to detonate a bomb in an American population center.
Feeling good about that open hand? I hope Obama's other hand is drawn back ready to punch Ahmadinejad in the face, but I suspect it is holding a bunch of freshly picked wild flowers or it might have some more money for his friends at the UAW.
Climate Change Bill...I think not
Reuters breathless headline "House Passes Landmark Climate Change Bill" would be laughable were it not so dangerous. The headline should read "House Passes Economic Suicide Bill". Let's look at the reality of this idiotic legislation:
There is inconclusive evidence that 1) the earth is warming 2) man's activity impacts earth's warming or cooling. The data from the past 5 years shows that the earth and its oceans have actually cooled. This blip in time data is every bit as insignificant as the last cooling data from the 1970s and the warming data from the 1990s. The Earth marginally warms and cools. Got it. Let's go grill some burgers and and move on to issues that actually matter.
So the reality is that congress is addressing a problem that may or may not exist, that may or may not be caused by man's activities. Just to continue the illumination of the absurdity of of this "landmark" bill, let's assume that the problem exists and is caused by human activity. The effects of the activity of the United States is a small percentage of all human activity. The impact of this bill on the reduction of CO2 based emissions is a fractional impact of the United States' fractional contribution to the problem. Hence, the benefit will be a fraction of a small fraction and of no value whatsoever.
The economic impact however, will be an enormous boon to our economic competitors and an anchor around the neck of the United States economy. Energy is the foundation of any economy. This climate change bill will drive the cost of US energy through the roof. At the same time China and India will have unfettered access to the best, most reliable, and least expensive energy known to man. Therefore the United States will self impose an tremendous economic handicap upon itself....all in the name of solving a problem that may or may not exist with legislation that does not impact the "global" nature of the supposed problem.
This may be the stupidest idea ever to come out of Washington...and that is a low bar to get under. The only way the United States should inflict a cap and trade system upon itself is if India, China, Russia, and the entire European Union enact an identical system upon themselves as well. Otherwise the United States is the tree that falls inconsequentially in the forest and no one hears it, hence it is unnoticed, undetectable, and inconsequential in addressing the faux problem at hand.
I am not a big conspiracy guy, but this bill fails every test of sensible reason that there has to be something else going on. The bill will not have any impact on the global climate. The bill will levy a massive tax on the entire population of the United States. Finally, the bill will make the United States far less competitive in the global economy. Like water that seeks its lowest point, capital always seeks its highest return. Where do you think the highest returns for capital will be if the United States enacts this bill? Guess what, it will not be here and capital will migrate in massive quantities to countries whose leadership does not put an pistol to the heads of its economy and pull the trigger.
I know the day that president Obama signs this bill into law, which hopefully never happens, is the day all of my investments move into Asia, where capital is free to earn returns unfettered by the stupidity and/or subversive plans of US politicians.
There is inconclusive evidence that 1) the earth is warming 2) man's activity impacts earth's warming or cooling. The data from the past 5 years shows that the earth and its oceans have actually cooled. This blip in time data is every bit as insignificant as the last cooling data from the 1970s and the warming data from the 1990s. The Earth marginally warms and cools. Got it. Let's go grill some burgers and and move on to issues that actually matter.
So the reality is that congress is addressing a problem that may or may not exist, that may or may not be caused by man's activities. Just to continue the illumination of the absurdity of of this "landmark" bill, let's assume that the problem exists and is caused by human activity. The effects of the activity of the United States is a small percentage of all human activity. The impact of this bill on the reduction of CO2 based emissions is a fractional impact of the United States' fractional contribution to the problem. Hence, the benefit will be a fraction of a small fraction and of no value whatsoever.
The economic impact however, will be an enormous boon to our economic competitors and an anchor around the neck of the United States economy. Energy is the foundation of any economy. This climate change bill will drive the cost of US energy through the roof. At the same time China and India will have unfettered access to the best, most reliable, and least expensive energy known to man. Therefore the United States will self impose an tremendous economic handicap upon itself....all in the name of solving a problem that may or may not exist with legislation that does not impact the "global" nature of the supposed problem.
This may be the stupidest idea ever to come out of Washington...and that is a low bar to get under. The only way the United States should inflict a cap and trade system upon itself is if India, China, Russia, and the entire European Union enact an identical system upon themselves as well. Otherwise the United States is the tree that falls inconsequentially in the forest and no one hears it, hence it is unnoticed, undetectable, and inconsequential in addressing the faux problem at hand.
I am not a big conspiracy guy, but this bill fails every test of sensible reason that there has to be something else going on. The bill will not have any impact on the global climate. The bill will levy a massive tax on the entire population of the United States. Finally, the bill will make the United States far less competitive in the global economy. Like water that seeks its lowest point, capital always seeks its highest return. Where do you think the highest returns for capital will be if the United States enacts this bill? Guess what, it will not be here and capital will migrate in massive quantities to countries whose leadership does not put an pistol to the heads of its economy and pull the trigger.
I know the day that president Obama signs this bill into law, which hopefully never happens, is the day all of my investments move into Asia, where capital is free to earn returns unfettered by the stupidity and/or subversive plans of US politicians.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Hypocrisy + Stupidity = Big Trouble
Remember when Obama woke up one morning in a rage because of the retention bonuses paid to AIG employees? While there was no doubt that his outrage was manufactured and his anger faked purely for stoking his populist fires of rich versus poor, it seems he either ran out of rage or forgot to muster that rage when the employees for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae got their retention bonuses last week. While Freddie and Fannie are no less indebted to the government for their very existence, AIG is not the playground, or rather the honey pot, for former politicians to go and get rich. One can easily argue that Obama's feigned rage at the AIG bonuses was yet another example of his total ignorance of the business world. After all, if AIG is worth saving, and 165B "invested" to date suggests that someone in government feels that it is, then the task of saving AIG will require talented and motivated employees - who would stay if rewarded with a light at the end of the tunnel - retention bonuses being a standard tool for keeping talent in place when others are heading for the exits. So, while I understand the horrific public relations job AIG did justifying why they need to pay competitive packages to the talent they need to keep the doors open. The same argument could be made for Fannie and Freddie by anyone who has ever worked in the business world. However, why does Obama have selective rage? He clearly does not understand the "pay for performance" world in which most of us live, otherwise he would not have used the AIG bonuses to generate fake rage and score political points. I guess he scored all the points he needed or was oblivious to the fact that Fannie and Freddie employees got more in bonuses that did the AIG employees. Obama either needs to be consistent in his ignorance of business or own up to the utter hypocrisy of his actions. Neither bodes well for the future of our nation.
Shifting gears a bit, what would you do if a two-bit, pin headed despot had just demonstrated that he had a missile capable of reaching the shores of the United States...while members of the Iranian government, on the cusp of developing nuclear weapons watched the missile test with glee. There are a lot of things I would do in that scenario, but the stupidest thing that I could think of to do, and the absolutely last this I would do would be to cut funding for strategic, uniquely American missile defense systems. What in the world is Obama thinking? Does he think that by dumping on the United States in front of the rest of the world that everyone loves us now? Maybe this is how things work in community organizing circles, but when we are dealing with people who would love to detonate a nuclear device in Time Square, who cut people's heads off and post the video in the Internet, and who blow themselves up on crowded buses with school children on board, knocking the US down a few pegs in public will not mollify these people. Rather it will be seen as a demonstration of weakness and will drive further escalation of their fanatic fantasies. What a stupid move by Obama, no other way to call this one. The prestige of the Ivy League education is dropping like the stock market with every day in office. Makes me wonder whose papers Obama copied to get through school, because no one this obtuse can get through the day, much less graduate from Columbia and Harvard.
Shifting gears a bit, what would you do if a two-bit, pin headed despot had just demonstrated that he had a missile capable of reaching the shores of the United States...while members of the Iranian government, on the cusp of developing nuclear weapons watched the missile test with glee. There are a lot of things I would do in that scenario, but the stupidest thing that I could think of to do, and the absolutely last this I would do would be to cut funding for strategic, uniquely American missile defense systems. What in the world is Obama thinking? Does he think that by dumping on the United States in front of the rest of the world that everyone loves us now? Maybe this is how things work in community organizing circles, but when we are dealing with people who would love to detonate a nuclear device in Time Square, who cut people's heads off and post the video in the Internet, and who blow themselves up on crowded buses with school children on board, knocking the US down a few pegs in public will not mollify these people. Rather it will be seen as a demonstration of weakness and will drive further escalation of their fanatic fantasies. What a stupid move by Obama, no other way to call this one. The prestige of the Ivy League education is dropping like the stock market with every day in office. Makes me wonder whose papers Obama copied to get through school, because no one this obtuse can get through the day, much less graduate from Columbia and Harvard.
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