Saturday, May 2, 2009

H1N1 and Specter

Obama's administration asked for another 1 Billion from the taxpayers in order to prepare for this little situation. 

However, unknown to most, the 2006 administration allocated 3 Billion plus to research and measures for this precise situation. Where did the money go and why are we requiring an additional 1 Billion? Reeks. 

California is also desperately seeking funds for this issue. Ridiculous. 

And I find it very disturbing that Arlen Specter switched parties and possibly for different reasons than most conservative bloggers. He switched parties because he feared that he would not be reelected because he sided with the democrats and against his party on a major issue. I think that notion is terribly frustrating. I hate that idea. Sometimes I wonder if this system has broken and needs some sort of fixing, and not the Joe the plumber type either. I am talking about a new party... a rogue third party... calling for Ross Perot the sequel please.

Thoughts? 

Sunday, April 5, 2009

The Fed, The Crisis, Inflation and Obama


Admittedly, I am not an expert on Economics. However, I do follow the logic of Ron Paul, which is to say, ‘How does the fed have the right to make money out of thin air?’ First, let us examine the issue of the fed and its questionable legality. In our system of government, there are supposedly three branches of government, this process as we know from simplistic civics classes is to provide a system of checks and balances. However, it seems the power of the fed would indicate there is a fourth branch of government, a pseudo branch. It is like an appendix that has a purpose. It is argued, and I have heard this argument prior to college while in high school, that the fed at times has more power than the president does. More power than the president!! (Yes two exclamation points for emphasis). This should not be an issue from a constitutional standpoint. How can an unconstitutionally mandated organization, which we do not even know is privately owned or owned by the government, exercise is such a fashion that is so powerful. It affects are lives in every single fashion simply because, we need money. Money is provided by the fed. But, where does the fed get money?

Since the creation of the Fed in 1913, suspiciously passed in congress two days before Christmas when other politicians were home to be with family, inflation has increased exponentially to the years in existence.  


Inflation is tied to the strength of the dollar, and the dollar has lost 96% of its purchasing power since the fed was created. The Fed’s purpose was to ensure that a banking failure like that seen in 1907 would never happen again. Of course, the great depression happened in 1929, so the purpose of the fed and its preventative tactics should have been called into question then.

Does today’s crisis relate to the fed? This question is an ongoing debate. Here is how I see it in the most simplistic terms. The fed creates money, because it has a divine power to create where there is none; I cannot fathom the thought process, so I will digress from this point. When the fed creates these monies, it lends it to the banks (at interest), so the banks can lend it to us (at interest). Let us say the fed creates 100 dollars, then loans it to a bank at 4% interest, then that bank loans it to someone and charges 6% percent interest, the fed will get 104 dollars from the deal, the private bank will get 102 because it had to pay the fed back the 4%. But wait, the fed only created 100 dollars, how will the interest be paid? Obviously the fed has to create more money. Does this make sense? No of course, it does not make sense.

 If you repeat the process several millions times and loan out money to people in mortgage backed securities, eventually money will run out. This is the credit crisis in essence; credit is frozen because money ran out.

The fed’s only option is to increase the money supply, AKA inflation. Increasing the money supply takes time and the crisis has already extended to the people, and the people are struggling with existing mortgages. The epidemic exacerbates further as people run out of money because they are laid off from their jobs, because businesses that operate on credit can’t get money to pay them. This in turn causes people to save, which causes business to lay off people because they aren’t selling; and the process continues. The fed’s plan will eventually work and here is the reason why:

The fed pumps money in, inflation will rise. Inflation is necessary to keep the cycle going and beneficial when buying things on the basis of credit. As inflation rises, prices for goods will rise. So those who have a mortgage on a house for let us say, 100 dollars (to simplify the thought process), and are lucky enough to survive the massive layoffs will now have an easier time paying for the mortgage. Because once everything is realigned and credit markets start pumping again, and inflations rises (and it will because it is necessary in this system) then the person who bought the house for 100 dollars, will theoretically have more access to money to pay off the mortgage. The other benefit is that the property value, which the mortgage is based off, used to be 100 dollars, but will now be 125 dollars because of inflation! The person who can survive this crisis will be much better off than the person who was foreclosed on, because based on credit he has made money. When we buy things based on credit, inflation will make the item bought cheaper in the future, depending of course on the interest rate.

I question those who called Obama a socialist looking to spread the wealth and not because I am fan of him. Obama was elected for many reasons, one being because he will close the gap on the economic disparities; this is where the theory ‘he wants to spread the wealth, he is a socialist,’ originates. However, his policies thus far are counter indicative to the agenda of closing the economic disparities, or being a socialist. He is more of the same, because he is supporting the same system that has been in place for 80 years causing the disparities. If he were truly an admirer of President Lincoln, he would abolish the Fed and create the “Greenback” again. Abolishing the fed would eliminate social disparities, or at the least give those of us a chance to regain our footing which we lost in the rat race. If he really cared for the black caucus this would give them a chance to finally make money without the constant threat of inflation. Obama is not a socialist, I repeat he is not a socialist, he is simply another corrupt politician, because we must take into account the natural inclinations of human nature when confronted with power, and its ability to corrupt.

He has continually rebuked those who question his plan. He has said, “Offer a counter proposal if you don’t like the plan.” We have, now get your head out of the gutter and listen to us! Abolish the Fed!

Monday, March 30, 2009

GM Issue

GM CEO Wagoner was asked to step down from GM as part of the deal to restructure the automaker. 

It seems kind of interesting that the CEO of that company resigned so quickly after it was suggested by the Obama administration. 

Not quite sure on all the details but I do not like this sort of intervention just because the government has bailed them out. Luckily, the man that replaces him was expected to replace him eventually anyway. 

I wonder if AIG will get this kind of treatment?!?!!?! I bet it will not as they were large contributors to the democrats during election time. Oh how special. 


Friday, March 27, 2009

Deficit

So, all of those that pleaded with Bush to shrink the deficit, please welcome President Obama. 

The deficit was projected 2.3 trillion dollars too low! Too LOW!!! And some analysts speculate that the NEW projection is still too low. 

Supposedly the deficit is expected to inflate and hover around 4 percent of the GDP. This is expected to CRIPPLE the economy. 

A little more hope and change for those that voted to elect this president. 

And attend the Tea Party in Miami! It is coming soon!!!!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

STOP APATHY

I also have this incredible issue with apathy. The government is a pretty powerful little mechanism but it is supposed to generate its power through the will of the people. Our apathy can translate into many things. For instance, our vote for President Obama can be interpreted as a massive "YES" to democratic policies. Constitutional elections, per se... if I may channel my inner Con Law Professor Schnably. 

Did we just swing the white house into a more populist, grassroots, socialistic realm? Our apathy became dangerous when people actually  selected a president based on rhetorical phrases such as Hope, Change, and garbage like that and selected a president largely based on race. It is DANGEROUS when you do not vote on issues and you do not look at a candidate's resume and his YouTube clips!
I understand voting for a democrat, I understand voting for your policies. I do not understand voting on race and voting on class. 

I do not believe this man was ready and I believe he is too idealistic. Let us hope these changes are not so monumental and lasting. I hope it unites the conservative base and a few of those on the fence voters that literally voted based entirely on racial factors (you know who you are!) 


AIG

Does anyone find it funny that AIG has received so much bailout money after heavily supporting both Hillary and Obama? 

Count me as one who does. 

What about the fact that the government is effectively seizing control of the bailout money within these organizations? I understand that executives should not be receiving bonuses when their company turns in the highest quarter loss in history, but the government should not be policing and sanctioning the use of this "investment" money. Otherwise, the government would be serving a social role and playing more like communists. 

Be an investor, do not use your police powers here. We did not elect a socialist. 

America does not need more socialistic policies and FDR redux. 

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Good Resource

Hello everyone, 

There is a really good tool on the internet that can both provide information for all sorts of debates and its interface is very similar to Wikipedia, which allows you to contribute to the debate. 

Go to debatepedia.com for easier access to information. 

www.debatepedia.com

Change?

Reform Lite: Obama goes soft on pork

Text Size:   
Obama makes remarks on earmarks.
Obama makes remarks on earmark reform in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. (AP)
Photo: AP

The old bulls won. 

Pulled between his campaign rhetoric and his own party’s congressional barons, President Barack Obama largely sided with his Hill allies in unveiling an earmark proposal Wednesday that shies away from any strict crackdown on the practice. 

Obama proposed further transparency for the spending goodies prized by many members of Congress – but stopped far short of the kind of serious limits reformers wanted. 

“Rather than trying to fine tune a fundamentally flawed process, we should take aggressive steps to prevent unauthorized earmarks,” said Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), a leading anti-earmark critic on the Hill. 

Feingold’s GOP partner – and Obama’s former presidential rival – went further. 

“The president’s rhetoric is impressive, but his statement affirms we will continue to do business as usual in Washington,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has led the fight against earmarks. “The President could have resolved this issue in one statement – no more unauthorized pork barrel projects – and pledged to use his veto pen to stop them. This is an opportunity missed.”

Steve Ellis, head of the Taxpayers for Common Sense, put it more simply: “Some of his campaign promises have met congressional realities and he didn’t overcome them.” 

Obama, in brief remarks to reporters and a bank of cameras in the Old Executive Office Building, sent an unmistakable message down Pennsylvania Avenue that he understands their need for earmark spending. 

“I recognize that Congress has the power of the purse,” he said in brief remarks in the Old Executive Office Building that were unmistakably aimed down Pennsylvania Avenue. “As a former senator, I believe that individual members of Congress understand their districts best. And they should have the ability to respond to the needs of their communities.” 

At times, he sounded more like a defender of the old ways than a critic. 

“Done right, earmarks have given legislators the opportunity to direct federal money to worthy projects that benefit people in their districts, and that's why I've opposed their outright elimination,” Obama said. “There are times where earmarks may be good on their own, but in the context of a tight budget might not be our highest priority.” 

As that relates to spendthrift members of Congress, Obama said earmarks should now be placed on congressional websites and open to public hearings.

Further, he proposed that any earmark for a for-profit company face the same competitive bidding process as others seeking federal contracts.

And he said his White House will examine earmarks and, if they find them objectionable, seek to eliminate them – in concert with Congress. 

Gone from the president’s remarks was his campaign pledge to go through the budget “line-by-line” and a promise, still on the White House website, to “slash earmarks to no greater than 1994 levels.” 

And for now he’s signing into law – sometime today and likely out of public view – a catch-all $410 billion spending bill held over from last year that includes almost 8,000 earmarks

Top members of the Democratic congressional leadership as well as their aides have made plain in recent weeks, that they had little appetite for making major changes to a process that allows many of their members to return millions to their home states and districts for politically popular projects. 

And Obama, needing these allies for other major issues, worked in tandem with them to propose reforms that could be stomached by even the most pork-hungry. 

The House Democratic leadership, in coordination with the White House, issued its own set of recommendations just minutes before Obama faced the cameras. 

Obama said those measures “hold great promise.” 

The steps largely mirrored the president’s proposal, but with the additional recommendation that total funding for earmarks be cut to half of 2006 levels and represent no more than 1percent of the discretionary spending budget. 

Congressional Democratic aides breathed a quiet sigh of relief with the president’s announcement, saying privately that they were glad the president didn’t pick this fight. 

The reformers recognized as much, too, noting that Obama avoided addressing the central manner by which the spending projects avoid scrutiny – by bypassing the congressional committees that authorized spending. 

“The president only supports earmarks if they are ‘worthy,’” said Feingold. “He says we can ensure they are worthy by disclosing them on members’ websites, opening them to review at public hearings, presumably by the Appropriations Committee, where members will have to justify their expense to taxpayers. But we already have such a system, namely the authorizing process where the committee with expertise reviews proposed spending in their jurisdiction. Earmarking circumvents that vetting process and ducks the tough questions taxpayers deserve to have asked.”


Again, I repeat my comments in the Health Care section. We elected a president based on a foundation of excellent public speaking and rhetoric. This early in his presidency and he has backtracked on a lot of his stances. The stances got him elected. I am glad he is riling up the Republican base. 


More Health Care

Report: US on short end of health care 'value gap'

WASHINGTON (AP) — If the global economy were a 100-yard dash, the U.S. would start 23 yards behind its closest competitors because of health care that costs too much and delivers too little, a business group says in a report to be released Thursday.

The report from the Business Roundtable, which represents CEOs of major companies, says America's health care system has become a liability in a global economy.

Concern about high U.S. costs has existed for years, and business executives — whose companies provide health coverage for workers — have long called for getting costs under control. Now President Barack Obama says the costs have become unsustainable and the system must be overhauled.

Americans spend $2.4 trillion a year on health care. The Business Roundtable report says Americans in 2006 spent $1,928 per capita on health care, at least two-and-a-half times more per person than any other advanced country.

In a different twist, the report took those costs and factored benefits into the equation.

It compares statistics on life expectancy, death rates and even cholesterol readings and blood pressures. The health measures are factored together with costs into a 100-point "value" scale. That hasn't been done before, the authors said.

The results are not encouraging.

The United States is 23 points behind five leading economic competitors: Canada, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and France. The five nations cover all their citizens, and though their systems differ, in each country the government plays a much larger role than in the U.S.

The cost-benefit disparity is even wider — 46 points — when the U.S. is compared with emerging competitors: China, Brazil and India.

"What's important is that we measure and compare actual value — not just how much we spend on health care, but the performance we get back in return," said H. Edward Hanway, CEO of the insurance company Cigna. "That's what this study does, and the results are quite eye-opening."

Higher U.S. spending funnels away resources that could be invested elsewhere in the economy, but fails to deliver a healthier work force, the report said.

"Spending more would not be a problem if our health scores were proportionately higher," Dr. Arnold Milstein, one of the authors of the study, said in an interview. "But what this study shows is that the U.S. is not getting higher levels of health and quality of care."

Other countries spend less on health care and their workers are relatively healthier, the report said.

Medical costs have long been a problem for U.S. auto companies. General Motors spends more per car on health care than it does on steel. But as more American companies face global competition, the "value gap" is being felt by more CEOs — and their hard pressed workers.

One thing the report does not do is endorse the same solution that countries like Canada have adopted: a government-run health care system.

The CEOs of the Business Roundtable believe health care for U.S. workers and their families should stay in private hands, with a government-funded safety net for low-income people.

That is a significant line. One portion that I believe this article does not consider is the relative health of these people prior to health coverage. We have higher obesity rates than all those countries and we have a high incidence of diabetes. I would also like to look at the numbers on exercise, physical education programs, the jobs these countries all perform in contrast to US jobs. 



War on Drugs

Help, not jail, key to US war on drugs

  • March 13, 2009

WASHINGTON: The White House will push for treatment, rather than jail, for people arrested for drug-related crimes as it announced the nomination of Seattle's police chief, R. Gil Kerlikowske, to oversee efforts to control illegal drugs.

The choice, announced by the Vice-President, Joe Biden, signal a sharp departure from Bush administration policies, away from cutting the supply of illicit drugs from foreign countries and toward curbing drug use across the United States.

Mr Biden, who helped shape the Office of National Drug Control Policy as a US senator in the 1980s, said the Obama Administration would continue to focus on the south-west border, where Mexican authorities are facing thousands of drug-related murders and unchecked violence from drug cartels moving cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine into US markets. But it remained unclear how the new administration would engineer its budget to tackle the problem.

Since president Richard Nixon first declared a war on drugs nearly four decades ago, governments have spent billions of dollars with mixed results, according to independent studies and drug policy scholars. In recent years, the number of high-school-age children abusing illegal substances has fallen, but marijuana use has inched upward, and drug offenders continue to flood the nation's courts.

"The success of our efforts to reduce the flow of drugs is largely dependent on our ability to reduce demand for them," Mr Kerlikowske said. "Our nation's drug problem is one of human suffering, and as a police officer but also in my own family, I have experienced the effects that drugs can have." Mr Kerlikowske's stepson, Jeffrey, was arrested on drug charges.

Mr Kerlikowske's deputy is expected to be A. Thomas McLellan, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania medical college and the chief executive of the Treatment Research Institute in Philadelphia.

During the presidential election campaign, Mr Obama promised to offer first-time, non-violent offenders a chance to serve their sentences in a rehabilitation centre rather than jail.


This is actually interesting. Cutting the demand would sharply reduce the incentive to supply. I just do not know how it would work. How much would it cost to deter using treatment and what arbitrary standard would we use to adjudicate drug offenses? Who gets jail time and who gets treatment? This is probably going to end up being a class and race issue. 

Education Reform

Obama on Math

President Obama outlined his reform agenda yesterday for the nation's public schools in a speech before the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He promoted extending the school day, adopting performance pay for teachers, and encouraging the proliferation of charter schools, to name a few.

But what did he say about math, you are wondering.

Here it is - the math report. Obama's speech mentioned math education explicitly four times:

1. He reminded the nation that economic development and academic achievement go hand in hand and that the federal government can play a significant role.

"Investments in math and science under President Eisenhower gave new opportunities to young scientists and engineers all across the country. It made possible somebody like a Sergei Brin to attend graduate school and found an upstart company called Google that would forever change our world," he said.

2. He pointed out that American 8th graders rank in 9th place on international math tests and that Singapore's middle-schoolers outperform ours three to one.

3. He said that children who graduate from early childhood education programs are more likely to score higher in reading and math, more likely to graduate from high school and attend college, more likely to hold a job, and more likely to earn more in that job.

4. He addressed teacher shortages in math and science and said he supports offering extra pay to teachers in those areas, as well as new ways to recruit teachers into the profession and incentives to stay in teaching, particularly in high-poverty schools.

This might be one of the few agendas in which I agree with Obama. Too many teachers are teachers because of the relative ease of the position. They get the same pay check if two children learn and the same pay check if none learn. Equal opportunity for education is the true way to expand the middle class again and help sustainability in the economy. 

North Korea

North Korea Sets Date for Launching

Published: March 12, 2009

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has told international aviation and maritime authorities that it will launch a satellite in early April, the North’s official news agency and a news agency in the South reported on Thursday.

North Korea’s neighbors and Western nations believe the launching is actually cover for testing a long-range missile capable of reaching the American mainland. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has said such a launching would be “very unhelpful.”

The North’s state-run Korea Central News Agency said the country notified the international organizations to “ensure the safety of flights and sea vessels.”

It did not disclose a date. But South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, quoting unidentified government sources, said the North had told the international organizations that the launching would be between April 4 and 8.


Well done, Hillary. It would be "unhelpful." 

Executive Power and Obama

Remember, I believe he was a Constitutional Law professor...

Obama Says He Can Ignore Some Parts of Spending Bill

Published: March 11, 2009

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday issued his first signing statement, reserving a right to bypass dozens of provisions in a $410 billion government spending bill even as he signed it into law.

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In the statement — directions to executive-branch officials about how to carry out the legislation — Mr. Obama instructed them to view most of the disputed provisions as merely advisory and nonbinding, saying they were unconstitutional intrusions on his own powers.

Mr. Obama’s instructions followed by two days his order to government officials that they not rely on any of PresidentGeorge W. Bush’s provision-bypassing signing statements without first consulting Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. In that order, Mr. Obama said he would continue the practice of issuing signing statements, though “with caution and restraint, based only on interpretations of the Constitution that are well founded.”

One of the budget bill’s provisions that Mr. Obama said he could circumvent concerns United Nations peacekeeping missions. It says money may not be spent on any such mission if it entails putting United States troops under a foreign commander, unless Mr. Obama’s military advisers so recommend.

“This provision,” Mr. Obama wrote, “raises constitutional concerns by constraining my choice of particular persons to perform specific command functions in military missions, by conditioning the exercise of my authority as commander in chief on the recommendations of subordinates within the military chain of command, and by constraining my diplomatic negotiating authority.”

He also raised concerns about a section that establishes whistle-blower protections for federal employees who give information to Congress.

“I do not interpret this provision,” he wrote, “to detract from my authority to direct the heads of executive departments to supervise, control and correct employees’ communications with the Congress in cases where such communications would be unlawful or would reveal information that is properly privileged or otherwise confidential.”

In addition, the president singled out four areas of the bill that direct negotiations with other countries on certain matters, and three that issue directions about what agencies should include in budget requests.

But a majority of the challenged provisions are those allowing money to be reallocated to a different program only with the approval of a Congressional committee. Mr. Obama called the provisions “impermissible forms of legislative aggrandizement” and declared that while executive-branch officials would notify lawmakers of any reallocation, “spending decisions shall not be treated as dependent on the approval of Congressional committees.”

David M. Golove, a law professor at New York University who specializes in executive powers, said the prerogatives invoked by Mr. Obama were relatively uncontroversial. Still, Mr. Golove said he was surprised by the scope and detail of the objections.

“It reflects an executive branch that wishes to demonstrate publicly a commitment to upholding all of the president’s claimed constitutional prerogatives,” he said, “even when the intrusions are trivial or just a matter of infelicitous wording.”

Presidents began using signing statements in the 19th century, but the practice became controversial under Mr. Bush, who challenged more legislative provisions than all previous presidents combined.

Many of Mr. Bush’s signing statements made arguments similar to those made Wednesday by Mr. Obama. But Mr. Bush invoked particularly contentious claims of executive authority, as when he declared that a ban on torture violated his powers as commander in chief.

The Bush administration defended its use of signing statements as lawful and appropriate. The American Bar Association, on the other hand, condemned them as “contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional separation of powers,” and called on presidents to stop using them.

Other legal specialists have argued that there is a role for the practice so long as presidents invoke only mainstream legal theories. They say Congress sometimes includes minor constitutional flaws in important bills that are impractical to veto.


Global Economy?

Obama urges allies to act together to jump-start global economy

The president presses for cooperation on a worldwide scale in advance of next month's G-20 summit, when world leaders will discuss ways to halt the economic crisis.
By Michael Muskal 
9:22 AM PDT, March 11, 2009
President Obama today called on other countries to join his efforts to revive the flagging global economy by working together to aggressively stimulate spending, production and tougher regulations.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Obama noted that the world economy is linked and that allies should act in concert.

 
"I'm actually optimistic about this," Obama said of joint efforts to be discussed next month at an economic summit. "Everyone understands that we are in this together."

Geithner said he leaves this week for Britain for talks with the finance ministers of the 20 advanced and developing nations. The meetings are a preparatory step to the G-20 summit next month in London when presidents and prime ministers will discuss steps to ease the worldwide economic meltdown.

In meetings with other leaders, Obama has pressed for global cooperation, a call he repeated this morning.

"We can do a really good job here at home with a whole host of policies, but if you continue to see deterioration in the world economy, that's going to set us back," he said at the televised session with reporters.

"It is very important for the American people to understand that as aggressive as the actions that we are taking have been so far, it is very important to make sure that other countries are moving in the same direction because the global economy is all tied together," he said.

"We need to bring the world together to put in place a very substantial, sustained program of support for recovery and growth," Geithner said. "We want to bring together a new consensus globally on how to strengthen this financial system, so that a crisis like this never happens again."

Obama said the U.S. goals for the summit include concerted action to jump-start the economies and to get agreement on regulatory reform to take place in each country.

Obama has met with several world leaders, including Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"They're rooting for our success," Obama said today. "We've got to make sure we're rooting for theirs."


WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS? 

I believe that Obama is overlooking the thought that the US economy is one, if not the most, of the most significant factors in the global economy. Focus on fixing the national economy, please?! Without nationalizing everything? 

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Colloquium: Health Care

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/03/11/proconed0311.html

Health Care

This was my response on the health care issue (Not completely informed, but I do have experience in this area):

Before I mention anything on the nationalization of health-care, I would like to reiterate Dan's point on the sense of entitlement. Every major global power in history has had a major weakness. America's weakness is a sense of entitlement and a tremendous apathy for government issues. We elected a president on superficial and ambiguous promises, rhetoric without support and for a chance to make history. 
This country forgets that it already made history by being one of the last if not the last major country to abolish slavery. One election of one unqualified black man does not eradicate such large blemishes on the country's historical landscape. 

Now on to the issue of health-care. Dan references tax shelters and the sort for big corporations. Something similar would occur in health-care. Currently, most Americans seeking an MD, do not want to be general practitioners. Why is that? Because they face some of the largest liability and large patient loads and relatively small...


compensation. The general practitioners prefer other fields in medicine. What happens when you nationalize health-care? These same talented doctors get different degrees or practice medicine in other areas of the world. Turning a blind eye to the business side of medicine for the sake of the common good is just ridiculous. Brain surgeons and other doctors that received their free education in nationalized economies rush to America for health-care careers because they are paid well. 

Our system may be expensive, but the expense is what gives the fuel to the advances in medical technology. 
Food for thought: Fidel Castro claims his country's nationalized health-care system is wonderful yet had to bring in specialists from Spain to treat his illness. 

Nationalization of health-care furthermore is not justified.

There are other corporate solutions. Some companies are running health-care clinics that significantly lower the costs of health-care for their employees. Other clinics offer treatment to uninsured populations and undocumented populations. 
Hospitals CANNOT turn away uninsured citizens and there are solutions for payments for hospital bills (either they are waived or subsidized by the hospital in some fashion). 

Nationalization is not the ONLY solution and it is not the best solution. For those that clamored for more diplomatic solutions for the War in Iraq, this issue is similar. I emphatically believe that there are more solutions out there. I may have my father post later to discuss those alternatives.

Apathy will crush America. This president claimed he would bring hope and change. Listen to his speeches and they are riddled with discussion of crisis, collapse, and depression. Fear tactics this country so loathed while President Bush was in command. The difference is that we are now in a climate of domestic fear rather than foreign fear. 
Change? Obama is proposing the same audacious spending programs as Bush. Where the HELL is the change in that?

Comments?