Ramblings of the Mind

Lots of deep thought at the Table today. Maybe it is something in the coffee. Here are some thoughts I have had. Some of the questions I posed are things about which I have an impression or might have heard: feel free to correct me if I am wrong. But here are some things that have been running through my mind.

Lord, give me the strength to not discuss politics on Facebook. That’s what blogs are for. I do not enjoy being involved in flame wars. Discussion is fine, but you know that discussing politics on Facebook cannot come to a happy conclusion. There really is not the room to get into thoughtful discussion there.

I have a friend on Facebook that I have know for almost forty years. She loves Robert Reich, and is forever posting links to his column where he expresses his opinion on how the US economy should be run.

I was pretty sure of his background, but I was wanted to confirm it – so I looked it up.

According to his Wikipedia article, Reich has done a number of things in his life, but having a real job has not been one of them. He has worked in academia. He has worked in law. He was worked in government. He has written books and articles. He has not ever had to make a payroll. He has not ever had to deal with customers. All he has ever done is work in an environment where all he had to do was make like-minded people believe that the Reich way is the right way – but the Reich way has never been proven in the real world. He just thinks it we should do it anyway.

So why should I get all fussed about Reich’s pronouncements on how things should be done? Show me where anything like it has worked and maybe I think about it.

This morning another friend posted this picture:



OK. I am sorry this woman had all of these tumors. Most states have health insurance programs for people who can’t get insurance elsewhere -- and these programs were in place long before Obama came into office. Is the big problem here, “Hey, I’m only 34. I don’t need no stinking insurance?” and did nothing to protect herself?

The purpose of insurance is to help in case something happens, not. “Oh something happened, let me try and get these people to pay for it.” As Rush Limbaugh put it, how well would it work if people did not get car insurance, then bought it after they had an accident and expected the insurance to pay for the damage? It does not work that way.

If insurance companies did pay for pre-existing conditions, do you have any idea how much insurance would cost? Despite how much we hear about how the insurance companies are rolling in money, they have a very narrow range of profit margin in which they can work. If they make more they are penalized for charging too much. If they have less they are deemed under capitalized.

Several years ago, a man in his 30s worked for Microsoft on a contract basis. Since he was on contract and not an employee, he could not be part of the company medical plan. Microsoft did pay him extra so that he could get his own medical coverage. Being a young man, though, he thought having a Corvette was more important than having health insurance. Then he was diagnosed as having a brain tumor. He sued for Microsoft to pay for his treatment. I never heard the outcome of the case. If I were to guess, I would say he probably lost, or it would have made large headlines. Someone making poor choices usually does not rate ink in the newspaper – sticking it to the “man” does.

I have extended health coverage through school. Yes, in Canada, people still need extended health coverage because the government plan does not pay for everything. Unless a student proves he or she has extended coverage elsewhere, it is mandatory to take part in this program. The reason is that otherwise, only people who had an immediate need would get the insurance, and the insurance would be very expensive. They require that everyone participate to spread the cost around to as many people as possible.

In the United States system, people seem to believe that “My insurance will not pay for it” means that they cannot get treatment. Lack of insurance or denial of payment does not preclude benefactors. Lack of insurance or denial of payment does not preclude friends chipping in, or having bake sales or whatever. Lack of insurance or denial of payment does not preclude some of the excellent hospitals in the United States that handle these sorts of cases. All lack of insurance or denial of payment means is that an insurance company will not pay for the treatment. It does not mean that treatment is not otherwise available to the patient.

Let’s look at the government “single payer” health care systems. First, could that woman with the tumors wait one to two years before having her surgery? What if the government bureaucrats decided that her case was too far along or that she was too old for limited resources to be spent on her (and I know of cases in BC of this happening to people in their 30s)? That means she does not get the treatment. There is no fallback plan, unless she wants to go somewhere else – such as the United States. She could also participate in the “medical tourism” industry in Canada and go to India – if her condition is treated there. In either of those cases, she pays for it herself.

By the way, US Federal health care plans have a higher rejection rate than American health insurance companies.

Within the past year or two, the Premier of New Brunswick needed emergency heart surgery. He needed it “now,” he could not wait. The government system flew him to where, Toronto, Quebec, Windsor, Vancouver? If he waited the normal wait time the Canadian system would have been, he would have died. So they flew him to – Florida. Now, quite frankly, I wonder if the night clerk at a 7-11 would have been flown to Florida, but that is another issue.

About that same time the head of the Canadian Auto Workers Union in Windsor, Ontario, had a heart attack. Government system drove him to – Detroit.

Why did the government system transport those two men to the United States? The reason is that the Canadian system does not have the facilities to give the necessary treatment in a timely manner. If the United States adopts such a system, where will Canadian patients be sent? Where will American patients be sent?

And, with Obama as President, what would you do if you campaigned for Clinton or -- gasp -- McCain in 2008? Everyone is created equal, but some are more equal than others. Do you really doubt that Obama and his people do not track this? Even if they don’t, who’s to say someone else won’t?

If the Obama Health Care Plan is so good, why are Obama’s cronies being given exemptions?

In British Columbia, the employer pays the premium for the “free” medical care. And not only is it paid for by the employer, it is a taxable benefit. That’s right, the amount your employer pays for your “free” healthcare is added up and added to your T4 (the Canadian W2) as income.

Here is a cute video from Vancouver.



Barry and Squire even made it on the Ellen Degeneres show. Squire Barnes is a hoot, and the video is funny, but don’t let that make you miss the fact that the lottery was for a hospital. Hospitals in BC have lotteries to pay for new equipment and to make improvements to their facilities. Is that the sign of a strong medical system? Is that really how people want it to be in the United States?

It is not unusual to see “Doc in the boxes” here that are closed in the middle of the day because they cannot get physicians to work. There just are not enough doctors to go around.

There is a line in the Joni Mitchell song, “Big Yellow Taxi”: “Give me spots on apples, but leave me the birds and the bees.” I won’t even address the many doubts that have been raised about the science that lead to the banning of DDT. I just shake my head at the people who think that the use of pesticides was only to have pretty food. They do not realize it was so that we could have enough food or any food at all. People need to realize that just because you have it now does not mean you will have it if you dismantle the system that brought it to you. Granted, there are times when hard decisions need to be made. Many people, however, refuse to see the consequences of decisions made for emotional rather than practical reasons.

Before the early 1980’s, the “phone company” handled both local and long-distance service. The thought was that basic service was vital, but that long-distance was a luxury. Therefore, long-distance rates were higher, but they subsidized basic service. A lawsuit was brought to break up this monopoly. When courts ruled that the local phone company could not be the long distance provider, “consumer advocates” celebrated the decision as a win for the people. They were shocked when the cost of basic phone service doubled overnight.

“You can’t do that!” they shouted. Well, something has to pay for it. If you did not like the way it was being paid for before, we have to do something else.

We now we have a President who believes that he can do whatever he wants and bypass Congress. Does the Constitution mean anything anymore?

He has sued a state for having a law that requires that voters produce ID in order to vote. Never mind that the law provides for free ID to those who cannot afford it, or that the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in 2008 that requiring voters to have ID is not unconstitutional -- but he is suing this state anyway. And look at the states that are being sued for cracking down on illegal aliens. Most of these laws are no more stringent than what federal law says, but the DOJ is suing those states anyway.

These are frightening times. We can only hope, pray, and be active to help turn things around next November.