Stop National Healthcare

It seems to almost be a foregone conclusion at this point, but we must put a stop to the idea of National Healthcare.

First, let’s look at the places that already have it. For example, the Canadian system is a nightmare and if it weren’t for the fact that Canadian citizens can come to the U.S. to be treated or to have surgery done, their system would collapse on itself. Do we really want to wait a year to have a simple, yet lifesaving, procedure because you are put on some government waiting list because they have to ration care?

In Germany, they have two separate systems. One is paid for by the government and one is a private system. You, hopefully, will not be surprised to hear that the private system not only offers better care, but does so more efficiently.

In England, they have to cut and restrict service. Is this really what we want to do to our system? We will not have another country as a safety net to go get necessary procedures done. Do we want a less efficient, lower quality system? How can any rational person think that is the direction to go?

I agree something must be done to control the costs, but letting the government run it is NOT the answer. The answer is to limit litigation that is brought against doctors and hospitals. I would not suggest that doctors be granted some sort of blanket immunity against malpractice, however the frivolous actions must be stopped. The amount of malpractice insurance required is one of the largest reasons a doctor closes the door on his private practice and treating the people of his community. If you have to see the majority of your patients just to pay malpractice insurance, that is an unsustainable business model. You still have nurses and administration staff to pay for, rent, insurance, power and water bills. Not to mention the equipment necessary to deliver care to your patients.

We have the best medical system in the world. We need reform…not a change to a system that has proven to be a failure. That would be change, but not change we should believe in.

National Healthcare....You really want this?

• Receptionists carrying out initial checks on patients;
• Two clinical decision units - one unstaffed - used as 'dumping grounds' for A&E patients to avoid missing waiting targets;
  
• Nurses who turned off heart monitors because they didn't understand how to use them;
• Delayed operations, with some patients having surgery cancelled four days in a row and left without food, drink or medication;
• Vital equipment such as heart defibrilators was not working

This is exactly what we will get if Obama and Crazy Pelosi get their wish of nationalized healthcare. I still cannot understand how anyone who has been to any local government office, Divers license office for example, would want government to control your access to healthcare. Government entities are the least agile and able to react to changes. They always need to commission a study, then discuss the results for a week before they can decide that changing their paper supplier.

You may not think our current system is all that great. And you are entitle to your opinion...but isn't our system better than the nationalized one in England?

Here...read the rest of the article yourself:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1162552/The-NHS-Third-World-hospital-patients-drank-flower-vases-Inquiry-12-Trusts-1200-died-needlessly.html

The user comments are rather enlightening. Seems to be not just this hospital...but hospitals all over the country. And, the user's are saying they would rather pay for private insurance than deal with this debalce they currently have with the govnerment in charge....

Global Warming? I think not

More like Global Cooling. The entire country basically saw COOLER than normal temperatures.

Can Al Gore and all the Hollywood morons stop harping on this now?

Failure of the Republican Party

In the spirit of full disclosure, I consider myself a fiscal conservative and a social moderate, maybe even leaning a little left. If a gay couple wants to get married, go for it. If I can get married, why can't they. If a woman wants to get an abortion, feel free. Frankly, I think it's rather absurd that any politician wants to legislate such an issue. For the most part, none of them even have a uterus, so their opinion really shouldn't matter.

That being said, if the Republicans ever want to win an election again, they need to do some serious self examination. Traditionally, Republicans stood for smaller government and restricted spending. Over the last 8 years, the government has grown faster than at any point in history and spending has increased significantly. While the creation of Homeland Security was probably a necessity after September 11 attacks, I have a hard time justifying the rest of the governmental expansion. We have seen millions upon millions spent on earmarks that pay farmers not to grow crops, ect.

While I tend to take what is said on the campaign trail with a grain of salt, I do believe that McCain would have restricted spending, especially earmarks. As he said, we don't need higher taxes, we need more controlled spending.

But I see three main reasons why the Republicans lost the Presidency and lost more ground on the house and senate. First off, Obama ran a better campaign. Time and time again, I saw Obama volunteers walking around my neighborhood handing out information about Obama's policies, as well as where and how to vote. Not once did I see anyone from the Republican party. Even though I am a registered Republican, I got calls on my home and cell phones from the Democrats asking if I would be supporting Obama. While I said no to them, at least they called. No one from McCain's campaign ever contacted me, and I live in a battleground state that voted for Bush in the last election, but Obama won this time. Maybe McCain assumed my support, but it sure seems like they could have used better turn out at the polls.

Secondly, weather McCain isn't as smooth a speaker as Obama, or the people running the campaign weren't on their game, the messages that needed to be delivered weren't getting there. Why didn't McCain hammer the "tax cut for 95% of Americans" statement when 45% of Americans don't pay any taxes. Or the fact that Obama is going to let the Bush tax cuts expire and go back to taxing us at the levels during the Clinton administration and he doesn't consider that raising taxes. If I am going to pay more taxes in 2010 than I am now, that is a tax increase. Or the misconception of lowering capital gains taxes for small business, when they don't pay capital gaines tax....they pay income tax. This was a huge failure of the campaign. I think McCain really did have some of the right messages, but they didn't get delivered in a very effective way. Hell, "Joe the Plumber" was more successful and effective in getting Obama to talk honestly about his policies than anyone associated with the Republican party. Now Joe seemed like a pretty smart guy, but when regular civilians are better at playing the political game than the people running the Republican party, that's a huge failure.

And third, if you go back over the course of history, you will find with almost 100% certainty that if the economy is doing well, the incumbant party will stay in office. If the economy is suffering, we tend to vote them out. We've heard a lot in recent weeks and months about red states and blue states, but we are all truely green states. If we are all making money and doing well financially, we don't want to buck the trend.

BAR STOOL ECONOMICS

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.

Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.

But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each MAN'S bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.!

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).

The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20, 'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'

Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten Times more than I!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.

Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.

For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

I knew Pelosi was crazy...but seriously?!?!?!

When asked Tuesday if Democrats had any responsibility for the current economic crisis gripping the United States, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had just one word to say: "No."

I'm sorry Nancy, but you have either lost your remaining marbles, or you are flat out lying. The latter is far more likely considering your chosen profession.

The vast majority of today's economic problems stem from the fact that under Clinton, the federal government used their power to force banks and mortgage lenders to make loans to people who couldn't qualify otherwise. Either make these bad loans to people who are not fiscally responsible enough to repay them or we will install so many new regulations, you will be sorry.

So, you now have people armed with their faulty pre-approval letters going out and buying more house than they could afford. And, let's not forget, the mortgage payment isn't the only thing to consider when calculating your monthly expenses as a home owner. You also have insurance, taxes, and up keep. When you were a renter, when the A/C crapped out or the fridge stopped working, that wasn't your responsibility. No landlord to call when you're the owner.

So, these people can't afford their mortgage payments, and certainly cannot afford the upkeep on their homes. Not only is the house falling into disrepair, but also foreclosure. With all these "fixer uppers" in a slumping housing market, they cannot even sell the house for what they owe on the loan. So they have drained their bank accounts and have no equity in their homes.

So, Ms. Pelosi, what say you now? Oh right...don't let the facts get in the way of a good argument. And, if you think that most Americans are stupid enough to actually buy this load, don't forget that this democrat led congress has a FAR lower approval rating than President Bush.

Do you remember when?

At the last election, we were promised the world. And what did we get by handing over the house and senate to the Dems? Well, we certainly didn't get what they promised us.

Nancy Pelosi said the Dems have a "common-sense plan to lower our gas prices". Since she took her position, gas prices have gone up by 75%!!! I bet none of our paychecks or investments have gone up even 10% since she became Speaker of the House....maybe her own, but I digress.

The world demand for oil is increasing as China, India, and other's continue to develop. If we, stubbornly, rely only on traditional channels for oil, we are destined to pay more and more for gas. Why has the house and senate continued to deny us the ability to get oil from new resources. It is estimated that there is more oil available from the shale in the western US than in all of Iraq. Why have our elected leaders made it illegal to develop this technology? Why can China drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and we cannot?

Another "do you remember" moment: Peolsi, and those of her ilk, claimed to put an end to the "culture of corruption" in Washington by reducing ear-marked spending because that was allowing special interest groups too much power.

Interesting to know that ear-mark spending is up 29% this year alone.

They got into power in both the house and senate, but didn't deliver the things they rode to victory. As a matter of fact, they went COMPLETELY the opposite direction once they were elected. Typical politician move...bait and switch. Well, if they are not voted out of office the next chance we get, there is something seriously wrong with us and the system. Either the people voting are too stupid, or the ear-mark spending is doing it's job and they are simply buying their seat.