Uh, What the heck is Harry Reid thinking?
In closing: Ornery but right; on the economy; and everything you really need to know about swine flu.
Month: August 2009
Why This Recession is Different
It was during the Reagan Administration. My dad lost his job as a computer programmer — back before anybody ever heard of the “new economy” and “information technology”, but even then computers were considered a necessary way forward. As good as he was at his job, the fact remained that he had learned what he knew in the trenches. He had no college degree, and thus was at a disadvantage applying for computer industry jobs by 1982.
So he did what any sensible boomer of the day did when faced with unemployment: he became an entrepreneur. There were a lot of computer equipment companies founded in the Carter and Reagan years. Many of them are still in business. But that isn’t what my dad did. Dad sold Amway. Then he sold motivational cassette tapes. And finally, he sold wholesale beauty supplies.
Many companies are started by entrepreneurs in periods of recession or other game-changing economic periods. These new businesses employ people, pick up the slack of closing businesses, and ultimately help lead us out of problem periods. This time, we cannot count on entrepreneurs.
It isn’t just the way that small businesses get financing, although that is still an issue (see also, the SBA can do little more for start-ups than help obtain a second mortgage and nobody has equity any more). There is an even bigger obstacle to starting a business.
That obstacle is health insurance. It is a much bigger issue than it was in the early 80s because health care and insurance costs are so much higher now than they were then (and much higher than in any other industrialized nation). Entrepreneurs can’t afford decent health insurance. That means that if they don’t have a spouse who is gainfully employed such that she/he can get affordable insurance for the whole family, the business fails. And since many successful ventures at least initially count on support (read: unpaid labor) from family members, that’s a problem.
And this is when everybody is healthy. It doesn’t even address medical catastrophe, chronic conditions, or medical related bankruptcy.
The longer I look at the issues, the more fervently I believe that true health insurance reform is vital to the economic recovery of this country. Not mandatory insurance, not anything the health insurers are going to like, but true and comprehensive reform.
In closing: 5 Japanese things we screwed up; the ultimate portable stove; Thom Hartmann and Dave Johnson have related thoughts (I still think the focus needs to be on automatic coverage for kids because they don’t have employers and are often uninsured through no fault whatsoever of their own — I mean really, can you see a kindergartner filling out a Medicaid application?); buy American? How?; an Eliza Doolittle from Malawi; much too bigger to fail; Department of Energy wasting energy; the cause of the next stock market crash will be retiring boomers (assuming they can retire); Smart Child Left Behind (nothing new here, more the pity); Return of the Robber Barons; and I just can’t resist linking the Purina Diet.
Thoughts for the First Day of School
No, this isn’t a post about zero tolerance policies or reform or even the fact that walking to school is safer than the alternatives.
This post is for everyone who thinks public schools are somebody else’s problem.
Every now and then I run into people who don’t bother to vote on the school board election or don’t really care about whatever reform or local issue is under debate. They argue that they don’t have kids (or their kids are grown), and cede the entire issue to those who do have school-aged children. This line of reasoning is short-sighted.
Nor am I strictly speaking of the impact that school quality can have on property values (and rents, to those who do not own property).
Do you watch the evening news? Chances are that not only the “talking heads” but all the staffers and behind the scenes people were educated in public schools.
Do you buy groceries? The nice clerks and baggers are most likely public school educated — some of them still attending. The stockers and butchers, the people at the deli counter, the managers, all most likely learned to read, write, and do math in a public school. The people at the factories where they make processed foods and where they prep goods like cheese and canned veggies? Probably public school graduates.
Have you ever been to see a doctor, lawyer, or accountant? Many of these people went to public school too. The paralegals, nurses, assistants, file clerks, cleaning staff, and other support staff members in that professional’s office are even more likely to have attended public school.
Ever paid for a haircut? Hired a contractor to do work around your home? Bought a cup of coffee? Your barber, contractor, or barrista learned to read important directions and do enough math to make sure you paid the right amount in public schools.
Do you drive? Every time you get on the road, your safety depends on the fact that every other driver understands the meaning of written signage like “Left Turn on Arrow Only” and “Do Not Enter” and “Main Street Next Exit, 1 Mile” and even “Warning: Roads Slippery When Wet”.
Each and every one of us interacts with people who attended public schools and learned basic skills there. Our continued well being — personally and as a whole — depends on a certain base level of knowledge among our citizens.
In closing: pot forests of America; should we give health insurance reform a rest? particularly since it appears to be a “bonanza” for the insurance companies that are gouging us in the first place? when the only way to make it happen might be to take out (or cripple) the one decent thing?; shockingly enough people without jobs don’t spend a lot of money; target on Harry’s back; architectural fail!; on the intersection of the 1st and 2nd Amendments; it’s a coin toss; and remember to watch for kids today! It’s the first day of school.
Bloody Socialists
Susie Amdrak has been so kind as to give us this list of things the bloody socialists the Federal Government has given us. It includes such things as the 40 hour work week, Interstate highways (I wonder what percentage of deathers had to use the interstate to get to the townhalls they are crashing), public sewers (trust me you don’t want to do without those), and public schools (they aren’t perfect, but if you like the fact that most people can read signs thank a school).
So why is it again that Medicare For All would be such a bad thing? The 66% of us — the real “center” that they call “left of the left” — wants at the very minimum the option to buy into such a program. In an environment where insurance companies are doubling their profits while covering fewer people, We The People need to be able to choose to do business with somebody else! At least if these companies were forced to be mutuals, the excess premiums (e.g., profits) would be returned to the consumer.
Need more convincing? Here’s 4 great links from MahaBarbara.
In closing: no you can’t sell all the personal data you collected; courtesy of Make, a handtool museum; if we make sure soldiers are mentally stable enough for more tours of duty, will we have no choice but to get out of Iraq for lack of soldiers?(just a reminder, over 4000 dead American service men and women); high price of cheap food; yes, apologize to Dr. Dean!; thanks to Dr. Dinosaur, free medical info wallet card; things won’t be back to “normal” in this country until the stock market returns to “normal” levels — far below where they are today; and a little late with this idea, cash for fridges. Many local electric and water companies have had programs like this for years. It’s nice to get a little money back on something that’s going to save you money in the long run. And at the time, we needed the appliances in question. Oh, and 5 stupidest terrorism tricks. I still can’t imagine how 6 guys thought they were going to take on a whole base.
The Needs of the Many
A new report suggests that while many women are getting the HPV vaccine, the ones who need it most are not:
The new HPV vaccine, which protects against viruses that cause most cervical cancers, has been a commercial success for manufacturer Merck, with worldwide sales last year of $1.4 billion. But some doctors now question whether the vaccine has been overpromoted to affluent women who need it least instead of patients most at risk of dying from the disease.
[snip!]
Women who die from the cancer tend to be poor women without access to routine medical care that allows doctors to find and remove growths before they turn malignant….
So the women who are at greatest risk of dying are the women least likely to be vaccinated. The root cause of both “greatest risk” and “least likely to be vaccinated” is that these women don’t have access to routine medical care. And no news reporting, no PR blitz, no advertising is going to change the fact that if someone has a hard time getting together the money for a doctor’s visit and a pap smear, they are going to have a hard time getting together the money for a doctor’s visit and a set of vaccinations that is sometimes not covered by insurance.
Oh, and one more thing. Those of us who can afford a pap smear may find that the lab went ahead and did an HPV test too. That’s a nice little extra fee for the lab that you’ll be paying (at the very least you’ll cough up a co-pay) on a test you didn’t even ask to have done.
In Closing: not sure what to make of 90 salads in 90 days; how did the nurse coming to your home to see how you and the baby were doing turn into government agents invading your home?; for those still unclear on the subject, why the public option is important; [gulp] structural unemployment to be high for the next decade; clothing so complicated you need a class or an expert to help you out; man’s life ruined over breath mints; too big to fail must die; famous last words, why oil won’t go back to $100/barrel; old fashioned judge insists on stuff like due process, cause, and warrants, why not powdered wigs too?; and Forbes gets it wrong again, getting a cooking style mixed up with an illegal drug.
Moment of Clarity
Several news sources are reporting that the White House may be ready to give up the idea of a “public option” for health insurance.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear: mandatory insurance without a public option is far worse than what we have today. It would reduce “reform” to “you must pay the profitable companies that got us into this mess whatever they want.” It would be preferable to do nothing and allow the system to collapse on its own.
It is now clear to me why Howard Dean left the leadership of the Democratic* party and did not take any position within the Obama Administration, despite his long list of qualifications when it comes to health insurance and health care. He is wisely distancing himself from this coming shit-storm.
Go make sure your elected officials know how you feel at WhiteHouse.gov, Senate.gov, and House.gov.
* Oops, at first I wrote “Democraptic”. My Freudian slip is showing!
Survival of the Shorties
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
Adopting a pet is a good thing. Moving on now….
A few words about food: Alli may not be your ally; why it’s so hard to resist food that isn’t very good for us; one of the men who made it that way; why Time’s peice on exercise and weight loss is misleading; and is soy “real” food? As for myself, moderation in all things. I don’t think a little soy sauce and the occasional edamame is going to hurt anybody. I realize that this is anecdotal but it seems like most of the people I have ever heard of having problems with soy consumed lots and lots of it day in and day out.
Mainstream Stupidity: our media is making us stupid by legitimizing the dumbest theories with no corroborating evidence. See also: birthers, death panels, most conspiracy theorists, Glenn Beck.
More on World War II: Last year I played Call of Duty: World At War. It allowed me to see, briefly, the Soviet side of the war. In short, they had it a lot worse than America did. Perhaps their losses colored the entire cold war.
To the Conservatives: because government can’t do anything right? (Except for roads, education, sanitation, the aqueducts….) Thom Hartmann riffs on the same theme. Is this really what they want?
On Health Insurance Reform: The “death panels” already exist, but they are run by insurance company bureaucrats. If our current system is so great, how come thousands showed up for a free clinic? Oh, and an item on why abortion needs to be covered by insurance regardless of whether your Aunt Frannie and Uncle Dobson approve. You don’t suppose our current LOW levels of people being employed by small businesses has something to do with our current health insurance situation, do you?
Speaking of Health: British researchers are in a tizzy over the fact that not every woman has switched to birth control pills with the lowest risk of a particular bad side effect. It is worth noting that this side effect is potentially fatal, but still incredibly rare. I guess it never occurred to researchers that women might be more concerned about the side effects they are more likely to experience when switching pills.
Bank Failure Update: Read it and weep. My bank was taken over yesterday. Supposed to be business as usual with a new owner Monday. No wonder investors are no longer content with “not as bad as expected” news.
Dilemma: how do you find a real nutcase before he does something dangerous to others, without locking up people that are maybe a little off but no real threat to anybody?
You will need to know this at some point in your life: how to choose sheets.
And last: impact craters.
Have a safe weekend, folks!
The Day War Changed Forever
It was 64 years ago today. There had been all out war for 4 years, and more war elsewhere for years before that.
In addition to the war of bullets and bombs, planes and boats, there was a war of cultures. One side was totally unfathomable to the other, for they had different ideas about battle, about valor, about death. It was as if they had nothing to lose. And they kept coming. There always seemed to be more of them, no matter how many were killed. And it was this way mile after mile, island after island.
As for them, they were defending lands they considered theirs by divine right in the name of their divine ruler, descended from the gods themselves. Why would they do anything less than fight to an honorable death in His service?
There had to be a better way to defeat this nation than to kill everyone.
Instead, they choose to drop a new kind of bomb. A bomb so destructive that the mere threat of using another one would surely cause a quick surrender to ensue. This is what happened. This is more of what happened. And this is what it looked like. In the end, a second bomb was still necessary — why would anybody have two doomsday weapons? But if two, why not a thousand?
We have many times over broken the promise of “Never Again” when it comes to genocide. Let’s mean “Never Again” when it comes to this destruction.
In closing: a few facts and one concern on “Cash for Clunkers“, a government success story which will save citizens money and help the environment; speaking of the environment, things are worse than scientists thought, and Americans are uniquely oblivious; contraception is more popular than puppies; guess what medical procedure is more common than open heart surgery and hip replacement combined (hint, it can happen after contraceptives fail); size acceptance my ass, obese people spend $1500 more per year on medical expenses; why can’t the tea-party crowd fill Washington with a million supporters? Farrakhan managed it; let me get this straight, I’m supposed to live in fear because some anti-social psychopath can’t figure out how to masturbate?; on graduate placement offices; on unpopular laws; Medicare is a government run health plan, and a lot of people think it works pretty well; bipartisan health care reform is neither bipartisan, nor health care, and it certainly isn’t reform; gee, maybe research on what works best is a good thing; the real math on rescission; and only in Vegas does this sort of thing happen. A man is walking a tiger (yes, a tiger) on a leash when it breaks free to chase a rabbit. No troubles, the man coaxes the tiger (yes, still a tiger) home before the police arrive. I will always be extra careful in that neighborhood from now on. After all, I would hate to accidentally hit a tiger!