My response to my Congressman

A few weeks back I wrote a letter to my Congressman to find out why he would not support the Republican plan for health care reform and why he voted for the Democrat plan after meeting with President Obama, who assured him that he would help with Medicare and Medicaid in Maine. It just didn’t make sense to me that the biggest issue in Maine was the government run programs, yet the Congressman voted for even more government intervention.

I got the same BS form letter back, but it had some interesting comments from his office so I decided to respond. In modern days with Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, we may actually have a little bit of influence on how people think so I am not going to just take his letter and file it. I am responding to him and posting his letter with my responses in italics here.

Enjoy

I understand your concern with the cost of paying for H.R. 3962, the America’s Affordable Health Care Act. My true concern was not how to pay for it, but doing it at all. However, I do not believe that the proposal offered by Republican leadership would result in real reform or stop the spiraling costs of health care in our country. Why not? I haven’t seen anything in the Democratic proposals that lower cost or result in meaningful reforms either. At least the Republicans plan only costs $61 billion, doesn’t include a government takeover, attacks medical malpractice suits, and according to the CBO will actually lower premiums for most people by 2 to 10%. After hundreds of meetings, hours of careful consideration, and lots of soul searching, I have decided to lend my support to H.R. 3962. Although I continue to have serious concerns with pieces of the health care reform package, I have decided that being at the table will more effectively advance the interests of the people of Maine than by standing on the sidelines. How many conservatives or Republicans were at the original table? What inputs have you already offered? What would you do to address those concerns? I have taken the time to read and carefully study all 1,990 pages of the bill and the accompanying amendments, and I supported the bill before the House because this process must move forward. So what does this paragraph on page 432 mean?

“The Federal medical assistance percentage determined for a disaster-recovery FMAP adjustment State under paragraph (1) shall apply for purposes of this title (other than with respect to disproportionate share hospital payments described in section 1923 and payments under this title that are based on the enhanced FMAP described in 2105(b)) and shall not apply with respect to payments under title IV (other than under part E of title IV) or payments under title XXI.”

No one understands this and no one could read that many pages of this drivel and actually understand it. So I am not buying it.

This bill is not perfect. First thing we have agreed upon. Since August, I have raised several concerns over this legislation. Most specifically, I remain concerned about parts of the bill that cut Medicare and Medicaid. But the Democrats say those cuts would fix Medicare and Medicaid. Every other problem under the Obama administration is fixed by spending more money, but these two will actually be fixed by cutting money out. Very strange. Don’t you find it ironic that the two biggest issues that keep coming up in the health care debate are these two government entitlements? Your parties plan would be to add more to these programs and add a whole other entitlement in the form of a government option, and that doesn’t raise a red flag for you? These cuts would unfairly impact Maine due to our unique situation as having one of the most efficient health care  systems in the country (based on what data?), while receiving some of the lowest reimbursement rates for services provided. Good point, low reimbursement rates, not to mention late ones, are what directly leads to higher costs in the private market. Hence, government is causing higher costs in health care. A healthcare service has a cost, no one knows what the true cost is because we don’t hold providers accountable for their role in healthcare, but there is a cost. Paying the provider less does not eliminate or lower the cost, it just shifts it. This is the fundamental problem with our health care system. These concerns were raised by many in Maine, and I have made sure that they have been heard by the highest levels of government in our nation. I will also redouble my efforts with Senator Snowe to ensure that rural access to health care is protected and strengthened in the State of Maine as both the House and Senate move forward toward a final bill. We need to stop with this rural healthcare stuff as an excuse. People choose to live where we live. I live in a rural community and part of that is making sacrifices including access to great health care. I don’t need the governments help here.  My health care options in my rural county are still better than what I would get under a nationalized system like Canada.

My vote does not guarantee where I will ultimately come down on the future conference report. I hope not. While I understand the legitimate concerns that have been expressed over the direction of reform, this work is too important to fail, and I could not in good conscience let the perfect be the enemy of the possible. This is where you are wrong. It is too important to get wrong. We can’t afford a massive failure here which quite frankly is the track record of government intervention. That is why we should take smaller steps to fix what is broken and not replace the entire system. This is not about being part of history and passing a historic bill. It needs to be about fixing the problem.

H.R. 3962 is deficit neutral and will not add to our national debt. If you believe this, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. When has a government projection ever been even close? Medicare was supposed to cost $11 billion by 1990. The real number was over $90 billion. Now, Medicare’s budget is over $400 billion per year and it loses $50 billion to fraud. We are talking about a 45 year old program that is completely out of control and has now promised $38 trillion in benefits, it can’t cover. Excuse me if I doubt that this will not add to our debt. While the initial cost will be $894 billion over the next ten years, the Act is completely offset and will actually reduce the deficit by $104 billion. Sure. What about the next ten years? Or why not take the ten years that it actually will run without the ramp up in 2011 to 2014. The numbers I see for 2014-2023, the cost will be more like $2.5 trillion. The one thing government has proven that it can do, is spend money. These promises hold no water.  Studies show that at least 5% of Medicare spending currently goes to waste, fraud and inefficiency, (yeah, this is a well known problem that no one has addressed. If we know it is an issue, let’s fix it. Why does it need to be tied to this bill? If this really was an easy fix, I would hope that it would have been done years ago. But I guess it is more important to focus on the $8 billion in insurance company profits instead of the $50 billion in Medicare fraud. Oh, and even if this bill was successful, the new government run program will just have the fraud again.), the Medicare savings contained in the bill come from eliminating this unnecessary spending. Additionally, the bill achieves savings by ensuring that a 50% reduction in price on any brand-name drugs will go to Medicare Part D beneficiaries falling into the donut hole where drugs are not reimbursed and requiring that drug companies provide rebates for individuals enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. Where will these costs get passed onto?

The legislation will raise additional revenue through a surcharge on the portion of annual income that exceeds $1 million for couples and $500,000 for individuals. This surtax does not affect 99.92% of taxpayers in the 2^nd Congressional district; only 250 households would be affected. Nationally, only 1.2% of small business owners would pay the surcharge, and these business owners have an average annual income of nearly $3 million. Not sure why you think I would think that it is ok to tax the business owners, many who pass through the income from their businesses on their personal income tax return that puts them into this threshold, is a good thing. I understand that those with wealth are never truly the ones that pay. I am not really all that ok with having people in Massachusetts paying for this on my behalf. I think you might want to focus some energy on growing more of those 250 households, then fleecing other people to pay for your constituents. Small businesses can easily pass that additional tax unto their employees by not paying a bonus, making them work more hours, not offer benefits, or hire more help, etc.  As Margaret Thatcher once said, “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” I would like to think that Maine and the United States was built upon the hard work and dedication of Peter, not the dependency of Paul. This bill seems to only help Paul at the expense of Peter. It will not work. It is what destroyed California and it what will bring this great nation down.

I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass their own version of legislation so that we can come together and present the American public with final legislation. We must get the best possible bill passed so that the Mainers I represent not only have more affordable coverage but coverage that meets their needs. This vote for health care reform is a vote for expanding health care coverage to the thousands of small businesses and people in Maine who do not have it and, to those who do, making it more affordable and better. I will bet $1000 that my health care premiums will not be lower after this bill passes. This vote says yes to ending the practice of denying coverage due to preexisting conditions and other abusive insurance industry abuses. How does that lower cost of premiums?

I understand that health care is in need of reform, I just don’t think the Democrats bill is the way to fix it. In fact, I think it will make it worse. I recently talked to a small business owner who pays $800 a month for his premiums and has a $3500 deductible. If he hits that, he still would have co-pays and co-insurance. If he was less honest, it is a cash based business, he could lower his income and qualify for Mainecare. He would then have no premiums, no deductible, and no co-pays. What incentive is there to do the right thing? I have a similar issue as my deductible is $10,000, but my premiums are less and I put money into a Health Savings Account. I then make the decisions on my healthcare. Because I do so, I direct where my money goes and how it is spent and that will lead to lower costs for myself and the system. The only way to lower costs is to put more people in charge of their own money.

How does your bill lower cost? Not shift it, lower it. The Democrats are playing one giant shell game but eventually someone has to pay.

Being able to get quality health care should never be a question for any American. And it isn’t. Every American can go to the hospital and be treated. Most will have a better trained internist than they would have access to under socialized medicine assuming they could get a doctor. The bill we passed on November 7^th is a good step forward. Backward in my opinion. It will help make sure that no American goes broke because they get sick or is ever denied coverage. No, they will just be broke because they are un-employed, don’t save, and constantly have the government bailing them out. I look forward to continuing to work toward meaningful reform that is good for Maine.

The worst part of your support for this bill is that I am not sure which is worse, that you actually believe that this will work, or you are just lying to us. Either way, I will not be voting for you in 2010 and I will be using my blog, Facebook, and Twitter pages to convince others not to vote for you as well. We need people in Washington who believe in the spirit of America, who believe in the Constitution, who believe in the power in people instead of government. This apparently is not you.

Global Warming to Global Cooling to Climate Change

I have not touched much on the environment but with the Copenhagen conference up and running, I thought this might be a good time to write about it. I will refrain from mentioning (except in this sentence) the hypocrites who flew to Copenhagen in 140 private jets and then took 1200 limos to the actual conference. I couldn’t help myself. Since I broke my rule, I should also mention that many of these private plans will not be able to park in Copenhagen, so they will then fly to Norway or other countries to park and wait for the conference to end. This makes for good political fodder, but the truth is, that most climate change proponents are also some of it’s biggest violators. I guess it is do as I say and not as I do.

First I guess we have to define the problem. The theory is that the climate is changing here on earth and it is primarily because of human intervention and the release of CO2 gas into the atmosphere. At one time it was thought to be cooling the planet, then warming the planet, and now either way that the temperature goes is considered climate change and caused by man. I can’t and won’t debate the science as I am not a scientist and I have not studied any of the data. My one argument would be that it is not a “settled” science as most on the side of climate change would have you believe. For every report and computer model I have seen, there is another to refute it. The recent controversy of Climategate, which if you watch the main stream media, you have probably not heard about, at least proves that not all of the “data” can be 100% trusted. (If you are not familiar, Climategate refers to some e-mails that were hacked or retrieved through a Freedom of Information Act, from a leading climate research group in England, that showed some scientists trying to hide inconvenient data, attack non-believers to try and discredit them, and basically sell out science for the almighty buck.)

Again, just because some scientists maybe cooking or hiding data doesn’t mean all climate change research is a hoax and a fraud, but it should at least open us up to the opportunity that it is not set in stone. In my way of thinking, humans have only been on this planet a relatively short time in the history of the planet. We have been recording weather and climate data for an even shorter relative time, so I am not sure the “evidence” can be all that strong at this point. Is it not egotistical of us to think that we can kill a planet that we have been on for thousands of years that is million or billions of years old?

But, lets assume that they are right and the climate is changing, specifically getting warmer. There is some data to support this. 2009 will be stated as the 5th warmest year on record since 1850. From 1906 to 2005, the planet has risen 0.74 degrees Celsius by most calculations. Of course, I have my own empirical data of 197 inches of snow in 2007, 25 inches above the previous record set in 1954. Or, how about the 7 straight days, that is 168 hours, of -20 temperatures in January of 2009. The good news for climate change proponents, is that, temperature changes up or down can be proved by the science of climate change. I would have to say that is a very convenient truth. 

Lets also assume that human activity is the cause for this warming. Then the question needs to be asked, to what degree are humans a factor? Are they the entire cause, a minor cause, or no cause to environmental changes?  This is an important question, as our response should depend upon the answer. If we are a minor factor in climate change, then I think it is perfectly understandable to ask people to act differently and respect the planet, try to reduce their ”carbon footprint”. If humans are the major factor, then a different response may be needed.

So that leads us to the next question. If the planet is warming and humans are causing it, will the result be catastrophic? Many movies and computer models are now showing the oceans swallowing up cities and general mass destruction of the planet. The doomsayers are banging the drum that something must be done or we are all done for.  Are the tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. causes of this climate change? I doubt that can be proven and it is my belief that the Earth will continue to have these events regardless of what we change. Just maybe this is the way that Earth defends itself and it will continue to get more violent if needed. I would argue that the greater threat to the planet is the economic threat of a complete collapse of the system. Ironically, this would potentially help the planet since a large percentage of the population would most likely not survive the destruction of our economic system. Less people, less production, less cars, etc. means less man-made climate change activity.

Bottom line, is that we are all living on borrowed time. The Earth has had about 20 glaciations in the last 2 million years. These usually last about 100,000 years and then there is a period of 10,000 years of relative warming in between them. The last glaciation period ended just about 11,000 years ago so we are due for another glaciation period any time now. Maybe all this CO2 gas and warming is actually heading off the greater threat of another glaciation period.

So if we are to assume all of the above. What can we do about it? Can the UN hold a fancy conference, come up with a solid plan, and get everyone to sign on to it? If it can, will we actually be able to affect the climate or is it too late? What effect will this have on the world economy?

Since the science of the problem is not settled, the science of the solution is even less clear and therefore I would highly doubt that the UN or any other government or international body could come up with a plan. Even if they could, the plan would have to be too punitive to industry and business and therefore would take a huge toll on our global economy and quite frankly our way of life, especially here in the US. Of course some developing countries, like India and China, will not support anything (rightly so) that denies them the ability to catch up to the rest of the industrialized world. They have paid their dues and aren’t about to slow down production, because the very polluters of the planet, are now saying they have to stop polluting the planet.  Without 100% participation globally, no plan will have any real impact on our planet as CO2 emissions will just shift to these other nations. In fact, there is very evidence that if all nations did get on board and CO2 emissions were reduced according to the “plan”, the temperature of the earth would only drop .50 degrees Celsius by 2050.  

So two questions we need to ask. Is addressing this issue of climate change by radically changing the way we live and do business the way to go? And is it even possible to make a difference? The answer is no to both.

Of course, as is the model with our current administration, that won’t prevent them from trying. The House has already passed a version of climate change legislation, called Cap and Trade or Cap and Tax. The Senate is working on theirs as I write this. These are built upon the failed model of some European nations who have already tried this. What does it entail? Well, you will be shocked to know that it raises taxes and fines companies money to those who produce too much CO2 and gives it to those who produce less of it, after the government cut of course. It gives government agencies like the EPA (who conveniently released a report yesterday damning CO2 gases) enormous power to regulate and fine businesses and individuals who are not carbon friendly. I wonder if the EPA’s budget would be increased?

The outcomes of such legislation? More jobs, particularly in manufacturing moving overseas, higher energy costs for businesses and individuals, and more government involvement in our lives. This would mean worsening economy, higher unemployment, and general decline in quality of life. You see, if they can’t convince you that it is a good thing to turn off  lights in rooms that you are no longer in, they can raise your electricity rates so that you can’t afford to leave lights on anymore. Except then, the government (who is so caring) will help you by supplying you money to help with the costs. Where will that money come from? From the taxes of owners of the factories and businesses that were forced to move overseas or close up shop. Oops, I guess they don’t have that part all figured out yet. Oh, well they can always just print more money.

Wow! We better hope for some change.

It has been a few very interesting weeks in politics and in particular for the Obama administration. As his public approval dips below 50% and the mistakes keep piling up, I thought it would be nice to give a little report card of the Presidents first 10 months. In no particular order:

1. The “Stimulus”

No doubt the biggest legislative ”achievement” of his Presidency, the $787 billion (over a trillion when you add in interest) passed with almost zero Republican support and with claims that it would put America back to work. How has it worked so far?

Well, it was promised that if passed, the unemployment number would not go up over 8%, yet is has been over 8% for the last 5 months and now sits at 10.2%. It is even higher if you consider part timers looking for full-time work.

Worse we are now getting numerous reports from around the country of fraud and entities, some being told to, reporting fictitious jobs created or saved. The $18 million website (a worthless stimulus project) is a total joke and at one time highlighted that 30,000 jobs had been created. With the amount spent so far, that would be about $500,000 per job. What a deal! Obama himself, has now had to say that the website was not successful, but that it is a side issue. What isn’t a side issue, is the failure of the stimulus. The one good thing to come out of this very well could be the death of Keynesian Theory. The next time the government wants to try and spend its way out of recession, we’ll be watching.

Grade: D

2. Foreign policy

Obama has visited more countries than any other President in this amount of time. He has also bowed to more foreign leaders than any President as well. I guess with things being so good on the home front, why not? Although, our President is warmly received with almost rock star status, his message has been crystal clear. He is not George W. Bush, and America is ashamed of its behavior, not just in the last 8 years, but throughout its history and HE is sorry. The apology tour has continued throughout the year and the international situation is about the same, except:

We abandoned our missile defense system and our allies in Eastern Europe at the request of the Russians. In return, we got nothing. We supported a Marxist dictator in Honduras, instead of the people who were following the democratic process. At the same time, we ignored the “rebellion” in Iran and decided that it was not our place to meddle in the affairs of those searching freedom, the very notion that we stand for.

Of course, we gave firm warnings to the North Koreans, who continued to test missiles and nuclear sites anyway. We did get two journalists back by caving into the demands of the tiny lunatic. Our President gave numerous speeches including one at the UN, that minimized our role in our alliance with Israel, essentially casting them as the aggressors and at fault party. We did execute a daring rescue by shooting a few pirates and rescuing a ship captain, but then we left and the pirates have just stepped up their actions.

Iraq has been rather quiet, although oddly our troops are still there, something Obama promised wouldn’t be the case. Afghanistan is quite frankly a mess. Obama campaigned that Afghanistan was the war of necessity, the right war. In April he changed tactics and appointed his hand-picked general to win the fight. A few months later the general came back with his assessment and requested an additional 40,000 troops so that he could win the war. It has been over 90 days, and Obama has met with him once, for 30 minutes, and with his war council numerous times. Meanwhile American troops continue to get killed. No decision has been made, but Obama has a prime time (his 4th) announcement scheduled for next week to let us know his decision. What makes me think, it will be the wrong one?

Grade F.

Oh, wait Obama did win the Nobel Peace prize!

Grade F.

3. War on Terrorism

I mean the Overseas Contingency Operation. Well, he wanted Gitmo closed in a year, that won’t happen, but somehow I think that date may pass silently. Worse, his Attorney General, with Obama’s full approval (let’s not kid ourselves), will try 9/11 terrorists in civilian court, in the heart of New York City!

What a huge mess and mistake this will be. One, they have already admitted their guilt to a military court and are anxious to meet their 72 virgins. We should make that happen for them ASAP. Second, they will use this as a propaganda tool to show the evils of America’s way. Third they will require intelligence gathering techniques and information to be exposed. Fourth, the whole thing is a sham anyway, Obama and Holder have already stated that they will be found guilty and if not, will not go free. What’s the point of the trial then? Fifth, they have now set a precedent that it is better to attack civilians, then the military. Does anyone remember that a military installation was attacked that day as well. This could be the most idiotic decision in the history of this government.  Worse, we will have to watch scumbag lawyers like this for the next year:

In addition, all of his pandering to the Muslims of the world has done nothing to quell their hatred for us, as more and more plots are uncovered everyday. One that was missed, for what appears to be PC reasons (can’t call out a Muslim for hate speech), lead to the death of 13 people. Of course the President was quickly on TV to make sure he told us all to not jump to conclusions, unlike when he did with the incident in Cambridge. This can’t be called terrorism because that shows how HE has failed to protect us. But the more details that come out about Major Hasan, the more obvious it is that this was a terrorist act. I wonder where he will be tried?

Grade F. 

4. Healthcare

Enough has been said by me on this, but if this passes, it very well could be the end of the United States.  Everything they do in the bill will not drive down costs, in fact, it will most likely raise costs in the long run. If there is no cost savings, then the issue will not go away. This “reform” is all about destroying the system so that the only way to “fix” it is to go to a government single payer system.  The disingenuous attacks on “evil” insurance companies, the lies to the American people, and the budget tricks are enough to make you sick.  For the record, insurance companies made $8 billion in profits vs $50 billion lost to fraud in Medicare. Which is the bigger issue?

Grade F

5. Political/Social Environment

No President, including our last one, has so divided the nation on almost every issue.  Calling white cops stupid before admittedly having the facts, completely cutting out all conservative and Republican ideas, surrounding yourself with known communists and socialists, flying to Denmark to pitch the Olympics, but not to Berlin to celebrate the end of the cold war, attacking legitimate news organizations and protestors, lying about health care reform, increasing the deficits, trying to force Cap and Trade down our throats, lying about the effects of the stimulus, continually highlighting yourself and your so-called achievements, and on and on.

I am consistently amazed at how the same people hated the arrogance of Bush, still love this egotistical man-child we have in office now.

Grade F

This President promised change, what we got was back alley Chicago style politics, and politics as usual in Washington. This President promised hope, what he has delivered is despair. 

If he’s not careful, he is on his way to being the worst President in the history of this nation. Here’s hoping there is a learning curve. Heres hoping that he can change.

Afghanistan. What does Obama really want?

It has been over 90 days since Obama’s top general in Afghanistan has requested 40,000 more troops to get the job done, whatever that job may be. Obama has attended 25 fund-raisers (all unsuccessful as Virginia and New Jersey went to the GOP), flown to Copenhagen to make a pitch for the Olympics, and played, God knows, how many rounds of golf, even snubbing the French president so he could fly back and get in a quick 9 holes.

Months have passed since Obama committed more troops to the front and implemented his new strategy. Yet, he continues to ask for more time. He wants to get this right.

As I see it, there are two things he can do. Follow the advice of his military and hand-picked general and send the additional troops or start the withdrawal of all troops from Afghanistan. He has painted himself in the corner. My firm belief is that he wants out, and I would be willing to accept that. It looks more and more like our generation’s Vietnam and maybe enough is enough. Abandoning the mission has its political downsides. One, he talked tough about it in the campaign (video attached), two, he scolded Bush and McCain and the Republicans will not let the people forget it in 2010 or 2012, and it will make him look even weaker to the international community and to this country as well. And of course, if there is a future attack from foreign terrorists, he and the Democrats will get murdered for not finishing the fight.

The political upside is that he can appease the far left part of his party, which quite frankly he is going to need to get health care reform pushed through, cap-and-trade (tax) through, and to get re-elected.   

Option 2 is to give the troops requested, put trust in the military, and hope things turn out the way the military says it will. If it doesn’t, he can always say he was following the advice of his military leaders and then pull out. He could put time tables or build a more concrete exit strategy, but he would need the additional 40,000 troops.

Option 3, which is the worst of the bunch and therefore the one he appears to be choosing, is to do something in the middle. Give some additional troops, put some false time tables for the Afghan army and government to take over the fight, and risk more lives because of an incomplete strategy.

None of these options are good for Obama, but Presidents have to make tough decisions and he needs to make one and he needs to make one now! Then he and the American people will have to live with consequences of those actions. Americans are ready to do so, regardless of the decision. He wanted to be President, he said this was the defining war in the war on terror, and unfortunately for him, he cannot vote present on this one.

 

AARP and Health Care Reform

Yesterday, President Obama announced that the AARP was supporting the House health care bill.

This was a big deal for the Obama administration and he quickly came out to announce it. Since this bill is essentially the same bill that was around in August that the AARP said that they weren’t endorsing, why are they now. What did they get.

AARP Senior Policy Adviser John Rother said the group favors the House bill because it closes the coverage gap in Medicare prescription benefits, puts strict limits on what health insurers can charge older workers too young for Medicare and creates a voluntary, long-term care insurance program.

“The bill does improve quality, and it improves access,” said Rother. “When people hear this message from us, it will have impact.” AARP will reach out to its state and local chapters ahead of the House vote, particularly in districts with a large numbers of older people and a lawmaker who’s undecided.

1. They like that is closes the so-called ”donut hole” in Medicare Part D. This rule really is a stupid bit of government attempt to lower cost to a program that is already out of control. I have long said that only the government could come up with something as convoluted as the coverage gap. But, it was put in place to try and keep costs down. Closing it will increase cost to this entitlement program. That might be good for seniors but it is a short-term solution and not one that will really fix the healthcare crisis in America.

2. They like strict limits on what insurance companies can charge to older Americans not yet eligible for Medicare. Again maybe good for seniors but where does that cost go. Thomas Sowell says it best, ” What we are willing to pay has nothing to do with what something costs.” I might be will ing to pay $20,000 but if the truck costs $30,000, it is still $30,000. But in healthcare, we can apparently limit what people have to pay but what they can afford to pay. The cost goes somewhere.

3. They also like the new “entitlement” of long-term care coverage. Essentially you will automatically be enrolled in this program unless you opt out. I haven’t seen what the premium will be for such a program, but in true government fashion, I am sure it will not be enough to cover the costs. Seniors already have this available to them through the private market and many choose not to buy it. I guess the government can do it better and at least it will compete on fair terms, forcing people to opt out instead of in, and having tax subsidized lower premiums.

So all of the first 3 may be positive for seniors in this nation but looking at the big picture, they do nothing to lower the cost of healthcare and actually put more of a burden on the rest of non-seniors. I guess the AARP better hope that their current members live forever because they don’t seem to care about bankrupting their future members.

Of course there is one more big reason why AARP is supporting the Democrats heath care reform bill. The bill calls for cuts to the Medicare Advantage program. Medicare advantage is a fairly low premium plan (usually around $50 or less per month) sometimes including Part D offered through private insurers, including some non-profits, that helps seniors get medical care through Medicare. Currently 11 million seniors are on Medicare Advantage and their satisfaction rates are much higher than those in traditional Medicare. Medicare has to pay these private companies to take over the servicing of these patients and that is what this bill wants to cut. In typical government fashion, they want to take away something that people like, is working, so that they can completely cut the private companies out.

Now, AARP offers a Medicare Advantage plan which will be cut or benefits reduced. I quick check on their website shows that it is offered in very few places around the country. But they also offer a Medicare Supplement plan. A Medicare Supplement plan is a much more premium heavy plan that AARP offers through United HealthCare. They also offer a Part D plan. These two plans combined cost anywhere between $125 and $225 per month. These conveniently are offered in areas where AARP does not offer a Medicare Advantage plan. Is it just possible that AARP will make more money on Supplement plans than Advantage plans and that without Advantage plans, AARP stands to make a lot more money?

 

Cell phones for the poor!

As a poor person in this country, you have a number of benefits available to you, (See number 1 below) but the government has decided that you may need one more, a free cell phone and airtime. God knows when you might have an emergency and need a cell phone so we will get you one. It is almost like people have never lived without a cell phone. I wonder how we could survive. Oh wait I was alive when there were no cell phones, it was only about 20 years ago, and I had to use things like pay phones, the help of strangers, or better planning, GASP!

But todays friendlier government wants you to have it all, even if you can’t pay for it. What is next, free cable so that you can watch CNN? I already saw free cars for welfare recipients in Massachusetts so that they can get to work. It included the car, insurance, registration, and even gas and maintenence. What else can we start giving the poor?

Well, in some areas of the country you can get a free cell phone and all you need to qualify is to already be on the government dole or at least eligible to leach off of the system. According to the website, https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/home.aspx, you qualify for Lifeline Service in your area if…

1. You already participate in one of the following assistance programs:
   • Federal Public Housing Assistance / Section 8
   • Food Stamps
   • Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
   • Medicaid
   • National School Lunch Program (NSL)
   • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
   • Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

   OR

2. Your total household income is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG). The table below provides the maximum income you can have to be eligible for service.
   

   Number Persons in Household	Annual Income	Monthly Income
   1	$14,621	$1,218
   2	$19,670	$1,639
   3	$24,719	$2,060
   4	$29,768	$2,481
   5	$34,817	$2,901
   6	$39,866	$3,322
   7	$44,915	$3,743
   8	$49,964	$4,164
   For each additional person, add…	$5,049	$421

   AND

3. No one in your household currently receives Lifeline Assistance through another phone carrier. If someone in your household is receiving Lifeline Assistance you must cancel the service before applying for Lifeline Service through SafeLink Wireless.
4. You have a valid United States Postal Address. In order for us to ship you your FREE phone you must live at a residence that can receive mail from the US Post Office. Sorry, but P.O. Boxes cannot be accepted.

Please note that if you elect to qualify via income you will need to prove your eligibility by sending us a copy of a document that proves your income level. The following are examples of documents that are accepted:

• 4 months of consecutive pay stubs
• Letter from your employer
• Last year’s income tax return
• Employer W-2 form

This is just great. It just keeps getting better and better for our nation’s poor. If this is really an issue, wouldn’t it be better to give all poor people or all people a phone with just one button for 911 so that we are all covered in case of an emergency? I guess we will never know. But I do wonder what their texting plan looks like.

The Fall (or rise?) of Communism

Barack Obama will skip the 20 Year celebration of the Fall of Communism that will be held in Berlin on November 9. This seems appropriate since for all practical purposes the guy is a communist and certainly surrounds himself with Communists.

I mean really, should we expect anything different from this President? It is not like it is important, like flying to Denmark to try and land the Olympics. This is not a good opportunity to go give a speech apologizing for America since it was America that lead the fight against Communism and helped the world eventually triumph over it. He certainly wouldn’t want to go and highlight the success of America, people might see it as a policy of intervention.

This guy is turning into a real embarrassment for this country. Not only will he not take part in this celebration, but he will fly to Europe to pick up his well deserved Nobel Peace prize. What a joke.

What will we do without government money?

The government provides plenty of assistance to “needy” families in the ways of food stamps, Medicaid, housing subsidies, welfare, and heating assistance. As our federal debt escalates, the federal government will eventually run out of money for this type of social welfare, probably within the next two decades. So I thought it would be good to think about what we will do without government assistance by looking at what we did before it.

For this example, I will look at heating assistance or Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) which is a federal block grant of 4.5 billion dollars with a 590 million contingency in 2009. This is one of many programs out there. With the price of energy skyrocketing over the last few years, poor people are having a tough time heating their homes. This is a bigger problem here in the Northeast and a real big problem in Maine.

So the government steps in with some money and makes it available to low income people. So how does it work in Maine? Well, if you go to the Maine State Housing Authority website you can find information about LIHEAP as well as a number of other programs that are available, and which you are encouraged to apply for as well. For LIHEAP in Maine, you can qualify if your income falls within 230% of federal poverty guidelines. For a family of four, this is anywhere between $0 and $40,000 per year.

If you qualify, go to your local agency and fill out an application. You will need your personal information, proof of gross household income, proof of address, and recent copies of utility bills (even the electric bill that you have no intention of paying since they can’t shut you off). Then you mayl get some assistance to help pay for your energy costs.

Some extra bonuses: Next year, in many cases, the agency will contact you to make sure you don’t forget to re-apply. Don’t forget to come get your free handout!  They also make a point that if your heat is included in your rent, you can still apply for LIHEAP. That seems reasonable, just like tax payers who don’t pay taxes getting a refund of the taxes they didn’t pay.

What will people do when it no longer is available? Lucky for them, once the government starts a program, they very rarely end it, in fact the budget continues to go up every year. With Cap and Trade legislation going through Congress as I write this, that will increase energy costs, I was re-assured that there would be more federal dollars available for energy assistance by my Congressman. But I still contend that all free lunches must come to an end eventually so what to do? Well lets look at the past.

In the 1950’s what would a family of four had to do if they could not afford heat for their home? Essentially there are five options:

1. Adjust their budget by cutting somewhere else to pay for heat. Curtain off rooms and get extra blankets. Make kids sleep in the same bed. Find alternative methods to heat the house, etc.

2. Get another job and make more money to cover it.

3. Get help from other family members, the church, or the community. This could be blankets, wood, or money.

4. A combination of 1 through 3.

5. Freeze to death

The government seems to think that we would all choose option 5, so they provide us with money to cover the heat so we don’t freeze to death. By doing this, they also prevent us from taking any of the other actions and actually have to sacrifice anything. Without the pain and the hardship, it is almost impossible to change the behavior.

So for the time being the government will help out. People will stop by their local agency office, fill out a few forms, get a check. On the way home to watch cable television,they can stop and pick up a pack of cigarettes and a case of beer.

God Bless America

Milton Friedman was a genius

Milton Friedman sums up the whole issue with health care in this country even though he has been dead since 2006.

He argues that there are four ways to spend money:

The first and most common way in the private sector is people spending their own money on themselves. In this case, the buyer is interested in both quality (the best product or service that he can afford) and value (getting it at the best price) because he is both the producer of the wealth being spent and the consumer of the good or service being procured.

The second way is when people spend their own money on others (such as gifts). Here they are still concerned about value (it’s their money), but less concerned about service quality as they are not the consumer.

The third way is spending other people’s money on yourself. Think of the rich man’s girlfriend who buys herself the nicest dresses in the store on his credit card without even looking at the tag. She wants quality, but value is irrelevant since she sacrifices nothing.

The fourth way is when people spend other people’s money on other people. In this case, the buyer has no rational interest in either value or quality. Government always and necessarily spends money in this fourth way. This guarantees inefficient public spending because the spenders have no vested interest in efficiently allocating those funds.

Look at education and health care and ask which of the four ways spending falls into. Government employees are not evil, they just don’t have the proper incentive to spend the money wisely.

If we made 100% of the people spend their money on themselves (and their family) for health care, the issues we have today would go away. The government’s answer is to just up the ante and spend even more money in the worst possible way.

Grayson’s Smokescreen

You may have seen Representative Grayson’s wonderful speech on the House floor this week where he used charts to say that the Republican’s health care plan was to “die quickly”. Clearly what Grayson wanted was his 10 minutes of fame and he got it as CNN, MSNBC, and FOX have all played the clip. This is clearly another smokescreen set up to pit Republicans vs. Democrats instead of focusing on the bill that should hit the floor sometime this month.

The Republicans right now do have plans that in my opinion would better serve to reform our current health care system, reduce costs, and enforce more personal responsibility. There plans are a lot less government centric to be sure.  But Grayson is right, since the Republicans have no power to get their bills passed, they are doing everything that they can to stop the Democrats from pushing through their version of “reform”. The Republicans can only blame themselves since they conveniently did not push for any healthcare reform when they had the White House and a majority.

This is what is wrong with our government now. The two parties are incapable and un-willing to work together. Senator Baucus says he is against the public option but only because he can’t get the 60 votes necessary to get it passed. Shouldn’t the goals of lawmakers be to pass laws that 80% of the population would agree on? (You’ll never get the fringe elements of either side to agree)

So what we get is smokescreens such as Grayson so most of us focus on the “fight” instead of the substance. The Democrats will pass “their” healthcare, eventually the Republicans will take back over and pass their reforms, and the country will continue to go back and forth. And deeper into debt.

I believe that there are things that the majority of us can agree on in this health care reform debate and in most issues, but will we ever be able to see through the smoke?

 UPDATE: Grayson “apologizes” (and the smokescreen continues)

I read most of the report that he references and it is complete hogwash. It was paid for by a single payer group and then “researched and written” by the most centrist of institutions, Harvard.

The crux of the report is that 44,000 Americans die each year because they don’t have health insurance. This is a ridiculous assertion. This is like saying 44,000 Volkswagen owners die per year. The two have no bearing on each other. You don’t die because you don’t have health insurance. You die because you get sick, get murdered, die in an accident, or pass on of natural causes. Patrick Swayze had health insurance, it couldn’t save him. 

But for a moment lets say that it is true. (As riduculous as that is) Ok, that means that 0.1% of the American population die each year because they lack health insurance. Should we revamp the system for the other 99.9%?  In fact, using their false number of 46 million un-insured, that is less than .10% of the un-insured. Hardly seems like a Holocaust to me.

Also, I guess this means that the other 700,000 who die each year DO have health insurance, so maybe having health insurance isn’t the answer that Grayson thinks it is. We ALL have access to health care, which may or may not save your life, regardless of if we have health insurance.

You want to see real studies? Read the studies about how many people die each year from smoking or drinking or obesity. Is it the lack of health insurance that is really the issue? Give me a break. Just maybe it is the personal decisions that we make in our own lives. If only government could solve that.

Damn, I got sucked into the smoke screen. Bastards.