When Bernard Madoff gets caught with his ponzi scheme - he goes to prison - FOR.THE.REST.OF.HIS.LIFE.....and justifiably.....
When the Government runs their own ponzi scheme, people feel entitled to it....its an entitlement - Social Security - Medicare - Medicaid. Its a ponzi scheme - it cannot sustain itself. If you got in at the beginning, well....lucky you but like Madoff's last "investors" these younger workers will get screwed also.
The largest healthcare dollar is spent in the final days of life and not at the beginning or during child bearing or anything in between. Its at the end.... Therefore, GOVERNMENT PROVIDED healthcare is a PONZI scheme. There are more people getting older with fewer coming up behind to support this GAME. Its a racket.....a game....illegal if it were in any other part of society except for the government.
Did you scream for Madoff's blood? Do you think what he did was so awful? Are you supporting the Government provided healthcare? Why?
I want to go back a little bit....to the beginning of time....the world rocked along. Man figured out fire....they figured out bronze, iron, gold.....they figured out salt and how it would preserve food....they made alphabet, paper and books....they made the printing press and sailed to new worlds. How long did all this take? Thousands of years.... Then, in 1776, those in this new world (about 10%) threw off the oppressive rule of a king. So, we are a little less than 250 years out since the creation of this experiment called These United States. 233 years.
How have these 233 years gone? Well - we have electricity, radio, tv, Internet, we have cars, trains, and have been to the moon. We fly.
Why are the "discoveries" and "inventions" so long to 1776 and then so fast after? Because of the free market. Here we have the heritage of being to do whatever we want. There is no having to stay in your station. Meaning - if your dad was a farmer, you dont have to be a farmer. You can be President. You can be born in poverty and become a Rockerfeller, Vanderbilt or a Kennedy.
Now - lets look at our Government. Does it run smoothly? Is it efficient? Has it done anything better than the private sector? Not really. We have roads, mail and some other things but thats because private business has been kept out and not allowed to compete. Is there really someone out there who believes that their mail is better in the hands of the USPS than UPS or FedEx? If the USPS was really better, it wouldnt fear the competition from these other two. The USPS is billions dollar in debt....UPS and FedEx have to be able to turn a profit or fold - and they manage to do so....why cant the USPS?
So - lets move this argument to the current debate. Healthcare. No one is claiming that the system is perfect (no system is). The debate is how to make it better.
I have posted some of my ideas in regards to the private sector solutions - I am not going to rehash them here. What I do want people to examine is WHY they think the Government would do a better job....
The knee jerk reaction is that the Government should do it - when did this happen in our country? It wasnt founded that way - in fact, it was founded with the admonition - ANYONE BUT THE GOVERNMENT. How have we been seduced, coddled, manipulated to now think anti-founding fathers? Its disgusting....
Thats where the title of this post came from....we need to snap out of it. The Government is the enemy and we need to act like it -- channel Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin and lets get on with fixing this - within our states, within our communities and lets kick the Government to the curb....literally.....
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Hmm. A few hot days, an exciting thunderstorm, a calming cool front.
Obama still obsessing that opposition to his plans means something other than someone thinks the plans are stupid.
The world proceed as it has, we all have a niche to find and fill.
A twenty minute nap has been shown to improve your thinking for the rest of the day. And also into the next day. Just saying.
I did find one quote confusing, though. When a Senator watches a critic being carried off by police, and quips, "We just saw democracy in action," what does he mean, exactly? Was using police to carry off, harrass, and silence honest dissent "democracy in action?" Was using police to protect his own point of view "democracy in action"? Was limiting views expressed to invited (and donating!) supporters "democracy in action"?
The only democracy in action I saw, was the shouter confronting an arrogant agent of a tyrannical administration. Before the democratic dissent was dispersed by order of the Obama administration and their participants.
Or did I miss something?
Did you know when you blog and you type the title and hit "enter" it launces? Well - thats why for a while there was just a title and not the rest of the post!
My bad - but its all up now!
Pearls, there are just too many brainwashed idiots out there to fight. The lessons of our Founders fall on mostly deaf ears. Those few of us left who understand Liberty are completely screwed! All we can do is check out of the "system" and be as self sufficient as possible, while collaborating with as many like minds as possible so as to be able to make a stand when "they" come for us. Three Percent is what won the American Revolution, and hopefully there's three percent left now, but I ain't holding my breath....
We who understand Freedom need to prepare to defend ourselves against those who wish to deprive us of it.... The fight is coming soon.
Pearls, just wanted to point something out to you. You started your post talking about Bernie Madoff and end by stating the inefficiency of government.
Bernie Madoff slithered up through the pond scum of private industry not government.
Let's not forget Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Enron, WorldCom, Tylenol, Vioxx, American Peanut Company and Union Carbide in Bhopal to name just a few.
The USPS is obligated by statute to be revenue neutral, that is it can't make a profit.
Private industry isn't the panacea you believe it to be. Competition doesn't cure all ills.
Abraham - my point was taking a private stituation and how everyone rightfully believes that it was awful and comparing it to how everyone thinks that the government doing it is just fine and even encouranged.
USPS doesnt even break even...its another handout by you and me - people dont see it that way because they do donate something, but it does not support itself.
Private business isnt perfect. It is better than the government. You mentioned Enron which still seems to be the gold standard by which "corporate evil" is measured but it was nothing compared to Fannie and Freddie which we havent seen the end of yet.
Those in Government have no idea what it is to meet a budget, answer to customers, make a business work but somehow they know how to fix it? They know only how to spend with abandon money that isnt theirs.
Private business gets out of hand every now and then - robber barrons come to mind - but this country would not be what it is if it werent for private business - our econony - our military - our healthcare (pills, procedures).
This world would not be what it is today without what the UNITED STATES private business has exported, invented, discovered.
Speaking of robber barons, An interesting book to check out is "The Myth of the Robber Barons." by Burton Folsom.
He makes a split between what he calls "Market Entrepreneurs" and "Political Entrepreneurs".
The market folks just tried to provide a good product at a good price. History shows that they were better to their employees, and the businesses did better.
The political crowd used the government to get monopolies on various industry. They had to meet certain government set standards to continue to get money - and they generally used any means they could to continue suckling at the public teat. Without government intervention, they would have failed.
Bad guys like Bernie come up through business and government and churches and everywhere, not just the private sector. He wasn't the product of a free market. He was bad of his own will and choice.
The problem is that the bad guys always find a way (at least temporarily) around regulation. Putting more regulation on the front end only hurt the good guys who are willing to follow the law and not lie.
Competition may not be a pancea. It may not cure all ills.
Lack of competition, however, guarantees that the sickness will continue. After all, why do things better if you don't have to compete?
"The largest healthcare dollar is spent in the final days of life and not at the beginning or during child bearing or anything in between. "
But the .gov is going to fix that, right? With "End of Life Counselors" and by not allowing the old to recieve care.....
Spot on post!
To Abraham's point: The role of government is to ensure our rights are not usurped by others. We have vested them with the powers in the Constitution. They are charged with regulating various parts of our economy and society, NOT operating.
Every example you gave - all commerce related - were of individuals or companies that were operating in supposedly regulated industries, and the government dropped the ball. THEY once again did not do their job.
Capitalism does not cure all ills. No form of economics does. But it is far better than any other economic system in the world. The path to communism that we are following already has a long history of abject failure.
Capitalism works most of the time. Communism ALWAYS fails.
It may just be me ... I am, after all, a Canuck ... but someone's missing the boat when speaking about non-profits.
I used to work for one. We got into a mess. We lost a hell of a lot money. We worked our business plan, we improved our employee relations and in two and a half years, recovered that deficit and were able to begin the process of building modest reserves.
Non-profits can build reserves ... as long as they're modest and none of the 'surplus' funds are distributed out of the enterprise.
Non-profits don't have shareholders in the Bay Street/Wall Street sense of the word. However, non-profit businesses ... eg. the postal service ... have to operate as a business. They should be governed by the same rules that govern for-profits.
Frequently, non-profit businesses have to compete with for-profit businesses. Frankly, no non-profits should be monopolies but they may be entitled to special advantages to reflect the nature ... or recognized value ... of their non-profit status.
What does this all mean?
Let me be clear that I am not speaking to NGO's. I do not mean that volunteers who drive around all night in donated vans to provide support and succour to homeless street dwellers, to operate needle exchanges or simply be a non-judging, friendly face to minorities or aboriginals ... must be governed by the strictures of the marketplace. However, non-profit businesses must be.
If the American government wants to get into the health care insurance business ... either as a sponsor or as an operator ... that health care insurer should be essentially indistinguishable from the 'real' insurers.
I do think that the state anti-trade walls have to come down. Why Americans would think that health care insurance participants should be the only operations restricted to a single state? I wonder how much the state legislators pocketed for that one.
Secondly, something has to be done about the absurd malpractice awards. I know ... I know ... all the jury members hope they'll be able to receive comparable gifts as their own due. But the award costs and malpractice premiums don't support the fundamental tenet of improving the delivery of health care.
Just some thoughts. I know I speak from without your society ... and thus will not be accountable to you for what I say.
But ... if the government ... whether directly or at arm's length ... can't run a postal service at, at a minimum, a break even point, why would you think they could possibly run an insurance company?
Think, please. I'm not totally disinterested. After all, if your economy goes tits up, what do you think would happen to the Canadian one?
Regards.
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