Barack Obama has been great for America! I really mean that.
Prior to the “historic” election of Mr. Obama, how many people knew what “deem and pass” or “reconciliation” was? How about our elected officials; how many people in America knew who their representatives were or anything about the way they voted? How many people called their offices to make their views heard? Who could explain the requirements to be President prior to the campaign? How many people knew the tenth amendment to the constitution (“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. “– for those that didn’t know it). How many people paid attention to the bribery, and arm twisting in Congress to get something passed? Who among us was aware of the pork put into bills to buy the vote of one or two members. President Obama has awakened the American public like no other President in recent history and this has been good for the country. Now, if we can only get our elected officials to do what they promise. Oh, to have a law that states that if a politician breaks more than 3 or even 5 campaign promises they could be recalled. Maybe they wouldn’t say one thing to get elected and then do whatever they want and just count on the ignorance of the American voter.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
interesting timing
How interesting that the bill passed on March 21 and may be signed as early as today March 22, 2010. The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. The money collected by the Stamp Act was to be used to help pay the costs of defending and protecting the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains.
The actual cost of the Stamp Act was relatively small. What made the law so offensive to the colonists was not so much its immediate cost but the standard it seemed to set. In the past, taxes and duties on colonial trade had always been viewed as measures to regulate commerce, not to raise money. The Stamp Act, however, was viewed as a direct attempt by England to raise money in the colonies without the approval of the colonial legislatures. If this new tax were allowed to pass without resistance, the colonists reasoned, the door would be open for far more troublesome taxation in the future.
Now we have the Health care reform which, in many ways, is like the stamp act. The people didn’t want it, the people it was imposed on weren’t listened to, it seems to set a standard for how the representatives will govern us.
Few colonists believed that they could do anything more than grumble and buy the stamps until the Virginia House of Burgesses adopted Patrick Henry's Stamp Act Resolves. These resolves declared that Americans possessed the same rights as the English, especially the right to be taxed only by their own representatives; that Virginians should pay no taxes except those voted by the Virginia House of Burgesses; and that anyone supporting the right of Parliament to tax Virginians should be considered an enemy of the colony. The House of Burgesses defeated the most extreme of Henry's resolutions, but four of the resolutions were adopted. Virginia Governor Fauquier did not approve of the resolutions, and he dissolved the House of Burgesses in response to their passage.
How fitting it is that Virginia is suing stating that Congress lacks authority under its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce to force people to buy insurance. He said the bill also conflicts with a state law that says Virginians cannot be required to buy insurance.
"If a person decides not to buy health insurance, that person by definition is not engaging in commerce," Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli said in recorded comments. "If you are not engaging in commerce, how can the federal government regulate you?"
Colonial resistance to the act led to the repeal of the Stamp Act on March 18, 1766. We can only hope that after the November elections someone will see to it that on March 18, 2011 this bill is also repealed.
More to come.....
The actual cost of the Stamp Act was relatively small. What made the law so offensive to the colonists was not so much its immediate cost but the standard it seemed to set. In the past, taxes and duties on colonial trade had always been viewed as measures to regulate commerce, not to raise money. The Stamp Act, however, was viewed as a direct attempt by England to raise money in the colonies without the approval of the colonial legislatures. If this new tax were allowed to pass without resistance, the colonists reasoned, the door would be open for far more troublesome taxation in the future.
Now we have the Health care reform which, in many ways, is like the stamp act. The people didn’t want it, the people it was imposed on weren’t listened to, it seems to set a standard for how the representatives will govern us.
Few colonists believed that they could do anything more than grumble and buy the stamps until the Virginia House of Burgesses adopted Patrick Henry's Stamp Act Resolves. These resolves declared that Americans possessed the same rights as the English, especially the right to be taxed only by their own representatives; that Virginians should pay no taxes except those voted by the Virginia House of Burgesses; and that anyone supporting the right of Parliament to tax Virginians should be considered an enemy of the colony. The House of Burgesses defeated the most extreme of Henry's resolutions, but four of the resolutions were adopted. Virginia Governor Fauquier did not approve of the resolutions, and he dissolved the House of Burgesses in response to their passage.
How fitting it is that Virginia is suing stating that Congress lacks authority under its constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce to force people to buy insurance. He said the bill also conflicts with a state law that says Virginians cannot be required to buy insurance.
"If a person decides not to buy health insurance, that person by definition is not engaging in commerce," Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli said in recorded comments. "If you are not engaging in commerce, how can the federal government regulate you?"
Colonial resistance to the act led to the repeal of the Stamp Act on March 18, 1766. We can only hope that after the November elections someone will see to it that on March 18, 2011 this bill is also repealed.
More to come.....
Monday, March 15, 2010
Bill Care A common sense to Health Care insurance
According to the CIA world fact book, the United States has 8.38 deaths/1,000 population (2009 est.). The population is 307,212,123 as of July 2009 (estimated). Nearly 45,000 annual deaths are associated with lack of health insurance, according to a new study published online by the American Journal of Public Health. That figure is about two and a half times higher than an estimate from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2002. That means that of the 2,574,437.59 people that die each year, 2,529,437.59 have health insurance. Another way to put it is that; of the 30 million people that don’t have health insurance (used to be 45 million during the campaign but either 15 million died and we didn’t hear about it or they somehow got insurance) 0.15% of them die each year because they don’t have health insurance but 99.85% live another year.
Please don’t take this the wrong way. I think everyone should have adequate health care available to them. I just don’t believe it is the job of the government to provide health care to everyone. I believe it is personal responsibility. I have been laid off in the past (too many times to mention). I believed then, as I do now, that my first concern is to take care of my family. I secured (sometimes through COBRA, sometimes through purchasing it privately) insurance for my family until I could find employment. Of course, as stated I believe in personal responsibility.
If I could write the health care bill it would be quite simple:
1. While you are going to school (up to and including college), and living at home when not in school, you can be covered on your parents policy – provided you are consistently attending and not going for a semester, taking a year off, going, etc. You must maintain a “C” average (This will also help our education system as students will get better grades to not have to pay for their own healthcare).
2.If you are under the age of 18, and not covered under any other plan, your healthcare is free. Expand the public health system to accommodate the need. I don’t mind paying extra taxes for this. This excludes children like mine who are covered under my policy. It also means that if you are eligible to be covered by someone else’s policy you must be. If you are a parent, you must provide insurance for your children if it is available.
3.If you are receiving Social Security, and are not covered under any other plan, you healthcare is free. That is your reward for living to that age. Again, I don’t mind paying extra taxes for this.
4.If you are eligible for government run health care (Medicare and Medicaid as it is run now) you continue on as normal.
5.Once married or a parent (notice I didn’t say pregnant. Pregnancy is covered under the rules above), you are on your own whether in school or not.
6.If you are between the age of 18 and a day and under the age of receiving Social Security, and are not covered under any other provision above, you are responsible for your own health care. If you are able-bodied you must provide for your own health and health care. You must take some personal responsibility.
7.You can purchase health insurance from any company. If I want to purchase Blue Cross Blue Shield from Texas (and they are willing to sell it here) I can. Basic economics tells us that the cost of insurance would go down.
8.Insurance companies cannot deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, though you could be charged up to 10% more for a period of 1 year.
9.Your policy cannot be cancelled by the insurance company once you are covered. Nor could your cost go up more than 1% per year (max 10%).
10.If you are covered under Medicare, Medicaid or any other government program, you cannot sue for more than $250,000 total. If you are covered under a private insurance company, it is limited to 10 times the amount of your total life insurance – 10 times what you make is generally considered enough to keep your family safe. This is 10 times that. Malpractice is not a reason to “win” the lottery. The disparity is because those on government plans are using my tax money anyway. Those on private are not. Trust me, insurance companies would be happy with the provisions as would doctors who would have less malpractice insurance to pay. ---Another cost savings!
I have made this long enough so I will quit here. Does it cover everything? No. Is it better than what I have read in the two bills in Congress? MUCH! Maybe we could run a nationwide contest, give everyone 1 week to submit their best plans and have a panel of 3 doctors, 3 insurance people and 3 average people pick the best plans and we could submit them to our representatives. You know who they are right? The people that are supposed to work for us.
Please don’t take this the wrong way. I think everyone should have adequate health care available to them. I just don’t believe it is the job of the government to provide health care to everyone. I believe it is personal responsibility. I have been laid off in the past (too many times to mention). I believed then, as I do now, that my first concern is to take care of my family. I secured (sometimes through COBRA, sometimes through purchasing it privately) insurance for my family until I could find employment. Of course, as stated I believe in personal responsibility.
If I could write the health care bill it would be quite simple:
1. While you are going to school (up to and including college), and living at home when not in school, you can be covered on your parents policy – provided you are consistently attending and not going for a semester, taking a year off, going, etc. You must maintain a “C” average (This will also help our education system as students will get better grades to not have to pay for their own healthcare).
2.If you are under the age of 18, and not covered under any other plan, your healthcare is free. Expand the public health system to accommodate the need. I don’t mind paying extra taxes for this. This excludes children like mine who are covered under my policy. It also means that if you are eligible to be covered by someone else’s policy you must be. If you are a parent, you must provide insurance for your children if it is available.
3.If you are receiving Social Security, and are not covered under any other plan, you healthcare is free. That is your reward for living to that age. Again, I don’t mind paying extra taxes for this.
4.If you are eligible for government run health care (Medicare and Medicaid as it is run now) you continue on as normal.
5.Once married or a parent (notice I didn’t say pregnant. Pregnancy is covered under the rules above), you are on your own whether in school or not.
6.If you are between the age of 18 and a day and under the age of receiving Social Security, and are not covered under any other provision above, you are responsible for your own health care. If you are able-bodied you must provide for your own health and health care. You must take some personal responsibility.
7.You can purchase health insurance from any company. If I want to purchase Blue Cross Blue Shield from Texas (and they are willing to sell it here) I can. Basic economics tells us that the cost of insurance would go down.
8.Insurance companies cannot deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, though you could be charged up to 10% more for a period of 1 year.
9.Your policy cannot be cancelled by the insurance company once you are covered. Nor could your cost go up more than 1% per year (max 10%).
10.If you are covered under Medicare, Medicaid or any other government program, you cannot sue for more than $250,000 total. If you are covered under a private insurance company, it is limited to 10 times the amount of your total life insurance – 10 times what you make is generally considered enough to keep your family safe. This is 10 times that. Malpractice is not a reason to “win” the lottery. The disparity is because those on government plans are using my tax money anyway. Those on private are not. Trust me, insurance companies would be happy with the provisions as would doctors who would have less malpractice insurance to pay. ---Another cost savings!
I have made this long enough so I will quit here. Does it cover everything? No. Is it better than what I have read in the two bills in Congress? MUCH! Maybe we could run a nationwide contest, give everyone 1 week to submit their best plans and have a panel of 3 doctors, 3 insurance people and 3 average people pick the best plans and we could submit them to our representatives. You know who they are right? The people that are supposed to work for us.
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