Yes-23 » Government

Maybe we should let Walmart run the Government

Lady Kathleen — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:01:30 +0000

Money

1) Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart every hour of every day.

2) This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!

3) Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St.. Patrick’s Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year.

4) Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined.

5) Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private Employer, and most speak English.

6) Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the World.

7) Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger & Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only 15 years.

8) During this same period, 31 Supermarket Chains sought bankruptcy.

9) Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world.

10) Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of which 1,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than it had 5 Years ago.

11) This year 7.2 billion different purchasing experiences will occur At a Wal-Mart store. (Earth’s population is approximately 6.5 Billion.)

12) 90% of all Americans live within 15 miles of a Wal-Mart.

You may think that I am complaining, but I am really laying the ground work for suggesting that MAYBE we should hire the guys who run Wal-Mart
To fix the economy because the idiots in Washington sure as hell can’t.

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Poll: Do you feel the current Government is listening to the people?

Lady Kathleen — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:43:19 +0000

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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President Obama, Tarp, Stimulus, Auto Bailout, Health Care Reform: Big Bill Coming

RodZ — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 21:03:13 +0000

It started with hope and change during the 2008 elections. He was a bright star rising out of nowhere, his speeches inspiring to millions of people. He convinced independent voters he was a moderate. He was elected to the Presidency of the United States of America. His popularity extended past Americas borders.

Around the world he was seen as changing America.The perfect storm was already hitting the shores of America. Years of special interests concessions, Representatives and Senators “helping” citizens get loans for homes they could not afford, bank regulators looking the other way and on and on. The previous administration had left with the economy on the brink of collapse and America involved in two wars that were not going well. The American voter had already voiced its displeasure with the Republican party and the Democrats controlled the Congress.

The main stream media appeared to be basically an extension of the Campaign during the elections and afterwards an extension of the White House. The majority of Americans were just plain disgusted with all things Washington. This man said he had a plan, he offered hope and change. He had his filibuster proof majority in the Senate and a major majority in the House, what more could he ask for?

The left wing of the Democrats appears to see his election and their control as a mandate by the people to implement every program they ever envisioned to make America into their vision of what is fair and better. They called his election further proof of this mandate. He did win the popular vote by about 9 million votes.

During the first months of his administration the economy was a mix of confusion, some said improving as the stock market began to climb and the GDP went up a bit, but unemployment was at 10% and climbing. Mircosoft laid off over 5000 employees for the first time in the history of the company.

What are our expectations of this President? In a divided country it becomes very difficult to define what the majority really wants. We as a people are driven by many different concerns and beliefs. We span the political spectrum from extreme left to extreme right. I do believe most Americans live more to the middle of the scale than in either direction.

The Democratic majority in both houses is moving forward with several bills “designed” to help the American citizen. Health care and clean energy are currently moving through the legislative process. We are still waiting for Card-check and the financial reform bill.

The Senate version of health care reform is currently being debated and as I watch, it struck me that both sides have very convincing arguments and it is very hard to discern what is accurate or what is misleading.

I don’t have an answer to the worlds problems. As I watch the debates, listen to the news, watch the Presidents speeches and read what information is available on these matters it becomes clearer to me the we are heading towards more government control of our daily lives and higher taxes. What is not clear to me is why.

I don’t believe that the TARP by was a take over of the financial system of this country by the Obama administration, I do believe that it was mishandled from the start by the Bush administration and Congress. The major financial entities should have had many restrictions placed on the public dollars they received. It struck me that every piece of legislation concerning any expenditure of public dollars typically comes with many pages of law governing how the money can be used and very harsh penalties for non compliance. The TARP did not appear to have many if any controls. It seems the Obama administration is continuing down the same path as his predecessor, wonder why?

While I think the auto companies should have left to succeed or fail on their on and let the bankruptcy court sort it out, I don’t believe this was a take over by the Obama administration either. I do believe it was a waste of money. I don’t understand how the auto unions got a piece of ownership in the companies but they did. That will make for some interesting contract negotiations won’t it?

The stimulus is an interesting subject. I read the Summary American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This is a very interesting document, I referenced it in a previous blog, Government Stimulus: “Political or real” http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/PressSummary01-15-09.pdf. This document clearly defines how the stimulus money was to be spent. If you read this document or the actual bill you will wonder how this administration can claim any of the stimulus has contributed to improving the economy. Yet they do and the claim is just ridiculous, it’s really to soon to make that claim. What are jobs saved? Why are most of the funds for government projects that are typically funded via the general fund? Here are some examples of questionable job creators from the stimulus bill , DTV Conversion Coupons: $650 million to continue the coupon program to enable American households to convert from analog television transmission to digital transmission. Medicaid Coverage for the Unemployed: Provides 100 percent federal funding through 2010 for optional. State Medicaid coverage of individuals (and their dependents) who are receiving unemployment benefits or have exhausted those benefits and have no health insurance coverage. Other optional coverage groups are individuals (and their dependents) who are involuntarily unemployed and uninsured and whose family income does not exceed 200 percent of poverty, and unemployed uninsured individuals who are receiving food stamps.” Compassion Capital Fund: $100 million for grants to faith- and community-based organizations to provide a critical safety net services to needy individuals and families. Most of the Recovery act job creators do have the potential to improve the infrastructure and will employ folks for perhaps a few years, none will create any permanent or lasting public sector jobs.

The money is being spent, contracts are be awarded and one would assume some folks are going to be employed to perform the tasks specified in the recovery act bill, so I guess you could say jobs will be created. I wonder why we are hearing rumors of another stimulus bill, what is left for the government to fix and how will we pay for it?

It has become clear to me that our country has diverse opinions and beliefs on many of the subjects we have been discussing. I firmly believe that the best form of government is the one that governs the least, to paraphrase a one of the founding fathers. We seem to have a segment of our population who believe the rich are evil, corporations are evil, insurance companies are evil, and anyone with millions of dollars made it off the backs of labor and should give back to labor. They also believe that the government is better qualified to provide them with the basic things in life they need.

This segment of the population also believes everything that the government has done wrong is a republicans fault, mostly a republican president. The following is taken from a comment to one of my blogs. It is typical of what I described in the previous paragraph.

“As for the economics, under “Reaganomics” we had an increase of trade and a loss of jobs in America. The workers got poorer and the business people got richer. Since WW II we have gradually, but steadily, lost our standing in the world as a nation that produces things that can be sold. (The one area in which we still excel is agriculture – thanks to foreign workers.) We are no longer the leader in steel production, textiles, automobiles, TV’s, etc., etc.. Part of the problem is our long-standing trade policies and part of it is the American proclivity to buy what is cheaper – not what is better. As a consequence, America produces less steel than Japan and about 20% of what is produced in China. There are no TV’s, stereos, or Levi’s produced by Americans. It has nothing at all to do with a free market. As for the energy suppliers of the world, you tell me what Saudi Arabia is going to sell us when their oil runs out. Sunshine?

What I find interesting is that the commenter never mentions Clinton and NAFTA, what’s more is his concern for Saudi Arabia. I would ask him what will Saudi Arabia sell when we have converted to alternative energy? Does he support a country who treats women as property, is a monarchy and has a court system that no way resembles the one we have and has punishments that he considers torture or inhumane?

It is clear to me that many people believe that this country should be changed to resemble the european model of government. I disagree and ask once again, Why would we want to be like the rest of the world when we have set the standard. It seems to me that the immigrants who are coming into this country are the new entrepreneurs. They are doing the jobs some Americans won’t do and then finding a way to succeed, start a business or get an education and excel. A lot of these folks left a place where the government was in charge of their lives so they came here and took charge of their own lives.

The segment of our population that wants all this government sustained entitlement also seems to believe that if you earned something they should be entitled to it also, but of course it should just be given to them. If they cannot have it you join the evil or lucky group of people they hate.

I guess my biggest concern is that we are amassing an unbelievable amount of debt to support all these programs. At some point I want the leadership to wake up and stop writing checks we can’t cash.

We started Yes-23 as a forum for discussion and it has achieve that end. We publish all comments to our opinions and enter into discussions with most of the commenters. It is an interesting exercise. I have learned that we as a people are more than simply disagreeing on issues, we are angry, both sides are very angry. There can be no civil discussion or compromise when both sides are out to discredit and destroy one another simply because they disagree on certain issues.

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Addressing Members of Congress and Finding Their Addresses

Lady Kathleen — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:35:01 +0000

Political Parties

Addressing Members of Congress

To Your Senator:

The Honorable (full name)
(Room #) (Name) Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator:

To Your Representative:

The Honorable (full name)
(Room #) (Name) House Office Building
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative:

The above addresses should be used in email messages, as well as those sent through the Postal Service.

Finding Their Addresses
Senate and House of Representatives

U.S. Senators (web sites and mailing addresses)

Write Your U.S. Representative (A service of the House that will assist you by identifying your Congressperson in the U.S. House of Representatives and providing contact information.

U.S. Supreme Court
The Justices do not have email addresses, but they do read letters from citizens.

U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Supreme Court Bldg.
Washington, DC 20543
(202) 479-3000

Court Officials

Clerk: William K. Suter
     (202)479-3014
Marshal: Dale E. Bosley
     (202)479-3200
Reporter of Decisions: Frank D. Wagner
     (202)479-3390
Librarian: Shelley L. Dowling
     (202)479-3037
Attorney Admissions:(202)479-3018
Public Information Officer: Toni House
     (202)479-3211

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Personal responsibility: Yours or the Governments?

RodZ — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 17:11:50 +0000

Yesterdays blog seemed to stimulate some controversy. It seems that my liberal friends think that I am lucky and have an “I got mine you get yours mentality”. The blog was about personal responsibility. It was about making decisions in our own lives that place us where we are today. I used healthcare reform as an example of personal decision making. I was described as lucky, interesting.

Continuing with the premise that we are responsible for where we are in life because of the decisions we make. I have no debt, no credit cards, I have a savings account that will pay my bills for a year, I drive a 10 year old car, paid for. I pay cash for things I buy by saving for them, I chose a career that would provide me a job security, a pension and medical benefits for the rest of my life. My responsibility for others ended when my wife of 40 years past away this year. I am thankful for the decisions I made to secure health insurance and savings to cover 3 years of cancer treatment and her funeral, I am thankful that I had a savings account that allowed me to pay the share of costs incurred over 3 years and not go bankrupt. This was not luck, this was because I made a decision in my life to prepare for these things.

The reality is that most people in America will not delay gratification. They will use credit to buy the new car, TV or whatever. They live in the moment and do not prepare for the future. There are other people who use drugs, participate in criminal activities or are just to lazy to work for anything. Why should I pay for their healthcare or anything else for that matter?

Anyone who buys into revolving credit, adjustable rate mortgages, credit cards is spending their future. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. Decisions you make in life will dictate where you will end up.

Why am I against all these noble social programs? It is simple, the debt we are incurring is putting at risk of losing everything I worked and planned for.

Does this sound selfish? I don’t think so. Look to yourself and make your own life better, don’t depend on me, I already raised my children, who by the way, have all the benefits I have because they have taken responsibility for their decisions.

The path this administration and congress is taking will bankrupt this county. I don’t feel that I should lose everything I worked for to provide for somebody’s socialist agenda. To my liberal friends, we are not all entitled to everything everyone else has, your must earn it.

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A reminder of why we are in trouble

Lady Kathleen — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 11:22:01 +0000

A DC ‘airport ticket agent’ offers some examples of ‘WHY’ our country is in trouble!

1. I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman (Carol Shea-Porter) ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn’t get messed up by being near the window. (On an airplane!)

2. I got a call from a Kansas Congressman’s (Moore) staffer (Howard Bauleke), who wanted to go to Cape Town. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information, and then he interrupted me with, ”I’m not trying to make you look stupid, but Cape Town is in Massachusetts ..”

Without trying to make him look stupid, I calmly explained, ”Cape Cod is in Massachusetts , Cape Town is in South Africa .” His response — click..

3. A senior Vermont Congressman (Bernie Sanders) called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando . He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that’s not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state.

He replied, ‘Don’t lie to me!, I looked on the map, and Florida is a very THIN state!!” (OMG)

4. I got a call from a lawmaker’s wife (Landra Reid) who asked, ”Is it possible to see England from Canada ?”

I said, ”No.”

She said, ”But they look so close on the map” (OMG, again!)

5. An aide for a cabinet member (Janet Napolitano) once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas . I pulled up the reservation and noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas .. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, ”I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time.” (Aghhhh)

6. An Illinois Congresswoman (Jan Schakowsky) called last week. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 a.m., and got to Chicago at 8:33 a.m.

I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois , but she couldn’t understand the concept of time zones. Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.

7. A New York lawmaker, (Jerrold Nadler) called and asked, ”Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?” I said, ‘No, why do you ask?’

He replied, ”Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I’m overweight. I think that’s very rude!”

After putting him on hold for a minute, while I looked into it. (I was dying laughing). I came back and explained the city code for Fresno , Ca. is (FAT – Fresno Air Terminal), and the airline was just putting a destination tag on his luggage..

8. A Senator John Kerry aide (Lindsay Ross) called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii . After going over all the cost info, she asked, ”Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii ?”

9. I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman, Bobby Bright from Ala who asked, ”How do I know which plane to get on?”

I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, ”I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them.”

10. Senator Dianne Feinstein called and said, ”I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola , Florida . Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?”

I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola , FL on a commuter plane.

She said, ”Yeah, whatever, smarty!”

11. Mary Landrieu , La. Senator, called and had a question about the documents she needed in order to fly to China . After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded her that she needed a visa.
“Oh, no I don’t. I’ve been to China many times and never had to have one of those.”

I double checked and sure enough, her stay required a visa. When I told her this she said, ”Look, I’ve been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!”

12. A New Jersey Congressman (John Adler) called to make reservations, ”I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York .”

I was at a loss for words. Finally, I said, ”Are you sure that’s the name of the town?”

‘Yes, what flights do you have?” replied the man.

After some searching, I came back with, ”I’m sorry, sir, I’ve looked up every airport code in the country and can’t find a rhino anywhere.”

”The man retorted, ”Oh, don’t be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!”

So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, ”You don’t mean Buffalo , do you?”

The reply? ”Whatever! I knew it was a big animal.”

Now you know why the Government is in the shape it’s in!

Could ANYONE be this DUMB?

YES, THEY WALK AMONG US, ARE IN POLITICS, AND THEY CONTINUE TO BREED.

I don’t write it, I just offer it for your consideration. Like manure, you just gotta spread it around.

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Life in America: Personal or Government Responsibility

RodZ — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 08:14:26 +0000

Is the government really responsible for our healthcare or for purchasing our insurance? Are we where we are in life because of the decisions we make? I made a decision many years ago to have a career that provided me with certain benefits that I could carry forward in my life, including a very good insurance plan. This was the right decision for me, is it right for everyone? No, not in America, we have choices and we make them based on what we feel is right for us.

Things have changed in the past forty years, personal responsibility is no longer part of our national view. We now look to others to provide for us. The list of government programs, is endless, Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, unemployment insurance, welfare, and many others. All of these programs come with a cost to others, nothing is free!

These are truly noble causes, they do help many in need, however the danger is that people do not use them as a short term helping hand but become dependent on them. Our welfare system has created a generational problem where family after family continue to live off of the state. Yes, we had reform but the problem continues. Social Security was supposed to be a safety net, but has become a primary retirement plan for many seniors. I don’t know how some of them live on what little they get. Medicare and medicaid are in such financial trouble they may not exist in a few years.

I realize that we are dealing with a very complex issue and I certainly do not have the answers. I also realize that many people are working very low paying jobs and cannot afford the high premiums. This is America, opportunity is endless, education is available, creating a comfortable life is possible. Yes, the economy is terrible right now and many are losing their jobs, however this is where the helping hand should come into play, but only for as long as it takes to return to a time of prosperity.

People with the money decided to buy the new cars, the big screen TV’s, the big house. They decided to over extend their credit and not to worry about using their money to buy health insurance. People with the money decided that the new boat or jet ski was a lot more fun than health insurance.

People made choices to not improve their education or skills and remain in low paying jobs. I mean no disrespect to these folks, I am sure they are hard working people. My point is that they have a “I can’t mentality” They feel hopeless and have no hope. I look at where these people are in life and wonder why. Young folks coming from nothing can join the service and will have an education paid for. It will be part of their benefits, in fact they can get a degree while in the service, fully paid for. Of course many join but never take advantage of this opportunity. Just another personal choice that dictates where they will be in life.

I know that our educational system seems to be failing our youth, again personal responsibility, where is it? Many parents do not seem to be involved in their children’s education and the kids are not doing well in school. We tend to blame the educational system and the teachers for this problem, but where is the personal responsibility of the parents? Yes, some teachers are not up to standards and many districts are poor, the facilities terrible. These problems can and should be fixed. There is a larger problem. Parents can’t or won’t help their kids learn. They may go to the football game, but cannot or won’t help with the math or reading. There are many reasons for this including, many parents are non english speaking. The kids are having to learn english and stay up with the class work on their own.

I wonder about personal responsibility, where did it go? This is America, opportunity is available, anything is possible. If we continue to look to government for our needs this America will disappear. I am not sure if we will like the new America but it will be that way because of the decisions we are making now.

Like you I have people I know and loved ones who are victums of circumstances beyond their control. Perhaps these are the people the government should help with support programs.

These are tough times and we are facing very complex issues, but until we all become responsible for the consequences of our decisions and assume personal responsibility things will continue to get worse.

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Personal Responsibility: Part 3

RodZ — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:53:02 +0000

This is the last in a 3 part series of my opinions describing how personal choices affect where we are in life.

It is my belief that we as individuals could have mitigated some of the serious economic problems we are experiencing by managing our spending and responsibly borrowing money. The housing crisis could have been lessened by prudent borrowing of the individual. We should not have purchased mortgages we could not afford. We should not have 20 credit cards in our wallet. We as a community should have made personal choices to live within our means.

Having said that, what has happened to the moral compass and personal responsibility of corporate America. The personal decisions they made affected each and every one of us. Their decisions coupled with the lifestyle of millions of Americans have brought the greatest economy in the world to its knees.

Where is the moral compass and personal responsibility of individuals within the government agencies tasked with regulating industries? Where is it in our politicians? It is true the object of any business is to make money. It is true, government should have laws and regulations in place to protect us from unscrupulous business practices. The problem is that our business leaders, regulators and politicians have become “cozy” with one another. The American people are at their mercy.

It seems to me that our politicians are tied to the money they receive from corporate America and other lobbies. How can they make good decisions for we the people? It seems to me that a moral compass and personal responsibility have taken a back seat to advancing a career, staying in power and perhaps lining a pocket.

I wonder about the enormous salaries and bonuses CEO’s and executives within these corporations make, regardless of whether the company is doing well or not, again “cozy”. It has been reported that they all sit on each others boards and guess what? Your right they all get big paydays. Again where is the moral compass? Personal choice to disregard anything resembling the good of the collective seems to be the order of the day.

We are in the middle of a national debate on healthcare reform. We should reform a system that is clearly to expensive and growing out of control. I am tired of my premiums and co-pays growing beyond inflation every year. I don’t know what the out come of this debate will be but I am sure that with no moral compass in sight it won’t be what we expect. I do know that the personal choices of our government leadership will affect all of us and we will be where we are tomorrow because of that decision.

The only thing that I think I can do is make personal decisions that will shelter me from as much of the fallout of current situation as I can and prepare me for the future. I hope you all make a personal decision to do the same.

The weapons we all have, our vote, voice and our dollars. If we let the government know what we want, if we vote our conscience perhaps they will listen. Our dollars can be withheld from corporate America, I know that will get their attention.

In the first two installments I spoke of individual choices and how they affect where we are in life. As you can see I recognize that the choices of others will affect where we are in life also. I do hold to the idea that we as individuals are responsible for where we are in life because of our own decisions. Decide now, to get involved contact your representatives, let them know you are tired of a system that disregards we the people. Decide now, to put your personal finances in order and live within your means. Decided now, to not buy anything from or invest with those corporations that are unscrupulous. Perhaps we the people can make a difference because of our personal decisions.

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Obama, Politics and Posturing, No Real Bipartisan Effort

RodZ — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:49:51 +0000

Our President is so far left he cannot see the center. Is he a Socialist? I don’t think so but he definitely believes he is smarter than the American people and he thinks we cannot take care of ourselves. In my opinion Obama believes that the government is better suited to make all things fair for all people. Mr. President, life is not fair, everyone doesn’t get a trophy for just participating, life is a competition. Throughout history big government has failed to stimulate competition, in fact it stifles competition and increases cost in everything it tries to manage.
If we look at how the government has managed Fannymae and Freddymac we can see the results of that. If we look at Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, regulation and monitoring of industry we can see failure to the extreme. I don’t understand the liberal agenda, it is foreign to any logic one can apply. Massive government control of industry is not in the best interest of this county. GM filed for bankruptcy and the result is the same as it would have been had not the government given them billions. The government literally forced the sale of Chrysler and the results are still in doubt. In my opinion the banks would have survived via the FDIC and bankruptcy processes already in place. Obama is taking credit for saving the county for collapse. We really don’t know what would have happened without our government interfering and placing all of us at risk via the largest national debt in the history of the world. In addition he is taking credit for saving something that is still in jeopardy. Yes Obama inherited a crisis, no doubt, yes his predecessor implement policies to bailout the banks, yes I believe that Bush rushed to judgement also and should have let the current laws and processes take care of the problem.
We are facing more problems economically, there is no doubt in my mind the worst is yet to come. This is going to happen because the continuing borrow and send policies driven by a political agenda to take care of the American people via government control regardless of what the people want is the primary desire of the liberal left.
The current march toward health care reform is now insurance reform, the American people have expressed their desire that the current bills be stopped. Has this stopped Obama? No, he is now at the forefront passing a reform under the pretense of bipartisanship and modifying the current bills. The reality is the bills are not changing all that much and the meeting with the Republicans is a political ploy designed to make them look like obstructionist. The reality is that Obamas plan doesn’t contain any of the Republican ideas for reform. The health insurance industry needs to have the anti-trust protections repealed and tort reform needs to be looked at and modified. Are these items in Obamas plan? no!
Spending on a second stimulus, cap and trade and health care/insurance reform are still leading the parade. The government can create a positive environment for the private sector to create jobs. The government can only do this through controlling their own spending and reducing the tax impacts on all of us.

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Arizona Mayo Clinic Drops Medicare Patients.

RodZ — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:57:04 +0000

Fox News reported that the Mayo Clinic in Arizona is no longer taking Medicare patients because they are only recovering about 55% of their costs. I see this as a trend that is not likely to end anytime soon. The Congress thinks it can fix health care but has never done anything to fix Medicare. They establish prices for participating health care providers and the insurance companies use these as a guideline to establish what they will pay the same providers.
We have heard about the evil insurance companies and their exorbitant profits and yet no one talks about the high cost of service from the health care providers. I know doctors spend many years and dollars to learn their craft and no doubt they deserve compensation. I know it is extremely costly to run a hospital, but what are the limits.
The market would determine pricing if the government and insurance companies were not paying the bills. We have created a third party payment system that begs to be abused.
I don’t have the answer to the problem because I know when your sick or injured you want care and will try to get it no matter what. Congress has created a monster that will only keep getting worse because they don’t have the answers either. I do know that regardless of what anyone does medical care will continue to get more expensive as will our health insurance.
I am facing Medicare in a few years, I have no choice even though I currently have a private insurance plan. What will I get when I join the ranks of a government run system that is going broke and will not be accepted by the health care industry?
The Congress is returning to session and will complete work on this bill, we will get a bunch of laws that make the current system more expensive and cumbersome than it is now. I honestly believe that our representatives have no concept of how the average American lives. I really think they believe that a cost $400 to $600 a month for folks making $20 to $30K a year is no big deal. I really don’t believe Nancy Pelosi even needs health insurance. She is very rich in case you didn’t know.
Well folks we are going to get something none of us wanted at a price we can’t afford simply because certain elements of our population feels the government is better equipped to take care of us than we are. They are doing it because they want to control us and maintain or increase their perceived power over us. I know many of you don’t believe this to be true and think we should have health care for all. I don’t disagree with this in principle, I only disagree with how our leadership is going about the process. You see they have lost sight of the original premise, which was, lower cost, cover all.
I believe if you look at what is being forced on us by Congress you will see it doesn’t even come close to meeting the President’s stated goals.

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