I once had a favorite comic strip featuring "Obviousman" a super-hero who told off relatively stupid people when they did and said stupid things. I miss him...and we really do need such a super-hero today. We're surrounded by opportunities for him to share his wisdom.
Let's list some of the more blatant current examples:
1) Alvin Greene, a complete political unknown who didn't even actually run for the office, just won the democratic primary in the South Carolina senate race. The democratic party is going berserk, partially because they know he can't possibly win in the general election, but mainly because they can't understand how he won the primary. The guy answers interview questions as if in a complete daze, is facing felony charges, and has no support or financial backing.
Crackpot theories range from "he is a Republican plant" to "mass hypnosis" to computer hackers "rigging the votes." The reality is far too obvious for these clowns: their voters are ignorant and don't care who they vote for as long as the letter D appears by their names.
These folks were made ignorant by intent. For decades the hacks have done everything in their power to dumb down the electorate. They push massive tax bills through congress with labels like the "Childrens' Health Protection Act" or the "Economic Stimulus and Jobs Act" and get away with it thanks to their ignorant and complacent voting base. They give themselves and their friends millions of taxpayer dollars and tell the electorate the other party is the party of corruption. They destroy business and jobs so that they can become relatively more wealthy and satisfy their lust for power. Then they go to rallies and tell the mob they are "one with the working man."
Why did Alvin Greene win the election? Obviousman answer to the dense politicos: your voters are stupid...just like you have encouraged and trained them to be. It's finally come back to bite you...but don't worry, most of the time it works in your favor.
2) While some 80% of the population supports Arizona's right to defend its citizens by enforcing federal anti-immigration laws, the loonier groups on the left are going crazy. They will not believe that few support their view and can only imagine the public support for Arizona as "racism."
In the last few weeks, drug cartel militants with soviet bloc automatic weapons have been in firefights with police officers in central Arizona. Families have been murdered or beaten by cartel thugs wanting to use their property for drug storage. Ranchers have been murdered, police officers killed or wounded, and squads of black-hooded men with fully automatic weapons are becoming common place. Captured weapons are being traced back to FARC...the communist insurgency army in Colombia...and to the ex-governments of Nicaragua and defunct communist insurgents in El Salvador.
Uhhhhhh...why does anyone wonder why the citizens of Arizona are a bit on edge and want to defend themselves and their families? Does Obviousman really have to jump to the rescue here??? Well...okay!
Obviousman answer: Arizona is being invaded by an army of hardcore criminals and psychotic killers. The people of Arizona have figured out this is not a desirable situation! It's embarrassing this question is even being asked.
3) Pundits say the US is having an "energy crisis" and must spend trillions of dollars and put an estimated 20 million people out of work while turning the US into a third world, impoverished nation, to solve the problem. They point out that solar and wind power now generate only about the same energy as a single productive oil well...therefore we must gut the economy for the next decade or two in order to reach the point where they supply as much energy as 4 or 5 oil wells.
Huh? What?
The US has over 2 TRILLION barrels of oil reserves, nearly 3 times that of the middle east, which can be reached via drilling on land (no oil spills in the ocean). Our oil shale deposits could power our needs for the next 200 years. We're sitting on trillions of cubic feet of natural gas.
So here's the question: how could anyone believe the pundits and government hacks who tell us we're on the brink of disaster and have to regress to the great depression in order to "save" ourselves?
Obviousman answer: See question 1) above...same answer. Sorry...it simply doesn't get any more obvious.
Another Memorial Day
Growing up in a military family, Memorial Day weekend was always a time for reflection and remembrance, for attending services and ceremonies, and not a weekend for a trip to the beach or a mini-vacation. As I've gotten older, I've settled into habits that reflect the ideals of my upbringing.
Over the last few Memorial Day weekends, my habit has been to watch the exemplary Band of Brothers video set from beginning to end. This ten-hour film highlights some of the more important events in the history of E Company, 506th Regiment, of the 101st Airborne as they fought in Europe. It is a wonderful adaptation of the Stephen Ambrose history of the unit and should be watched by every American at least once.
Understanding the historical perspective of what these men went through is important, probably more so than the focus on the military history itself. They were raised during the great depression, and from childhood heard politicians drone on about the progressive wonders coming about in Europe thanks to the Fascists in Italy and the Socialists in Germany. Movie stars, celebrities, media people, and the progressive political machine in the US adored and parroted these "sophisticated and progressive" Europeans. They went so far as to identify with them with statements like "we are the American Fascists, and they are the European Progressives."
Not surprisingly, this morsel of history has been erased from our public school textbooks...and from our national memory for the great part.
In the years of training and bitter fighting, these men had become hardened to the soft psychosis of such nonsense. They had seen the truth behind the facade of populist propaganda. They understood the ugly reality. They had suffered, been wounded, watched friends die, and been forced to kill human beings all in order to save the "sophisticated and progressive" Europeans from...themselves!
Their frustration and anger changed them forever, and it changed the America they returned to. There was a moment, when the handful of men still left in Easy were on a deuce-and-a-half driving by a long column of surrendered German troops, that comes to mind. A private who had been with the company from the beginning stands and screams at a German General.
After getting the General's attention, with a list of expletives, he shouts "you son-of-a bitch...you've forced us to interrupt our lives and travel half way around the world. You ignorant, servile, scum."
He had been forced to come to grips with a great and brutally frank truth that historians often ignore, and are far too politically correct...or polite...to come right out and say. The German people were servile...they were ignorant...they did what they were told. Tens of millions openly embraced it. There were myriad reasons of course...a certain amount of brainwashing was involved...but they were susceptible to it...as were the Italian people, and the populace of Japan. Not all of them, of course. There was resistance, some questioned, but doubts and doubters were brushed aside by the popularity of the political moment.
After the destruction of their societies, some awoke with the realization they had indeed been "ignorant, servile, scum." Many of those became evangelical in their desire to make certain it never happened again. I have met some of them, and they are sincerely tortured human beings seeking redemption in their own ways. But so many never "got it" and never understood how they had been used. Some insisted they were right for the rest of their lives.
It's all about human nature. It's not a result of race or nationality...it's about what makes us tick. History is a looped track...it keeps repeating itself over and over again because human nature never changes. Socialism and Fascism are just labels. Hitler, Mussolini, and other dictators were little more than figureheads. They were evil...and their ideas were evil...but they were just points in time on the ever-repeating loop. There are more names to replace them...more labels on the same movements to lure the foolish, the greedy, and the weak.
That "greatest generation" of Americans who sacrificed so much, halted an immediate threat...but only that threat. Sadly such threats never go away...and never will. There is no "war to end all wars." There is no "lasting peace"...only constant diligence and the willingness to sacrifice again and again and again. Thank God we find, in every generation, men and women carrying greatness within them. Thank God they stand up and put on the uniform and serve.
But the endless loop goes on. Today we see the mindless mob mentality supporting "causes" that are simply new faces of tyranny. We see a global movement to destroy free markets and personal freedoms in the guise of "saving the planet." The movement is headed by obvious demagogues, and yet millions believe they are worthy of worship and adoration. These same fools completely buy into the inane mindset of the global warming religion (don't remind them Hitler was a fanatical environmentalist who preached the same blather about CO2 and social engineering in Mein Kampf).
Millions more take to the streets in "sophisticated" European nations, demanding government bend to their personal wills in matters of religion, or welfare, or shorter work weeks, extravagant pensions, and other socialist inspired give-away programs. In the US the same mind set drives hordes of fools who want their way...free health care, free college, free food and housing, instant citizenship for aliens...now!...despite the destruction of prosperity and the price to be paid by the majority; who want only to be left alone to live their lives.
The same human foibles which drove the socialists to power in Germany are driving the new movements of "social justice" and "fairness" and "saving the planet" and all the other hackneyed propaganda terms now popular in the culture of the "ignorant, servile, scum" and those who wish to manipulate them.
Yep...I've said it. History tells us the truth...no matter how much the teacher's unions or the progressive media propagandists try to hide it from us. Those who riot in the streets today are really no different than those who rioted in the streets in the 20's and 30's. The only reason we don't yet use the labels the frustrated private in Easy Company used is that we haven't yet had to face the harsh reality of what these naive fools truly represent.
So we politely point out that they "simply have a different point of view" and that "everyone has a right to their opinion." True...they do. But remember what happened to those who tried to voice their opinions against such tyranny in the past. When someone screams you are a "racist" because you believe in border security, or that you are a "denier" because you prefer scientific discussion over global warming fanaticism, they are doing exactly what was done to "deniers" of "change" and "social justice" in Germany in the 1930's.
Since I too apparently have a right to my opinion...at least for the time being...I'll choose to not "go along" with the pop culture ideologies that would empower a small number of "elites" to decide the future of humanity. They had their chance...many times...in the past, and hundreds of millions suffered and died as a result. These people are evil...simply and bluntly put...and want what they want and are willing to take it by guile or by force.
That they are on the move again...and gaining strength...does not mean the sacrifices made by the men of Easy Company, and all of the heroes of our past and present, were made in vain. It simply proves that struggle is eternal, and eternal vigilance is required of free people if they wish to remain free. Today, on Memorial Day 2010, we take the time to honor those who have fought the battles of the past, and are still fighting today, and to dedicate ourselves to the belief that "government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
By doing so, we truly honor the meaning of the day.
Over the last few Memorial Day weekends, my habit has been to watch the exemplary Band of Brothers video set from beginning to end. This ten-hour film highlights some of the more important events in the history of E Company, 506th Regiment, of the 101st Airborne as they fought in Europe. It is a wonderful adaptation of the Stephen Ambrose history of the unit and should be watched by every American at least once.
Understanding the historical perspective of what these men went through is important, probably more so than the focus on the military history itself. They were raised during the great depression, and from childhood heard politicians drone on about the progressive wonders coming about in Europe thanks to the Fascists in Italy and the Socialists in Germany. Movie stars, celebrities, media people, and the progressive political machine in the US adored and parroted these "sophisticated and progressive" Europeans. They went so far as to identify with them with statements like "we are the American Fascists, and they are the European Progressives."
Not surprisingly, this morsel of history has been erased from our public school textbooks...and from our national memory for the great part.
In the years of training and bitter fighting, these men had become hardened to the soft psychosis of such nonsense. They had seen the truth behind the facade of populist propaganda. They understood the ugly reality. They had suffered, been wounded, watched friends die, and been forced to kill human beings all in order to save the "sophisticated and progressive" Europeans from...themselves!
Their frustration and anger changed them forever, and it changed the America they returned to. There was a moment, when the handful of men still left in Easy were on a deuce-and-a-half driving by a long column of surrendered German troops, that comes to mind. A private who had been with the company from the beginning stands and screams at a German General.
After getting the General's attention, with a list of expletives, he shouts "you son-of-a bitch...you've forced us to interrupt our lives and travel half way around the world. You ignorant, servile, scum."
He had been forced to come to grips with a great and brutally frank truth that historians often ignore, and are far too politically correct...or polite...to come right out and say. The German people were servile...they were ignorant...they did what they were told. Tens of millions openly embraced it. There were myriad reasons of course...a certain amount of brainwashing was involved...but they were susceptible to it...as were the Italian people, and the populace of Japan. Not all of them, of course. There was resistance, some questioned, but doubts and doubters were brushed aside by the popularity of the political moment.
After the destruction of their societies, some awoke with the realization they had indeed been "ignorant, servile, scum." Many of those became evangelical in their desire to make certain it never happened again. I have met some of them, and they are sincerely tortured human beings seeking redemption in their own ways. But so many never "got it" and never understood how they had been used. Some insisted they were right for the rest of their lives.
It's all about human nature. It's not a result of race or nationality...it's about what makes us tick. History is a looped track...it keeps repeating itself over and over again because human nature never changes. Socialism and Fascism are just labels. Hitler, Mussolini, and other dictators were little more than figureheads. They were evil...and their ideas were evil...but they were just points in time on the ever-repeating loop. There are more names to replace them...more labels on the same movements to lure the foolish, the greedy, and the weak.
That "greatest generation" of Americans who sacrificed so much, halted an immediate threat...but only that threat. Sadly such threats never go away...and never will. There is no "war to end all wars." There is no "lasting peace"...only constant diligence and the willingness to sacrifice again and again and again. Thank God we find, in every generation, men and women carrying greatness within them. Thank God they stand up and put on the uniform and serve.
But the endless loop goes on. Today we see the mindless mob mentality supporting "causes" that are simply new faces of tyranny. We see a global movement to destroy free markets and personal freedoms in the guise of "saving the planet." The movement is headed by obvious demagogues, and yet millions believe they are worthy of worship and adoration. These same fools completely buy into the inane mindset of the global warming religion (don't remind them Hitler was a fanatical environmentalist who preached the same blather about CO2 and social engineering in Mein Kampf).
Millions more take to the streets in "sophisticated" European nations, demanding government bend to their personal wills in matters of religion, or welfare, or shorter work weeks, extravagant pensions, and other socialist inspired give-away programs. In the US the same mind set drives hordes of fools who want their way...free health care, free college, free food and housing, instant citizenship for aliens...now!...despite the destruction of prosperity and the price to be paid by the majority; who want only to be left alone to live their lives.
The same human foibles which drove the socialists to power in Germany are driving the new movements of "social justice" and "fairness" and "saving the planet" and all the other hackneyed propaganda terms now popular in the culture of the "ignorant, servile, scum" and those who wish to manipulate them.
Yep...I've said it. History tells us the truth...no matter how much the teacher's unions or the progressive media propagandists try to hide it from us. Those who riot in the streets today are really no different than those who rioted in the streets in the 20's and 30's. The only reason we don't yet use the labels the frustrated private in Easy Company used is that we haven't yet had to face the harsh reality of what these naive fools truly represent.
So we politely point out that they "simply have a different point of view" and that "everyone has a right to their opinion." True...they do. But remember what happened to those who tried to voice their opinions against such tyranny in the past. When someone screams you are a "racist" because you believe in border security, or that you are a "denier" because you prefer scientific discussion over global warming fanaticism, they are doing exactly what was done to "deniers" of "change" and "social justice" in Germany in the 1930's.
Since I too apparently have a right to my opinion...at least for the time being...I'll choose to not "go along" with the pop culture ideologies that would empower a small number of "elites" to decide the future of humanity. They had their chance...many times...in the past, and hundreds of millions suffered and died as a result. These people are evil...simply and bluntly put...and want what they want and are willing to take it by guile or by force.
That they are on the move again...and gaining strength...does not mean the sacrifices made by the men of Easy Company, and all of the heroes of our past and present, were made in vain. It simply proves that struggle is eternal, and eternal vigilance is required of free people if they wish to remain free. Today, on Memorial Day 2010, we take the time to honor those who have fought the battles of the past, and are still fighting today, and to dedicate ourselves to the belief that "government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
By doing so, we truly honor the meaning of the day.
When Stupid Becomes an Epidemic
There will always be foolish people...but there can come a time when society itself begins to encourage, train, protect, and even import truly stupid people because someone in society benefits from their presence. Unfortunately, this happens regularly in democracies, as elected officials can benefit greatly from a voting block of people who are easily persuaded into complacence.
Politicians learn to not only depend on such folks to stay elected, they can even use them as "muscle" or to create crisis situations which call out for "martial law" or other misuses of government power. We have seen this in countries all over the globe over the last century or so. It's become standard practice for demagogues and would-be tyrants.
The process begins with the practice of alleviating risk...a degree of which is actually good for society in general, but it does slowly start to erode the ability of people to think fast, make decisions, and see the world realistically.
My most important education as a child was to live for some years in the wilderness. I had to learn, very quickly, that there was no 9-1-1 number to call...no one to help me if I screwed up...and that I could die if I made even one simple mistake. Once you come near death a couple of times...and escape by pure luck more than skill...you learn to focus rather intently on your current surroundings and situation. You learn to be realistic, to be centered, and to eliminate stupid ideas from your inventory.
Our public education system, unfortunately, has managed to erase a lot of risk from life...even to the extent of removing the risk of being a "loser" in a sporting event. Everyone's a winner after all. They reward the simple act of staying in school as an accomplishment, and stress image and self-love over substance in most every subject.
When I was young, one of my acquaintances left a candy bar in his sleeping bag with him one night...and was killed by a black bear intent on getting to it. In the wilderness you either win or lose...for real...and a teacher telling you you're special isn't going to save you from a stupid mistake.
My father, who had grown up living off the land during the depression, often times alone in the wilderness, once told me, "there is no such thing as an accident in the woods...there is only stupid, because accidents are the result of mistakes, and making mistakes is simply stupid."
There is no real excuse for perfectly normal, average, folks like myself to be stupid. Everyone makes mistakes...some dumber than others...but being stupid is on a whole different level. Politicians create laws and institutions which encourage stupidity, and discourage discourse or discussion, being the enemies of stupidity, in order to create permanent voting blocks.
To maintain these voting blocks, they must keep the people within ignorant. It also helps to keep them angry, paranoid, and desperate. The use of emotions is the bedrock of managing stupidity.
It's important to make sure people have the basic needs of life, but not too much as they would then begin to think "outside the box" of obedience. They have to be paranoid...they should believe they can't succeed outside of the box because "the man will just keep me down" or some other rationale. They remain desperate as they are constantly living from paycheck to paycheck, or welfare check to welfare check. Angry, because they are told by the politicians that "rich, white republicans/democrats are pulling the strings" and keeping you from the life "you deserve."
There's a key phrase...does any intelligent person actually believe they "deserve" anything? Or do they believe they can "earn" things? Do they demand respect, because a teacher told them they "deserve" it, or do they work hard in order to earn respect?
Obviously these strategies work...sometimes it takes decades to really bear the fruit of these stupification programs...but they do eventually create increasingly stupid blocks of voters and supporters of "causes." This is invaluable for the politician who needs to increase their political power, or to rob society of its wealth for their own benefit, or to create a support base for permanent re-election.
So when a politician says you "deserve" something...they believe you are among the stupid. When they tell you that "it won't cost you a penny as long as you don't make $250,000 a year or more"...they think you are stupid.
When a politician explains you have a "right" to other people's labor or property...such as "giving" you health care paid for by others...they are assuming you are too stupid to think about that statement before cheering.
And when you find yourself marching in protests...waving signs like the one in the photo...you can be sure the politician was right. The guy in the photo is amazingly stupid...almost beyond description stupid...but like most truly stupid people, he is incapable of knowing it. He is desperate, paranoid, and arrogantly angry at those who refuse to be stupid along with him.
The Professor
Management Styles that don't work...and why government uses them.
____________________________________________
My last article exposed some of the completely unnecessary micro-management functions, by as yet non-existent government agencies, written into the health care "reform" bill. Now I'll give some insight into why such things matter.
After the many decades I've spent working with and consulting to hundreds of business firms, I have seen just about every management "style" that probably exists. One style, which is apparent in a surprising number of small firms, is something I call the Delusional/Paranoid (D/P) style.
This management style is a direct reflection of the business owner's psychological state of mind...and it comes in many degrees, from the moderate to the extreme. The key elements are based first in the delusion that the manager is simply smarter than others, and that others must be monitored constantly or they will not be able to function at an acceptable level.
This is not surprising, or shocking, as the business owner is the one who has put everything at risk in starting a business. It's natural they worry about things "going right." Most managers are concerned with quality control, what their employees are doing when at work, and other issues of work quality...but the D/P manager just takes it a bit further than most.
I have seen situations where employees are grossly underutilized. As soon as they finish a project, they have to wait for the boss to approve it before moving onto another project. They may spend 15 minutes making a part...then wait an hour for approval...then spend another 15 minutes on the next part, and the cycle continues.
There was one example, a boss unable to trust anyone else to inspect parts...even though he had a nearly 0% rejection rate, that he worked as a full-time parts inspector rather than running the business. He did that work after the plant closed every evening...literally putting in 14 to 16 hour days.
The problem was that his micro-management was a "cost item" and not a revenue item. The time he spent on the floor inspecting parts did not contribute to the value of the product, and he could not charge for it, so there was no offsetting revenue to balance the expense. In essence, he worked all day for free.
The second element is the degree of paranoia the owner has in regards to employees and others. In extreme cases, the manager is certain employees are stealing, though there is no proof, or that they are conspiring to ruin the business, to steal ideas and technology, or to break out and start a competitive firm.
Now, of course, all of those things have happened and are possible. But the D/P manager, again, takes these fears to the extreme. Once again, oversight and micro-management is the response. And again the time and effort put into this oversight is an expense not balanced by added value.
Obviously every business will expend some degree of effort on monitoring employees and managing the work place. But these functions are direct expenses, and do not directly add to the value of the product so cannot be charged against the customer. The bottom line, for a business firm to grow beyond a certain very base level managers need to learn to train, trust, and to delegate or they will simply not be able to handle more than a few employees. Those who learn these skills can grow their firms into larger firms and eventually into public corporations.
So there is a direct relationship: the more time and effort spent on micro-management, the more the costs go up without increasing product, and the more expensive the product becomes per unit. Eventually the company languishes or goes broke.
I have seen similar styles in small divisions of large firms, where a local manager overdoes management of a sales force...leading to high turnover in the ranks due to frustration and loss of profit as costs go up without contributing to value. On the other hand, I've seen award-winning sales crews where managers watch from a distance, giving sales people "permission to excel" and guidance only when asked. Those sales managers grow value instead of expense.
Here's the bottom line: all management function comes at a cost. A certain degree of management is a necessary cost, but a management heavy firm loses money and the over-abundance of management is an expense that does not contribute to production. Therefore, the product costs more...there's less of it...and the customers pay more and make do with less. Unless, of course, there is competition...then the firm closes its doors as the customers move on.
This simple rule is true for a small business, a large firm, or an entire industry. The health care "industry" in the US, for example, is actually a term for the conglomeration of hundreds of thousands of small and large firms...from huge corporations to private practices. All of these firms put out a product, for which they have to charge us, the consumer, to cover their costs. One of those costs is management.
The health care bill is absolutely flooded with new micro-management requirements...not by the owners of these firms...but by government bureaucrats who will contribute nothing to the value of the products and services being delivered. This is simply a laundry list of new expense items...and the government will not be paying them.
These new expenses will run into the trillions of dollars...literally...and they will be passed on to the consumer, until the consumer is simply unable to pay. Then, services and products will simply become scarce, prices will rise dramatically, and the consumer will learn to live without...because there will be no competition. Every health care provider will have to expense the micro-management from government...no one will be exempt, so, as in a monopoly market, the prices will skyrocket as products become scarce.
When politicians tell you that health care is "unaffordable" now...or that the bill will "make it more affordable" or "balance the budget" they are either flat out lying to you or they are incredibly foolish individuals. Anyone who has ever run a business, or done a household budget for that matter, can look at the reality of the situation and understand that.
Of course, many elected officials are Delusional/Paranoids. Looking at it from their viewpoint...we're way too stupid to figure out what's happening to us and they don't dare tell us the truth...as we couldn't handle it...and they certainly can't give us choices. That might confuse us and screw up everything.
Maybe it's time for a little turnover in employees...and guess what...we're the employers. This coming November seems a good time to start!
The Professor
My last article exposed some of the completely unnecessary micro-management functions, by as yet non-existent government agencies, written into the health care "reform" bill. Now I'll give some insight into why such things matter.
After the many decades I've spent working with and consulting to hundreds of business firms, I have seen just about every management "style" that probably exists. One style, which is apparent in a surprising number of small firms, is something I call the Delusional/Paranoid (D/P) style.
This management style is a direct reflection of the business owner's psychological state of mind...and it comes in many degrees, from the moderate to the extreme. The key elements are based first in the delusion that the manager is simply smarter than others, and that others must be monitored constantly or they will not be able to function at an acceptable level.
This is not surprising, or shocking, as the business owner is the one who has put everything at risk in starting a business. It's natural they worry about things "going right." Most managers are concerned with quality control, what their employees are doing when at work, and other issues of work quality...but the D/P manager just takes it a bit further than most.
I have seen situations where employees are grossly underutilized. As soon as they finish a project, they have to wait for the boss to approve it before moving onto another project. They may spend 15 minutes making a part...then wait an hour for approval...then spend another 15 minutes on the next part, and the cycle continues.
There was one example, a boss unable to trust anyone else to inspect parts...even though he had a nearly 0% rejection rate, that he worked as a full-time parts inspector rather than running the business. He did that work after the plant closed every evening...literally putting in 14 to 16 hour days.
The problem was that his micro-management was a "cost item" and not a revenue item. The time he spent on the floor inspecting parts did not contribute to the value of the product, and he could not charge for it, so there was no offsetting revenue to balance the expense. In essence, he worked all day for free.
The second element is the degree of paranoia the owner has in regards to employees and others. In extreme cases, the manager is certain employees are stealing, though there is no proof, or that they are conspiring to ruin the business, to steal ideas and technology, or to break out and start a competitive firm.
Now, of course, all of those things have happened and are possible. But the D/P manager, again, takes these fears to the extreme. Once again, oversight and micro-management is the response. And again the time and effort put into this oversight is an expense not balanced by added value.
Obviously every business will expend some degree of effort on monitoring employees and managing the work place. But these functions are direct expenses, and do not directly add to the value of the product so cannot be charged against the customer. The bottom line, for a business firm to grow beyond a certain very base level managers need to learn to train, trust, and to delegate or they will simply not be able to handle more than a few employees. Those who learn these skills can grow their firms into larger firms and eventually into public corporations.
So there is a direct relationship: the more time and effort spent on micro-management, the more the costs go up without increasing product, and the more expensive the product becomes per unit. Eventually the company languishes or goes broke.
I have seen similar styles in small divisions of large firms, where a local manager overdoes management of a sales force...leading to high turnover in the ranks due to frustration and loss of profit as costs go up without contributing to value. On the other hand, I've seen award-winning sales crews where managers watch from a distance, giving sales people "permission to excel" and guidance only when asked. Those sales managers grow value instead of expense.
Here's the bottom line: all management function comes at a cost. A certain degree of management is a necessary cost, but a management heavy firm loses money and the over-abundance of management is an expense that does not contribute to production. Therefore, the product costs more...there's less of it...and the customers pay more and make do with less. Unless, of course, there is competition...then the firm closes its doors as the customers move on.
This simple rule is true for a small business, a large firm, or an entire industry. The health care "industry" in the US, for example, is actually a term for the conglomeration of hundreds of thousands of small and large firms...from huge corporations to private practices. All of these firms put out a product, for which they have to charge us, the consumer, to cover their costs. One of those costs is management.
The health care bill is absolutely flooded with new micro-management requirements...not by the owners of these firms...but by government bureaucrats who will contribute nothing to the value of the products and services being delivered. This is simply a laundry list of new expense items...and the government will not be paying them.
These new expenses will run into the trillions of dollars...literally...and they will be passed on to the consumer, until the consumer is simply unable to pay. Then, services and products will simply become scarce, prices will rise dramatically, and the consumer will learn to live without...because there will be no competition. Every health care provider will have to expense the micro-management from government...no one will be exempt, so, as in a monopoly market, the prices will skyrocket as products become scarce.
When politicians tell you that health care is "unaffordable" now...or that the bill will "make it more affordable" or "balance the budget" they are either flat out lying to you or they are incredibly foolish individuals. Anyone who has ever run a business, or done a household budget for that matter, can look at the reality of the situation and understand that.
Of course, many elected officials are Delusional/Paranoids. Looking at it from their viewpoint...we're way too stupid to figure out what's happening to us and they don't dare tell us the truth...as we couldn't handle it...and they certainly can't give us choices. That might confuse us and screw up everything.
Maybe it's time for a little turnover in employees...and guess what...we're the employers. This coming November seems a good time to start!
The Professor
Digging Into the Health Care Bill
__________
I keep being told about the "details" of the "Health Care" bill, recently rammed through Congress, by folks who have never even tried to read the bill. Doesn't matter, they obstinately assure me, they know what's in it. It must be that ESP thing...I never knew so many people had that psychic skill.
As I don't have such perception...I have been reading the thing...not an easy task due to it's rambling and obfuscatory nature. I've managed to identify a few thousand reports that physicians and others in the industry will have to file with various agencies and commissions...none of which yet exist. And I'm only a third of the way through the monster.
Not surprisingly, the budget office of the congress forecast the cost of the bill based on benefits estimated will be paid out. They did no forecasting of the costs of providers having to hire admin personnel to fill out and file the millions of pieces of paper demanded by government micro-managers. The real costs of the legislation will likely run not 1.4 trillion, but in the tens of trillions. We will have to pay that.
The money, of course, doesn't exist and won't...so the system will crash and leave the industry in shambles. But enough bright and cheery talk...let's look at some items actually spelled out in the bill...such as a list of new agencies that don't yet exist. Here's a start:
1. Grant program for consumer assistance offices (Section 1002, p. 37)
2. Grant program for states to monitor premium increases (Section 1003, p. 42)
3. Committee to review administrative simplification standards (Section 1104, p. 71)
4. Demonstration program for state wellness programs (Section 1201, p. 93)
5. Grant program to establish state Exchanges (Section 1311(a), p. 130)
6. State American Health Benefit Exchanges (Section 1311(b), p. 131)
7. Exchange grants to establish consumer navigator programs (Section 1311(i), p. 150)
8. Grant program for state cooperatives (Section 1322, p. 169)
9. Advisory board for state cooperatives (Section 1322(b)(3), p. 173)
10. Private purchasing council for state cooperatives (Section 1322(d), p. 177)
11. State basic health plan programs (Section 1331, p. 201)
12. State-based reinsurance program (Section 1341, p. 226)
13. Program of risk corridors for individual and small group markets (Section 1342, p. 233)
14. Program to determine eligibility for Exchange participation (Section 1411, p. 267)
15. Program for advance determination of tax credit eligibility (Section 1412, p. 288)
16. Grant program to implement health IT enrollment standards (Section 1561, p. 370)
17 Federal Coordinated Health Care Office for dual eligible beneficiaries (Section 2602, p. 512)
18. Medicaid quality measurement program (Section 2701, p. 518)
19. Medicaid health home program for people with chronic conditions, and grants for planning same (Section 2703, p. 524)
20 Medicaid demonstration project to evaluate bundled payments (Section 2704, p. 532)
21. Medicaid demonstration project for global payment system (Section 2705, p. 536)
22. Medicaid demonstration project for accountable care organizations (Section 2706, p. 538)
23. Medicaid demonstration project for emergency psychiatric care (Section 2707, p. 540)
24. Grant program for delivery of services to individuals with postpartum depression (Section 2952(b), p. 591)
25. State allotments for grants to promote personal responsibility education programs (Section 2953, p. 596)
26. Medicare value-based purchasing program (Section 3001(a), p. 613)
27. Medicare value-based purchasing demonstration program for critical access hospitals (Section 3001(b), p. 637)
28. Medicare value-based purchasing program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 3006(a), p. 666)
29. Medicare value-based purchasing program for home health agencies Section 3006(b), p. 668)
30. Interagency Working Group on Health Care Quality (Section 3012, p. 688)
31. Grant program to develop health care quality measures (Section 3013, p. 693)
32. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 3021, p. 712)
33. Medicare shared savings program (Section 3022, p. 728)
34. Medicare pilot program on payment bundling (Section 3023, p. 739)
35. Independence at home medical practice demonstration program (Section 3024, p. 752)
36. Program for use of patient safety organizations to reduce hospital readmission rates (Section 3025(b), p. 775)
37. Community-based care transitions program (Section 3026, p. 776)
38. Demonstration project for payment of complex diagnostic laboratory tests (Section 3113, p. 800)
39. Medicare hospice concurrent care demonstration project (Section 3140, p. 850)
40. Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 982)
41. Consumer Advisory Council for Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 1027)
42. Grant program for technical assistance to providers implementing health quality practices (Section 3501, p. 1043)
43. Grant program to establish interdisciplinary health teams (Section 3502, p. 1048)
44. Grant program to implement medication therapy management (Section 3503, p. 1055)
45. Grant program to support emergency care pilot programs (Section 3504, p. 1061)
46. Grant program to promote universal access to trauma services (Section 3505(b), p. 1081)
47. Grant program to develop and promote shared decision-making aids (Section 3506, p. 1088)
48. Grant program to support implementation of shared decision-making (Section 3506, p. 1091)
49. Grant program to integrate quality improvement in clinical education (Section 3508, p. 1095)
50. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women's Health (Section 3509(a), p. 1098)
51. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women's Health (Section 3509(b), p. 1102)
52. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women's Health (Section 3509(e), p. 1105)
53. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women's Health (Section 3509(f), p. 1106)
54. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women's Health (Section 3509(g), p. 1109)
55. National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council (Section 4001, p. 1114)
56. Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health (Section 4001(f), p. 1117)
57. Prevention and Public Health Fund (Section 4002, p. 1121)
58. Community Preventive Services Task Force (Section 4003(b), p. 1126)
59. Grant program to support school-based health centers (Section 4101, p. 1135)
60. Grant program to promote research-based dental caries disease management (Section 4102, p. 1147)
61. Grant program for States to prevent chronic disease in Medicaid beneficiaries (Section 4108, p. 1174)
62. Community transformation grants (Section 4201, p. 1182)
63. Grant program to provide public health interventions (Section 4202, p 1188)
64. Demonstration program of grants to improve child immunization rates (Section 4204(b), p. 1200)
65. Pilot program for risk-factor assessments provided through community health centers (Section 4206, p. 1215)
66. Grant program to increase epidemiology and laboratory capacity Section 4304, p. 1233)
67. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 4305, p. 1238)
68. National Health Care Workforce Commission (Section 5101, p. 1256)
69. Grant program to plan health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(c), p. 1275)
70. Grant program to implement health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(d), p. 1279)
71. Pediatric specialty loan repayment program (Section 5203, p. 1295)
72. Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program (Section 5204, p. 1300)
73. Allied Health Loan Forgiveness Program (Section 5205, p. 1305)
74. Grant program to provide mid-career training for health professionals (Section 5206, p. 1307)
75. Grant program to fund nurse-managed health clinics (Section 5208, p. 1310)
76. Grant program to support primary care training programs (Section 5301, p. 1315)
77. Grant program to fund training for direct care workers (Section 5302, p. 1322)
78. Grant program to develop dental training programs (Section 5303, p. 1325)
79. Demonstration program to increase access to dental health care in underserved communities (Section 5304, p. 1331)
80. Grant program to promote geriatric education centers (Section 5305, p. 1334)
81. Grant program to promote health professionals entering geriatrics Section 5305, p. 1339)
82. Grant program to promote training in mental and behavioral health (Section 5306, p. 1344)
83. Grant program to promote nurse retention programs (Section 5309, p. 1354)
84. Student loan forgiveness for nursing school faculty (Section 5311(b), p. 1360)
85. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors and outcomes (Section 5313, p. 1364)
86. Public Health Sciences Track for medical students (Section 5315, p. 1372)
87. Primary Care Extension Program to educate providers (Section 5405, p. 1404)
88. Grant program for demonstration projects to address health workforce shortage needs (Section 5507, p. 1442)
89. Grant program for demonstration projects to develop training programs for home health aides (Section 5507, p. 1447)
90 Grant program to establish new primary care residency programs (Section 5508(a), p. 1458)
91. Program of payments to teaching health centers that sponsor medical residency training (Section 5508(c), p. 1462)
92. Graduate nurse education demonstration program (Section 5509, p. 1472)
93. Grant program to establish demonstration projects for community- based mental health settings (Section 5604, p. 1486)
94. Commission on Key National Indicators (Section 5605, p. 1489)
95. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6102, p. 1554)
96. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6103(a)(3), p. 1561)
97. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 6103(b)(3), p. 1568)
98. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 6112, p. 1589)
99. Demonstration projects for nursing facilities involved in the culture change movement (Section 6114, p. 1597)
100. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1619)
101. Standing methodology committee for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1629)
102. Board of Governors for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1638)
103. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (Section 6301(e), p. 1656)
104. Elder Justice Coordinating Council (Section 6703, p. 1773)
105. Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation (Section 6703, p. 1776)
106. Grant program to create elder abuse forensic centers (Section 6703, p. 1783)
107. Grant program to promote continuing education for long-term care staffers (Section 6703, p. 1787)
108. Grant program to improve management practices and training (Section 6703, p. 1788)109. Grant program to subsidize costs of electronic health records (Section 6703, p. 1791)
110. Grant program to promote adult protective services (Section 6703, p. 1796)
111. Grant program to conduct elder abuse detection and prevention (Section 6703, p. 1798)
112. Grant program to support long-term care ombudsmen (Section 6703, p. 1800)
113. National Training Institute for long-term care surveyors (Section 6703, p. 1806)
114 Grant program to fund State surveys of long-term care residences (Section 6703, p. 1809)
115. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 8002, p. 1926)
116. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 8002,p. 1927)
117. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 8002, p. 1931)
118. Personal Care Attendants Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 8002(c, p. 1938)
119 Multi-state health plans offered by Office of Personnel Management (Section 10104(p), p. 2086)
120. Advisory board for multi-state health plans (Section 10104(p), p. 2094)
121. Pregnancy Assistance Fund (Section 10212, p. 2164)
122. Value-based purchasing program for ambulatory surgical centers (Section 10301, p. 2176)
123. Demonstration project for payment adjustments to home health services (Section 10315, p. 2200)
124. Pilot program for care of individuals in environmental emergency declaration areas (Section 10323, p. 2223)
125. Grant program to screen at-risk individuals for environmental health conditions (Section 10323(b), p. 2231)
126. Pilot programs to implement value-based purchasing (Section 10326, p. 2242)
127. Grant program to support community-based collaborative care networks (Section 10333, p. 2265)
128. Centers for Disease Control Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
129. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
130. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
131. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
132. Food and Drug Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
133. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
134. Grant program to promote small business wellness programs (Section 10408, p 2285)
135. Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2289)
136. Cures Acceleration Network Review Board (Section 10409, p. 2291)
137. Grant program for Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2297)
138. Grant program to promote centers of excellence for depression (Section 10410, p. 2304)
139. Advisory committee for young women's breast health awareness education campaign (Section 10413, p. 2322)
140. Grant program to provide assistance to provide information to young women with breast cancer (Section 10413, p. 2326)
141. Interagency Access to Health Care in Alaska Task Force (Section 10501, p. 2329)
142. Grant program to train nurse practitioners as primary care providers (Section 10501(e), p. 2332)
143. Grant program for community-based diabetes prevention (Section 10501(g), p. 2337)
144. Grant program for providers who treat a high percentage of medically underserved populations (Section 10501(k), p. 2343)
145. Grant program to recruit students to practice in underserved communities (Section 10501(l), p. 2344)
146. Community Health Center Fund (Section 10503, p. 2355)
147. Demonstration project to provide access to health care for the uninsured at reduced fees (Section 10504, p. 2357)
148. Demonstration program to explore alternatives to tort litigation (Section 10607, p. 2369)
149. Indian Health demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (S. 1790, Section 112, p. 24)*
150. Office of Indian Men's Health (S. 1790, Section 136, p. 71)*
151. Indian Country modular component facilities demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 146, p. 108)*
152. Indian mobile health stations demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 147, p. 111)*
153. Office of Direct Service Tribes (S. 1790, Section 172, p. 151)*
154. Indian Health Service mental health technician training program S. 1790, Section 181, p. 173)*
155. Indian Health Service program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 192)*
156. Indian Health Service program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 194)*
157. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 204)*
158. Indian youth life skills demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 220)*
159. Indian Health Service Director of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment (S. 1790, Section 199B, p. 258)*
*Section 10221, page 2173 of H.R. 3590 deems that S. 1790 shall be deemed as passed with certain amendments.
WOW! Remember this is just a start. I haven't finished the thing yet...just skimming through the big sections. Heaven knows what macabre things will come to light as lawmakers attempt to roll this obscenity out...which could take at least a decade anyway.
So welcome to the new age of Hope and Change...sorry if you don't recognize it as having anything to do with Hope...but it does prove that change isn't always a good thing.
I keep being told about the "details" of the "Health Care" bill, recently rammed through Congress, by folks who have never even tried to read the bill. Doesn't matter, they obstinately assure me, they know what's in it. It must be that ESP thing...I never knew so many people had that psychic skill.
As I don't have such perception...I have been reading the thing...not an easy task due to it's rambling and obfuscatory nature. I've managed to identify a few thousand reports that physicians and others in the industry will have to file with various agencies and commissions...none of which yet exist. And I'm only a third of the way through the monster.
Not surprisingly, the budget office of the congress forecast the cost of the bill based on benefits estimated will be paid out. They did no forecasting of the costs of providers having to hire admin personnel to fill out and file the millions of pieces of paper demanded by government micro-managers. The real costs of the legislation will likely run not 1.4 trillion, but in the tens of trillions. We will have to pay that.
The money, of course, doesn't exist and won't...so the system will crash and leave the industry in shambles. But enough bright and cheery talk...let's look at some items actually spelled out in the bill...such as a list of new agencies that don't yet exist. Here's a start:
1. Grant program for consumer assistance offices (Section 1002, p. 37)
2. Grant program for states to monitor premium increases (Section 1003, p. 42)
3. Committee to review administrative simplification standards (Section 1104, p. 71)
4. Demonstration program for state wellness programs (Section 1201, p. 93)
5. Grant program to establish state Exchanges (Section 1311(a), p. 130)
6. State American Health Benefit Exchanges (Section 1311(b), p. 131)
7. Exchange grants to establish consumer navigator programs (Section 1311(i), p. 150)
8. Grant program for state cooperatives (Section 1322, p. 169)
9. Advisory board for state cooperatives (Section 1322(b)(3), p. 173)
10. Private purchasing council for state cooperatives (Section 1322(d), p. 177)
11. State basic health plan programs (Section 1331, p. 201)
12. State-based reinsurance program (Section 1341, p. 226)
13. Program of risk corridors for individual and small group markets (Section 1342, p. 233)
14. Program to determine eligibility for Exchange participation (Section 1411, p. 267)
15. Program for advance determination of tax credit eligibility (Section 1412, p. 288)
16. Grant program to implement health IT enrollment standards (Section 1561, p. 370)
17 Federal Coordinated Health Care Office for dual eligible beneficiaries (Section 2602, p. 512)
18. Medicaid quality measurement program (Section 2701, p. 518)
19. Medicaid health home program for people with chronic conditions, and grants for planning same (Section 2703, p. 524)
20 Medicaid demonstration project to evaluate bundled payments (Section 2704, p. 532)
21. Medicaid demonstration project for global payment system (Section 2705, p. 536)
22. Medicaid demonstration project for accountable care organizations (Section 2706, p. 538)
23. Medicaid demonstration project for emergency psychiatric care (Section 2707, p. 540)
24. Grant program for delivery of services to individuals with postpartum depression (Section 2952(b), p. 591)
25. State allotments for grants to promote personal responsibility education programs (Section 2953, p. 596)
26. Medicare value-based purchasing program (Section 3001(a), p. 613)
27. Medicare value-based purchasing demonstration program for critical access hospitals (Section 3001(b), p. 637)
28. Medicare value-based purchasing program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 3006(a), p. 666)
29. Medicare value-based purchasing program for home health agencies Section 3006(b), p. 668)
30. Interagency Working Group on Health Care Quality (Section 3012, p. 688)
31. Grant program to develop health care quality measures (Section 3013, p. 693)
32. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Section 3021, p. 712)
33. Medicare shared savings program (Section 3022, p. 728)
34. Medicare pilot program on payment bundling (Section 3023, p. 739)
35. Independence at home medical practice demonstration program (Section 3024, p. 752)
36. Program for use of patient safety organizations to reduce hospital readmission rates (Section 3025(b), p. 775)
37. Community-based care transitions program (Section 3026, p. 776)
38. Demonstration project for payment of complex diagnostic laboratory tests (Section 3113, p. 800)
39. Medicare hospice concurrent care demonstration project (Section 3140, p. 850)
40. Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 982)
41. Consumer Advisory Council for Independent Payment Advisory Board (Section 3403, p. 1027)
42. Grant program for technical assistance to providers implementing health quality practices (Section 3501, p. 1043)
43. Grant program to establish interdisciplinary health teams (Section 3502, p. 1048)
44. Grant program to implement medication therapy management (Section 3503, p. 1055)
45. Grant program to support emergency care pilot programs (Section 3504, p. 1061)
46. Grant program to promote universal access to trauma services (Section 3505(b), p. 1081)
47. Grant program to develop and promote shared decision-making aids (Section 3506, p. 1088)
48. Grant program to support implementation of shared decision-making (Section 3506, p. 1091)
49. Grant program to integrate quality improvement in clinical education (Section 3508, p. 1095)
50. Health and Human Services Coordinating Committee on Women's Health (Section 3509(a), p. 1098)
51. Centers for Disease Control Office of Women's Health (Section 3509(b), p. 1102)
52. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Women's Health (Section 3509(e), p. 1105)
53. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Women's Health (Section 3509(f), p. 1106)
54. Food and Drug Administration Office of Women's Health (Section 3509(g), p. 1109)
55. National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council (Section 4001, p. 1114)
56. Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health (Section 4001(f), p. 1117)
57. Prevention and Public Health Fund (Section 4002, p. 1121)
58. Community Preventive Services Task Force (Section 4003(b), p. 1126)
59. Grant program to support school-based health centers (Section 4101, p. 1135)
60. Grant program to promote research-based dental caries disease management (Section 4102, p. 1147)
61. Grant program for States to prevent chronic disease in Medicaid beneficiaries (Section 4108, p. 1174)
62. Community transformation grants (Section 4201, p. 1182)
63. Grant program to provide public health interventions (Section 4202, p 1188)
64. Demonstration program of grants to improve child immunization rates (Section 4204(b), p. 1200)
65. Pilot program for risk-factor assessments provided through community health centers (Section 4206, p. 1215)
66. Grant program to increase epidemiology and laboratory capacity Section 4304, p. 1233)
67. Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (Section 4305, p. 1238)
68. National Health Care Workforce Commission (Section 5101, p. 1256)
69. Grant program to plan health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(c), p. 1275)
70. Grant program to implement health care workforce development activities (Section 5102(d), p. 1279)
71. Pediatric specialty loan repayment program (Section 5203, p. 1295)
72. Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program (Section 5204, p. 1300)
73. Allied Health Loan Forgiveness Program (Section 5205, p. 1305)
74. Grant program to provide mid-career training for health professionals (Section 5206, p. 1307)
75. Grant program to fund nurse-managed health clinics (Section 5208, p. 1310)
76. Grant program to support primary care training programs (Section 5301, p. 1315)
77. Grant program to fund training for direct care workers (Section 5302, p. 1322)
78. Grant program to develop dental training programs (Section 5303, p. 1325)
79. Demonstration program to increase access to dental health care in underserved communities (Section 5304, p. 1331)
80. Grant program to promote geriatric education centers (Section 5305, p. 1334)
81. Grant program to promote health professionals entering geriatrics Section 5305, p. 1339)
82. Grant program to promote training in mental and behavioral health (Section 5306, p. 1344)
83. Grant program to promote nurse retention programs (Section 5309, p. 1354)
84. Student loan forgiveness for nursing school faculty (Section 5311(b), p. 1360)
85. Grant program to promote positive health behaviors and outcomes (Section 5313, p. 1364)
86. Public Health Sciences Track for medical students (Section 5315, p. 1372)
87. Primary Care Extension Program to educate providers (Section 5405, p. 1404)
88. Grant program for demonstration projects to address health workforce shortage needs (Section 5507, p. 1442)
89. Grant program for demonstration projects to develop training programs for home health aides (Section 5507, p. 1447)
90 Grant program to establish new primary care residency programs (Section 5508(a), p. 1458)
91. Program of payments to teaching health centers that sponsor medical residency training (Section 5508(c), p. 1462)
92. Graduate nurse education demonstration program (Section 5509, p. 1472)
93. Grant program to establish demonstration projects for community- based mental health settings (Section 5604, p. 1486)
94. Commission on Key National Indicators (Section 5605, p. 1489)
95. Quality assurance and performance improvement program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6102, p. 1554)
96. Special focus facility program for skilled nursing facilities (Section 6103(a)(3), p. 1561)
97. Special focus facility program for nursing facilities (Section 6103(b)(3), p. 1568)
98. National independent monitor pilot program for skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities (Section 6112, p. 1589)
99. Demonstration projects for nursing facilities involved in the culture change movement (Section 6114, p. 1597)
100. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1619)
101. Standing methodology committee for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1629)
102. Board of Governors for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Section 6301, p. 1638)
103. Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (Section 6301(e), p. 1656)
104. Elder Justice Coordinating Council (Section 6703, p. 1773)
105. Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation (Section 6703, p. 1776)
106. Grant program to create elder abuse forensic centers (Section 6703, p. 1783)
107. Grant program to promote continuing education for long-term care staffers (Section 6703, p. 1787)
108. Grant program to improve management practices and training (Section 6703, p. 1788)109. Grant program to subsidize costs of electronic health records (Section 6703, p. 1791)
110. Grant program to promote adult protective services (Section 6703, p. 1796)
111. Grant program to conduct elder abuse detection and prevention (Section 6703, p. 1798)
112. Grant program to support long-term care ombudsmen (Section 6703, p. 1800)
113. National Training Institute for long-term care surveyors (Section 6703, p. 1806)
114 Grant program to fund State surveys of long-term care residences (Section 6703, p. 1809)
115. CLASS Independence Fund (Section 8002, p. 1926)
116. CLASS Independence Fund Board of Trustees (Section 8002,p. 1927)
117. CLASS Independence Advisory Council (Section 8002, p. 1931)
118. Personal Care Attendants Workforce Advisory Panel (Section 8002(c, p. 1938)
119 Multi-state health plans offered by Office of Personnel Management (Section 10104(p), p. 2086)
120. Advisory board for multi-state health plans (Section 10104(p), p. 2094)
121. Pregnancy Assistance Fund (Section 10212, p. 2164)
122. Value-based purchasing program for ambulatory surgical centers (Section 10301, p. 2176)
123. Demonstration project for payment adjustments to home health services (Section 10315, p. 2200)
124. Pilot program for care of individuals in environmental emergency declaration areas (Section 10323, p. 2223)
125. Grant program to screen at-risk individuals for environmental health conditions (Section 10323(b), p. 2231)
126. Pilot programs to implement value-based purchasing (Section 10326, p. 2242)
127. Grant program to support community-based collaborative care networks (Section 10333, p. 2265)
128. Centers for Disease Control Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
129. Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
130. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
131. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
132. Food and Drug Administration Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
133. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (Section 10334, p. 2272)
134. Grant program to promote small business wellness programs (Section 10408, p 2285)
135. Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2289)
136. Cures Acceleration Network Review Board (Section 10409, p. 2291)
137. Grant program for Cures Acceleration Network (Section 10409, p. 2297)
138. Grant program to promote centers of excellence for depression (Section 10410, p. 2304)
139. Advisory committee for young women's breast health awareness education campaign (Section 10413, p. 2322)
140. Grant program to provide assistance to provide information to young women with breast cancer (Section 10413, p. 2326)
141. Interagency Access to Health Care in Alaska Task Force (Section 10501, p. 2329)
142. Grant program to train nurse practitioners as primary care providers (Section 10501(e), p. 2332)
143. Grant program for community-based diabetes prevention (Section 10501(g), p. 2337)
144. Grant program for providers who treat a high percentage of medically underserved populations (Section 10501(k), p. 2343)
145. Grant program to recruit students to practice in underserved communities (Section 10501(l), p. 2344)
146. Community Health Center Fund (Section 10503, p. 2355)
147. Demonstration project to provide access to health care for the uninsured at reduced fees (Section 10504, p. 2357)
148. Demonstration program to explore alternatives to tort litigation (Section 10607, p. 2369)
149. Indian Health demonstration program for chronic shortages of health professionals (S. 1790, Section 112, p. 24)*
150. Office of Indian Men's Health (S. 1790, Section 136, p. 71)*
151. Indian Country modular component facilities demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 146, p. 108)*
152. Indian mobile health stations demonstration program (S. 1790, Section 147, p. 111)*
153. Office of Direct Service Tribes (S. 1790, Section 172, p. 151)*
154. Indian Health Service mental health technician training program S. 1790, Section 181, p. 173)*
155. Indian Health Service program for treatment of child sexual abuse victims (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 192)*
156. Indian Health Service program for treatment of domestic violence and sexual abuse (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 194)*
157. Indian youth telemental health demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 204)*
158. Indian youth life skills demonstration project (S. 1790, Section 181, p. 220)*
159. Indian Health Service Director of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Treatment (S. 1790, Section 199B, p. 258)*
*Section 10221, page 2173 of H.R. 3590 deems that S. 1790 shall be deemed as passed with certain amendments.
WOW! Remember this is just a start. I haven't finished the thing yet...just skimming through the big sections. Heaven knows what macabre things will come to light as lawmakers attempt to roll this obscenity out...which could take at least a decade anyway.
So welcome to the new age of Hope and Change...sorry if you don't recognize it as having anything to do with Hope...but it does prove that change isn't always a good thing.
Global Warming Alert...Planetary Emergency Redefined
_______________________________________
This headline news flash from the Al Gore network just in:
"GLOBAL WARMING DOES NOT MEAN THE EARTH IS BECOMING WARMER"
Yes my friends...Al Gore, due to public opinion polls indicating fewer than one quarter of the American voters now feel Global Warming is even an issue, has redefined the argument to more closely match the mood of the people.
We refer to this as "dancing around the truth." But who are we to criticize? After all we're not "climate experts" like Al.
The record breaking cold spells of this winter likely haven't helped his public relations efforts, and even some mainstream media pundits have been critical of his past prognostications.
In response, Al has begun to clear up our confusion by explaining that Global Warming doesn't necessarily mean the globe is warming. He has dropped the Global Warming label in favor of the Climate Change label...a preemptive public relations strike...and is now reaching a new level of confusing rhetoric.
It isn't so much warming we have to worry about, he states, the main issue is that weather will become "chaotic."
HUH?
Oh my God! This means the weather of our childhoods, when it was 72 degrees every day, with a light wind out of the south, and every night about 2 AM there would be half an hour of light rain (so we wouldn't have to water our lawns) is now a thing of the past.
Weather will now be "chaotic"; meaning completely out of control...and different every day. Experts predict we can now expect a number of new and devastating phenomenon to occur. One of these will frequently come about in the vicinity of the equator and will be called either hurricanes or typhoons. These devastating "storms", a general term invented to put a label on new chaotic weather patterns, will be birthed over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and make their way towards land.
They will hit land with high winds, waves, and something called "heavy rains" resulting in damage to homes and buildings and possible "flooding" (a new term meaning an excess of natural water from rainfall).
As if that's not bad enough; the American mid-west will be officially referred to as "Tornado Alley" in order to emphasize to residents the seriousness of another predicted phenomenon which will be called a "tornado." This is a unique, and brand new type of "storm" capable of striking quickly and without warning and destroying homes and property...focusing on trailer parks specifically...and the people in "Tornado Alley" must be prepared.
Gore is advising the construction of "tornado shelters" or "storm cellars" where residents may flee and feel somewhat safe from the chaos above. The invention of the "storm cellar" may well be remembered as one of Gore's greatest contributions to society, along with his invention of the internet.
In other areas we may well experience the "heavy rain" attacks which will cause the aforementioned "flooding". Experts predict these "floods" may become an annual occurrence in low-lying areas they are now referring to as "flood plains." The devastating results of these "floods" will include hours of incredibly predictable television news coverage by reporters in yellow rain-slickers.
On the flip-side...regions of the globe may experience too little rainfall, resulting in an effect which will be labeled "drought" followed by "famine"...for some unexplained reason this will be particularly notable in regions ruled by tin-pot dictators and other socialist types.
The only way we can circumvent this coming devastation is to give all of our money, what we have left that is, to Al Gore, in the form of "carbon credits" and to the US government, in the form of "energy" taxes. These two actions should halt the evils of capitalism and bring to an end the terrors of abundant food, shelter, clothing, and other material goods. The weather will again be brought under control of our all-seeing and ever-wise bureaucrats in Washington DC (bless them all...for they will save us).
So be prepared America! Chaos is coming...and with it a burgeoning industry in "weather forecasting", thermometers, barometers, batteries, canned food, candles, Coleman stoves, and rain-gear (clothing to protect one from the new chaos). May God be with us...
The Professor (from his "storm cellar")
This headline news flash from the Al Gore network just in:
"GLOBAL WARMING DOES NOT MEAN THE EARTH IS BECOMING WARMER"
Yes my friends...Al Gore, due to public opinion polls indicating fewer than one quarter of the American voters now feel Global Warming is even an issue, has redefined the argument to more closely match the mood of the people.
We refer to this as "dancing around the truth." But who are we to criticize? After all we're not "climate experts" like Al.
The record breaking cold spells of this winter likely haven't helped his public relations efforts, and even some mainstream media pundits have been critical of his past prognostications.
In response, Al has begun to clear up our confusion by explaining that Global Warming doesn't necessarily mean the globe is warming. He has dropped the Global Warming label in favor of the Climate Change label...a preemptive public relations strike...and is now reaching a new level of confusing rhetoric.
It isn't so much warming we have to worry about, he states, the main issue is that weather will become "chaotic."
HUH?
Oh my God! This means the weather of our childhoods, when it was 72 degrees every day, with a light wind out of the south, and every night about 2 AM there would be half an hour of light rain (so we wouldn't have to water our lawns) is now a thing of the past.
Weather will now be "chaotic"; meaning completely out of control...and different every day. Experts predict we can now expect a number of new and devastating phenomenon to occur. One of these will frequently come about in the vicinity of the equator and will be called either hurricanes or typhoons. These devastating "storms", a general term invented to put a label on new chaotic weather patterns, will be birthed over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and make their way towards land.
They will hit land with high winds, waves, and something called "heavy rains" resulting in damage to homes and buildings and possible "flooding" (a new term meaning an excess of natural water from rainfall).
As if that's not bad enough; the American mid-west will be officially referred to as "Tornado Alley" in order to emphasize to residents the seriousness of another predicted phenomenon which will be called a "tornado." This is a unique, and brand new type of "storm" capable of striking quickly and without warning and destroying homes and property...focusing on trailer parks specifically...and the people in "Tornado Alley" must be prepared.
Gore is advising the construction of "tornado shelters" or "storm cellars" where residents may flee and feel somewhat safe from the chaos above. The invention of the "storm cellar" may well be remembered as one of Gore's greatest contributions to society, along with his invention of the internet.
In other areas we may well experience the "heavy rain" attacks which will cause the aforementioned "flooding". Experts predict these "floods" may become an annual occurrence in low-lying areas they are now referring to as "flood plains." The devastating results of these "floods" will include hours of incredibly predictable television news coverage by reporters in yellow rain-slickers.
On the flip-side...regions of the globe may experience too little rainfall, resulting in an effect which will be labeled "drought" followed by "famine"...for some unexplained reason this will be particularly notable in regions ruled by tin-pot dictators and other socialist types.
The only way we can circumvent this coming devastation is to give all of our money, what we have left that is, to Al Gore, in the form of "carbon credits" and to the US government, in the form of "energy" taxes. These two actions should halt the evils of capitalism and bring to an end the terrors of abundant food, shelter, clothing, and other material goods. The weather will again be brought under control of our all-seeing and ever-wise bureaucrats in Washington DC (bless them all...for they will save us).
So be prepared America! Chaos is coming...and with it a burgeoning industry in "weather forecasting", thermometers, barometers, batteries, canned food, candles, Coleman stoves, and rain-gear (clothing to protect one from the new chaos). May God be with us...
The Professor (from his "storm cellar")
The Real Plan for our Health Care Industry
It's down to the wire; that deadline set by the leaders of the Democratic party, and the truth about the health care nationalization legislation is finally coming to light. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are assuring their hard-core leftist followers that this bill is only a "foot in the door" and will be followed by "lots more bills."
And of course it will pass, by hook or by crook. The "Stupak Group" of democrats in the house are playing coy, but they fully intend to cave-in after putting on a show for their constituents. On really controversial portions of the bill the president has made individual promises to use "executive orders" to annul those sections...after which he can simply reverse those orders of course. It's difficult to tell whether the congressional members are stupid enough to believe this stuff...or whether they simply think we're stupid enough to believe it.
I've known since reading the original bills that health care providers all over the country would be forced out of business if the language of the bill was actually implemented. The only question remaining was "are congressional members completely unable to understand basic business and economic principles...or is their intent to put the entire health care industry into chaos and bankruptcy?"
Do they really believe that increasing taxes by the trillions and creating 8,000 more federal agencies will lower the deficit? Of course not...even they are not that dumb...they simply assume we are.
Those aforementioned "public servants" finally cleared it up for me. Thinking themselves safe from prying video cameras, they've recently explained to supporters that the bill is designed to crush the health care establishment. After which the populace will panic and congress can then do anything they wish to establish a government run and controlled system without private competition.
This is brilliant in its own way...fascist...evil...demented...but brilliant. There are, however, a few problems which might pop up with this ambitious plan to destroy our economy, our hospitals and health care establishment, and put tens of millions out of work...
The first problem; we've noticed...and we're not likely to stand still for this.
Right now the voters are doing what has always worked...making phones calls and sending emails by the millions. Most of us, however, have figured out we're being blatantly and rudely ignored. The Democrats have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar; so they are pretending, for a few more days, as if we don't exist.
It's obvious, to those paying attention and who know their history, that this congress has finally superseded every congress of the past to become what is likely the most corrupt in two plus centuries.
Their hope is, of course, that the bill can be signed and the "giveaways" in the bill can be used to placate us...lull us to sleep...before the "takeaways" kick in. That probably won't work. They can fool some of the people all of the time...but that number is shrinking rapidly.
Already tens of thousands of health care providers are rushing to complete early retirement plans. The restrictions and regulations in the bill, once implemented, will make it nearly impossible for a physician to make a profit, nevertheless a decent salary, while operating a practice. They've figured it out, and will minimize their losses by closing shop. We already have a shortage of physicians...in the next year or two the shortage will start to have a real impact on our personal lives.
Already health care insurance firms are desperately attempting to increase revenues so they can hang on when the new requirements kick in. Despite the propaganda in the media, some insurance firms might have large dollar profits, but these are actually very thin percentage profits...which is what actually counts.
Say your company posts a profit of a million dollars...sounds pretty darn good. But when you pay out expenses of 200 million dollars, the tiniest downturn will suck up that million very quickly and leave you bankrupt. That's exactly the plan.
Within months, your health care insurer is going to be severely stressed. When that happens, stockholders will demand liquidation of the firm and closure in order to minimize their losses. The supporters of the bill hope that will not happen until the November 2010 elections are over...then they will have a shot at remaining in office. But they are already popping the champagne corks and gleefully celebrating the end of private enterprise, your privacy, and the upcoming taking of all health care businesses.
By the time we lose our insurance coverage, they hope, the congress will be reseated. The people might be angry, but the people will also be desperate for some type of health care, no matter how bare bones, and for doctors to get back to work.
At that time, ignorant government bureaucrats will be firmly in charge. The people, they assume, will beg to be "saved" and accept anything they are handed. The politicians will have complete and total control of all the evil doctors they despise so much...control of the pharmaceutical companies, the hospitals and clinics, and through this control they will control our very lives...guaranteeing them seats in congress for life and all the power they've ever desired.
Herein lies the second problem; we, the people, are not stupid!
I truly believe the supporters of this bill, and the hundreds of planned follow-up bills and amendments stripping us of our rights and property, truly believe they are intellectually superior to their employers (that's us) as we were so foolish as to put them in power in the first place...and then to trust them with it.
That is a simplistic view: We lead busy lives. We have families and concerns outside the day-to-day workings of the people we hire to represent us. That we hire them, send them to Washington, then tend to forget about them, doesn't necessarily make us stupid. It does make us trusting...at least to some degree.
That it turns out we can't trust them is not a slam on us...it is a slam on them. These folks shouldn't be able to look at themselves in a mirror after the lies, the innuendo, and now the intentional avoidance of our instructions. They should be deeply ashamed of themselves...and they should be very afraid of what we're going to do to them.
This congress has broken every rule, every trust, every barrier that has stood in place for 2oo plus years, and has done so not only blatantly, but apparently while laughing and sneering at us. We still have the power to throw the bums out...so now comes the real test of our citizenship and our own morality...in essence will we remember eight months from now...we will be bold...and will we hold to the sacred promises made by our founders, and by us to our children and grandchildren, to preserve and protect freedom and defend our national honor?
Let's hope so...I certainly believe it will be so...and I pray I'm not wrong.
And of course it will pass, by hook or by crook. The "Stupak Group" of democrats in the house are playing coy, but they fully intend to cave-in after putting on a show for their constituents. On really controversial portions of the bill the president has made individual promises to use "executive orders" to annul those sections...after which he can simply reverse those orders of course. It's difficult to tell whether the congressional members are stupid enough to believe this stuff...or whether they simply think we're stupid enough to believe it.
I've known since reading the original bills that health care providers all over the country would be forced out of business if the language of the bill was actually implemented. The only question remaining was "are congressional members completely unable to understand basic business and economic principles...or is their intent to put the entire health care industry into chaos and bankruptcy?"
Do they really believe that increasing taxes by the trillions and creating 8,000 more federal agencies will lower the deficit? Of course not...even they are not that dumb...they simply assume we are.
Those aforementioned "public servants" finally cleared it up for me. Thinking themselves safe from prying video cameras, they've recently explained to supporters that the bill is designed to crush the health care establishment. After which the populace will panic and congress can then do anything they wish to establish a government run and controlled system without private competition.
This is brilliant in its own way...fascist...evil...demented...but brilliant. There are, however, a few problems which might pop up with this ambitious plan to destroy our economy, our hospitals and health care establishment, and put tens of millions out of work...
The first problem; we've noticed...and we're not likely to stand still for this.
Right now the voters are doing what has always worked...making phones calls and sending emails by the millions. Most of us, however, have figured out we're being blatantly and rudely ignored. The Democrats have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar; so they are pretending, for a few more days, as if we don't exist.
It's obvious, to those paying attention and who know their history, that this congress has finally superseded every congress of the past to become what is likely the most corrupt in two plus centuries.
Their hope is, of course, that the bill can be signed and the "giveaways" in the bill can be used to placate us...lull us to sleep...before the "takeaways" kick in. That probably won't work. They can fool some of the people all of the time...but that number is shrinking rapidly.
Already tens of thousands of health care providers are rushing to complete early retirement plans. The restrictions and regulations in the bill, once implemented, will make it nearly impossible for a physician to make a profit, nevertheless a decent salary, while operating a practice. They've figured it out, and will minimize their losses by closing shop. We already have a shortage of physicians...in the next year or two the shortage will start to have a real impact on our personal lives.
Already health care insurance firms are desperately attempting to increase revenues so they can hang on when the new requirements kick in. Despite the propaganda in the media, some insurance firms might have large dollar profits, but these are actually very thin percentage profits...which is what actually counts.
Say your company posts a profit of a million dollars...sounds pretty darn good. But when you pay out expenses of 200 million dollars, the tiniest downturn will suck up that million very quickly and leave you bankrupt. That's exactly the plan.
Within months, your health care insurer is going to be severely stressed. When that happens, stockholders will demand liquidation of the firm and closure in order to minimize their losses. The supporters of the bill hope that will not happen until the November 2010 elections are over...then they will have a shot at remaining in office. But they are already popping the champagne corks and gleefully celebrating the end of private enterprise, your privacy, and the upcoming taking of all health care businesses.
By the time we lose our insurance coverage, they hope, the congress will be reseated. The people might be angry, but the people will also be desperate for some type of health care, no matter how bare bones, and for doctors to get back to work.
At that time, ignorant government bureaucrats will be firmly in charge. The people, they assume, will beg to be "saved" and accept anything they are handed. The politicians will have complete and total control of all the evil doctors they despise so much...control of the pharmaceutical companies, the hospitals and clinics, and through this control they will control our very lives...guaranteeing them seats in congress for life and all the power they've ever desired.
Herein lies the second problem; we, the people, are not stupid!
I truly believe the supporters of this bill, and the hundreds of planned follow-up bills and amendments stripping us of our rights and property, truly believe they are intellectually superior to their employers (that's us) as we were so foolish as to put them in power in the first place...and then to trust them with it.
That is a simplistic view: We lead busy lives. We have families and concerns outside the day-to-day workings of the people we hire to represent us. That we hire them, send them to Washington, then tend to forget about them, doesn't necessarily make us stupid. It does make us trusting...at least to some degree.
That it turns out we can't trust them is not a slam on us...it is a slam on them. These folks shouldn't be able to look at themselves in a mirror after the lies, the innuendo, and now the intentional avoidance of our instructions. They should be deeply ashamed of themselves...and they should be very afraid of what we're going to do to them.
This congress has broken every rule, every trust, every barrier that has stood in place for 2oo plus years, and has done so not only blatantly, but apparently while laughing and sneering at us. We still have the power to throw the bums out...so now comes the real test of our citizenship and our own morality...in essence will we remember eight months from now...we will be bold...and will we hold to the sacred promises made by our founders, and by us to our children and grandchildren, to preserve and protect freedom and defend our national honor?
Let's hope so...I certainly believe it will be so...and I pray I'm not wrong.
An Analysis of the Health Care Summit
I managed to arrange my day so as to be able to view the entirety of the Feb. 25 Health Care Summit attended by members of the House and Senate in WA D.C.
My feeling is that it was a valuable event as the Republicans were able to speak nearly 30% of the air time...more than I would have guessed they would be allowed.
It was the first time the opposition was allowed to discuss the issues involved outside of floor debate, and more importantly, it was the first time any discussion was held open to the public...you and I. For once, legislation was discussed the way it should be...with an audience of employers looking over law-makers' shoulders.
The discussion, however, placed a great deal of weight on a handful of "myths" that surround the issues involved. I thought that some clarity around these myths might help focus the argument and help keep our representatives on the right track. Feel free to scold any of your employees (congressional members) who use one or more of these.
Myth Number One:
Like an old piece of shoe-leather, this myth has hung around for nearly a century, or longer, thanks to constant media repetition of the myth, and the sadly small number of people who actually study Economics or pay attention in class when they do. It is the myth that governments can actually "create" jobs.
To bolster this myth, officials usually refer to nations during times of war. The fact that near 100% employment can be reached during wartime is due to complex issues coming together, not the least of which is that millions of citizens are suddenly "employed" at low wages to fill the trenches, and others are hired with borrowed cash to supply them with weapons and ammo. The economic "boost" of wartime is normally short-lived, as it's heavy on credit, and nations at war too long are often broken completely by economic reality even before being broken militarily. Japan and Germany were prime examples.
In reality, government initially bolsters economic progress by supplying a basic infrastructure that makes a safe business climate possible. Maintaining a national defense, a legal system of laws and courts, law enforcement, and basic public safety measures ensures people can put their efforts into creating products instead of fighting off outlaw bands. All economists agree on this issue.
Most all economists also agree that there is a point of negative return, where collecting money from the private sector and giving it to government begins costing more jobs than the value created. They also agree that large industrial nations such as the US long ago passed the point of negative return.
The current "Stimulus" tax package, the government tells us, is "creating jobs," but the cost per job is now over $260,000. The cost of the worker employed is about one-third of that. At this time, private companies have to layoff three workers to pay for the government hiring one. This is not "creating" jobs...it is a net loss of jobs.
Of course, some of the excess monies are actually paying current government workers...that is the argument...but they were already being paid by other tax revenues so that argument doesn't make much sense. The "black hole" into which money seems to disappear and never return is said to be due to "bureaucratic friction." Whatever one calls it...there has never been an instance in history when taxation of the private sector has resulted in a net job gain. Never! In the long run taxation reduces employment and production...it's simple math.
Part of the reason this myth survives is you can always find an economist, somewhere, who disagrees with the basic premise. You may have to look long and hard, but believe me, government folks have found those few and have put them on the payroll in economic development agencies and in academia. That handful of "rebels" against historical reality will always find a voice on media talk shows and in academic conferences. The 99% of economists who hold to reality are back stage and will rarely get to the podium.
Relation to the Health Care Debate:
Those who keep telling us that the "reform" bill will increase health care coverage are ignoring that coverage is a service and is performed by professionals. This bill greatly taxes those professionals, and those who support them, and will inevitably reduce the numbers who will remain working. This has happened elsewhere and is a proven fact. With health care provider numbers down, you cannot increase services...kind of a "duh" statement I know, but a reality being ignored for convenience sake. The bill is a massive tax bill...and could cost millions of jobs lost before it's over.
Myth Number Two:
The Canadian system has worked just fine...look how "happy" Canadians are with their socialized health care.
First of all...only some Canadians are happy with their system, and tens of thousands come to the US each year for care. Oddly, US citizens are not flooding north for the same. The population of Canada is about 12% of the US population, and they use fees from extractive resources to help pay for government services. The US can't do that...and copying the Canadian model would break the US in short order. A similar situation exists in small countries like Norway and Sweden. The US has more illegal immigrants expecting free health care than the entire populations of most of those nations.
Secondly...the massive bill in the congress doesn't reflect the Canadian system at all. What is envisioned in the bill would make Canada's health care system look amazingly "free market" and incredibly efficient in comparison. Pointing to Canada and trying to relate the two systems is both absurd and dishonest.
Relation to the Health Care Debate:
This argument should be trashed immediately if a real discussion is to be held.
Myth Number Three:
This one was repeated constantly at the Summit: The health care legislation will reduce the budget deficit.
This is probably the most astounding myth of all...it's not really a myth yet as it simply hasn't reached the point of being repeated often enough to become "myth" in the public mind. But they're trying.
There are only three ways to reduce a budget deficit...you stop spending money and reduce your spending while maintaining revenue income...or you increase revenue income more than you are currently spending.
The third way is the ultimate crime against the populace: you increase spending, but increase revenue (taxes) even faster than you increase spending. This is the method outlined in the health care bill. Spending will increase by trillions, but trillions more are slated to be collected in taxes...voila...deficit reduction!
Unfortunately, this third method has gotten us into the fix we're into economically and is not going to repair it. The hard reality is that we can only reduce the deficit by reducing spending. History has shown us that tax reductions can also reduce deficits as normally revenue collections go up when tax reductions increase production and employment overall (creating a larger tax base). Sometimes this can happen even when spending is going up...but won't happen for long.
(Note that this is what ended up creating a problem during the Bush presidency...Congress did cut tax rates, and revenues grew significantly, but then they insisted on spending that money and borrowing more. Whoops!)
Relation to the Health Care Debate:
Higher spending and higher taxes always damage the economy. Employment will suffer, therefor the tax base will be decreased, so taxes will have to be raised again, resulting in more unemployment. The vicious cycle continues until something breaks. The higher you raise taxes to "pay down the deficit" the less revenue will be generated in the long run and the greater will grow the deficit...until you dramatically decrease spending. In this case, by bankrupting something in the system...such as health care. Instead of quality health care for all...you end up with mediocre, or worse, health care for all...fair, but not at all desirable.
There were other myths spoken and alluded to at the Summit. But these were among the more important. Remind your elected officials that these myths are simply not fact...and when they quote them, if they quote them, feel free to correct them immediately. We are not children...and we no longer believe in bedtime stories and fairytales. Don't be afraid to let them know those days are over.
My feeling is that it was a valuable event as the Republicans were able to speak nearly 30% of the air time...more than I would have guessed they would be allowed.
It was the first time the opposition was allowed to discuss the issues involved outside of floor debate, and more importantly, it was the first time any discussion was held open to the public...you and I. For once, legislation was discussed the way it should be...with an audience of employers looking over law-makers' shoulders.
The discussion, however, placed a great deal of weight on a handful of "myths" that surround the issues involved. I thought that some clarity around these myths might help focus the argument and help keep our representatives on the right track. Feel free to scold any of your employees (congressional members) who use one or more of these.
Myth Number One:
Like an old piece of shoe-leather, this myth has hung around for nearly a century, or longer, thanks to constant media repetition of the myth, and the sadly small number of people who actually study Economics or pay attention in class when they do. It is the myth that governments can actually "create" jobs.
To bolster this myth, officials usually refer to nations during times of war. The fact that near 100% employment can be reached during wartime is due to complex issues coming together, not the least of which is that millions of citizens are suddenly "employed" at low wages to fill the trenches, and others are hired with borrowed cash to supply them with weapons and ammo. The economic "boost" of wartime is normally short-lived, as it's heavy on credit, and nations at war too long are often broken completely by economic reality even before being broken militarily. Japan and Germany were prime examples.
In reality, government initially bolsters economic progress by supplying a basic infrastructure that makes a safe business climate possible. Maintaining a national defense, a legal system of laws and courts, law enforcement, and basic public safety measures ensures people can put their efforts into creating products instead of fighting off outlaw bands. All economists agree on this issue.
Most all economists also agree that there is a point of negative return, where collecting money from the private sector and giving it to government begins costing more jobs than the value created. They also agree that large industrial nations such as the US long ago passed the point of negative return.
The current "Stimulus" tax package, the government tells us, is "creating jobs," but the cost per job is now over $260,000. The cost of the worker employed is about one-third of that. At this time, private companies have to layoff three workers to pay for the government hiring one. This is not "creating" jobs...it is a net loss of jobs.
Of course, some of the excess monies are actually paying current government workers...that is the argument...but they were already being paid by other tax revenues so that argument doesn't make much sense. The "black hole" into which money seems to disappear and never return is said to be due to "bureaucratic friction." Whatever one calls it...there has never been an instance in history when taxation of the private sector has resulted in a net job gain. Never! In the long run taxation reduces employment and production...it's simple math.
Part of the reason this myth survives is you can always find an economist, somewhere, who disagrees with the basic premise. You may have to look long and hard, but believe me, government folks have found those few and have put them on the payroll in economic development agencies and in academia. That handful of "rebels" against historical reality will always find a voice on media talk shows and in academic conferences. The 99% of economists who hold to reality are back stage and will rarely get to the podium.
Relation to the Health Care Debate:
Those who keep telling us that the "reform" bill will increase health care coverage are ignoring that coverage is a service and is performed by professionals. This bill greatly taxes those professionals, and those who support them, and will inevitably reduce the numbers who will remain working. This has happened elsewhere and is a proven fact. With health care provider numbers down, you cannot increase services...kind of a "duh" statement I know, but a reality being ignored for convenience sake. The bill is a massive tax bill...and could cost millions of jobs lost before it's over.
Myth Number Two:
The Canadian system has worked just fine...look how "happy" Canadians are with their socialized health care.
First of all...only some Canadians are happy with their system, and tens of thousands come to the US each year for care. Oddly, US citizens are not flooding north for the same. The population of Canada is about 12% of the US population, and they use fees from extractive resources to help pay for government services. The US can't do that...and copying the Canadian model would break the US in short order. A similar situation exists in small countries like Norway and Sweden. The US has more illegal immigrants expecting free health care than the entire populations of most of those nations.
Secondly...the massive bill in the congress doesn't reflect the Canadian system at all. What is envisioned in the bill would make Canada's health care system look amazingly "free market" and incredibly efficient in comparison. Pointing to Canada and trying to relate the two systems is both absurd and dishonest.
Relation to the Health Care Debate:
This argument should be trashed immediately if a real discussion is to be held.
Myth Number Three:
This one was repeated constantly at the Summit: The health care legislation will reduce the budget deficit.
This is probably the most astounding myth of all...it's not really a myth yet as it simply hasn't reached the point of being repeated often enough to become "myth" in the public mind. But they're trying.
There are only three ways to reduce a budget deficit...you stop spending money and reduce your spending while maintaining revenue income...or you increase revenue income more than you are currently spending.
The third way is the ultimate crime against the populace: you increase spending, but increase revenue (taxes) even faster than you increase spending. This is the method outlined in the health care bill. Spending will increase by trillions, but trillions more are slated to be collected in taxes...voila...deficit reduction!
Unfortunately, this third method has gotten us into the fix we're into economically and is not going to repair it. The hard reality is that we can only reduce the deficit by reducing spending. History has shown us that tax reductions can also reduce deficits as normally revenue collections go up when tax reductions increase production and employment overall (creating a larger tax base). Sometimes this can happen even when spending is going up...but won't happen for long.
(Note that this is what ended up creating a problem during the Bush presidency...Congress did cut tax rates, and revenues grew significantly, but then they insisted on spending that money and borrowing more. Whoops!)
Relation to the Health Care Debate:
Higher spending and higher taxes always damage the economy. Employment will suffer, therefor the tax base will be decreased, so taxes will have to be raised again, resulting in more unemployment. The vicious cycle continues until something breaks. The higher you raise taxes to "pay down the deficit" the less revenue will be generated in the long run and the greater will grow the deficit...until you dramatically decrease spending. In this case, by bankrupting something in the system...such as health care. Instead of quality health care for all...you end up with mediocre, or worse, health care for all...fair, but not at all desirable.
There were other myths spoken and alluded to at the Summit. But these were among the more important. Remind your elected officials that these myths are simply not fact...and when they quote them, if they quote them, feel free to correct them immediately. We are not children...and we no longer believe in bedtime stories and fairytales. Don't be afraid to let them know those days are over.
Great Orators of the Democratic Party
In the Past:
One man with courage makes a majority.
-Andrew Jackson
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
-Franklin Roosevelt
The buck stops here.
-Harry Truman
Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.
-John Kennedy
And Today:
It depends what your definition of "is" is.
-Bill Clinton
That Obama...I'd like to cut his nuts off.
-Jesse Jackson
Those rumors are false...I believe in the sanctity of marriage.
-John Edwards
I invented the Internet.
-Al Gore
The next person that tells me I'm not religious, I'm going to shove my rosary beads up their ass.
-Joe Biden
America is..is no longer, uh, what it...it, uh, could be, uh, what it once was...uh, and I say to myself, uh, I don't want that future, uh, uh, for my children...
-Barrack Obama
I have campaigned in all 57 states.
-Barrack Obama
You don't need God anymore, you have us Democrats.
-Nancy Pelosi
Every month we don't pass this stimulus bill, 500 million more Americans lose their jobs.
-Nancy Pelosi
In 1929 when the stock market crashed President Roosevelt got right on the television.
-Joe Biden
One man with courage makes a majority.
-Andrew Jackson
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
-Franklin Roosevelt
The buck stops here.
-Harry Truman
Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.
-John Kennedy
And Today:
It depends what your definition of "is" is.
-Bill Clinton
That Obama...I'd like to cut his nuts off.
-Jesse Jackson
Those rumors are false...I believe in the sanctity of marriage.
-John Edwards
I invented the Internet.
-Al Gore
The next person that tells me I'm not religious, I'm going to shove my rosary beads up their ass.
-Joe Biden
America is..is no longer, uh, what it...it, uh, could be, uh, what it once was...uh, and I say to myself, uh, I don't want that future, uh, uh, for my children...
-Barrack Obama
I have campaigned in all 57 states.
-Barrack Obama
You don't need God anymore, you have us Democrats.
-Nancy Pelosi
Every month we don't pass this stimulus bill, 500 million more Americans lose their jobs.
-Nancy Pelosi
In 1929 when the stock market crashed President Roosevelt got right on the television.
-Joe Biden
Multiple Choice Quiz
After managing to stay awake through the last State of the Union address...which was anything but...I simply didn't have the energy to write a column. Therefore...I am...for your enjoyment playing the "Are You Smarter than a College Student" game and am reprinting one of my multiple choice tests.
The answer key appears after the exam...have fun and see how you stack up against the modern college attendee:
Professorofliberty's Multiple Choice History Exam:
1) In 1968 Robert Kennedy was shot and killed by:
a. Superman
b. Jay Leno
c. Harry Potter
d. A Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40
2) During the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by:
a. Olga Corbett
b. The Hardy Boys
c. Nancy Drew
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
3) In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:
a. the Smith family Robinson
b. the Keebler elves
c. a tour bus full of elderly Rotarians
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
4) During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
a. John Lennon
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Pope
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
5) In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was bombed and destroyed by:
a. a Pizza Hut delivery driver
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. a pack of cub scouts
d. A Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40
6) In 1985, the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and 70 year old Leon Klinghoffer, a wheel chair bound American citizen, was murdered and thrown overboard by:
a. Teenage Ninja Turtles
b. The Smurfs
c. Teletubbies
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
7) In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked and American Robert Stidham was murdered by:
a. The Little Mermaid
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
8) In 1988, Pan Am flight 103 was bombed by:
a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
9) In 1993 the World Trade Center in New York was bombed by:
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Mickey Mouse
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
10) In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
a. Johnny Quest
b. Bugs Bunny
c. The WWF
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
11) On 9/11/2001, four airliners were hijacked, the crews brutally murdered, and then the aircraft used to attack civilian targets and the Pentagon. These coordinated attacks were made by:
a. Wiley Coyote and the Acme Company
b. A preschool class in Delaware
c. Nascar
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
12) In 2002 the US began fighting in Afghanistan against:
a. My Little Pony
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
13) In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered on video tape by;
a. Captain Kangaroo and JP Patches
b. Mutt and Jeff
c. Abbott and Costello
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
Answer Key: d,d,d,d,d,d,d,d,d,d,d,d,d
If you were right 13 times...congratulations...you are a normal person with common sense
If you were right 8 to 12 times...you need to catch up on the news a bit
If you were right 3 to 7 times...you are probably under 6 years of age
If you were right 2 times or less...my condolences...you are probably a graduate of UC Berkeley.
The Professor
The answer key appears after the exam...have fun and see how you stack up against the modern college attendee:
Professorofliberty's Multiple Choice History Exam:
1) In 1968 Robert Kennedy was shot and killed by:
a. Superman
b. Jay Leno
c. Harry Potter
d. A Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40
2) During the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, athletes were kidnapped and massacred by:
a. Olga Corbett
b. The Hardy Boys
c. Nancy Drew
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
3) In 1979, the US embassy in Iran was taken over by:
a. the Smith family Robinson
b. the Keebler elves
c. a tour bus full of elderly Rotarians
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
4) During the 1980's a number of Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
a. John Lennon
b. The King of Sweden
c. The Pope
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
5) In 1983, the US Marine barracks in Beirut was bombed and destroyed by:
a. a Pizza Hut delivery driver
b. Pee Wee Herman
c. a pack of cub scouts
d. A Muslim male extremist between the ages of 17 and 40
6) In 1985, the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked and 70 year old Leon Klinghoffer, a wheel chair bound American citizen, was murdered and thrown overboard by:
a. Teenage Ninja Turtles
b. The Smurfs
c. Teletubbies
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
7) In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked and American Robert Stidham was murdered by:
a. The Little Mermaid
b. Charles Lindberg
c. Mother Teresa
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
8) In 1988, Pan Am flight 103 was bombed by:
a. Scooby Doo
b. The Tooth Fairy
c. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
9) In 1993 the World Trade Center in New York was bombed by:
a. Richard Simmons
b. Grandma Moses
c. Mickey Mouse
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
10) In 1998, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
a. Johnny Quest
b. Bugs Bunny
c. The WWF
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
11) On 9/11/2001, four airliners were hijacked, the crews brutally murdered, and then the aircraft used to attack civilian targets and the Pentagon. These coordinated attacks were made by:
a. Wiley Coyote and the Acme Company
b. A preschool class in Delaware
c. Nascar
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
12) In 2002 the US began fighting in Afghanistan against:
a. My Little Pony
b. The Lutheran Church
c. The NFL
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
13) In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered on video tape by;
a. Captain Kangaroo and JP Patches
b. Mutt and Jeff
c. Abbott and Costello
d. Muslim male extremists between the ages of 17 and 40
Answer Key: d,d,d,d,d,d,d,d,d,d,d,d,d
If you were right 13 times...congratulations...you are a normal person with common sense
If you were right 8 to 12 times...you need to catch up on the news a bit
If you were right 3 to 7 times...you are probably under 6 years of age
If you were right 2 times or less...my condolences...you are probably a graduate of UC Berkeley.
The Professor
Letter from Dr. Geoffrey Hunt
Dr. Hunt is a social and cultural anthropologist and a Senior Research Scientist of the Institute for Scientific Analysis.
Another Failed Presidency
Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly failed presidency since Woodrow Wilson. In the modern era, we've seen several failed presidencies...led by Jimmy Carter and LBJ. Failed presidents have one strong common trait...they are repudiated, in the vernacular...spat out.
Of course, LBJ wisely took the exit ramp early, avoiding a shove into oncoming traffic by his own party. Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace, yet his reputation as a statesman has been partially restored by his triumphant overture to China.
But Barack Obama is failing...failing big...failing fast. And failing everywhere: foreign policy, domestic initiatives, and most importantly, in forging connections with the American people. The incomparable Dorothy Rabinowitz in the Wall Street Journal put her finger on it: He is failing because he has no understanding of the American people, and may indeed loathe them.
Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard says he is failing because he has lost control of his message and is overexposed. Clarice Feldman of American Thinker produced a dispositive commentary showing that Obama is failing because fundamentally he is neither smart nor articulate; his intellectual dishonesty is conspicuous by its audacity and lack of shame.
But there is something more seriously wrong: How could a new president riding in on a wave of unprecedented promise and goodwill have forfeited his tenure and become a lame duck in mere months? His poll ratings are in free fall. In generic balloting the Republicans have now seized a five point advantage. This is truly unbelievable. What's going on?
Obama doesn't have a narrative...no, not a narrative about himself. He has a self-narrative, much of if fabricated, cleverly disguised, or written by someone else. But this self-narrative is isolated and doesn't connect with us. He doesn't have an American narrative that draws upon the rest of us. All successful presidents have a narrative about the American character that intersects with their own where they display a command of history and reveal an authenticity at the core of their personality that resonates in a positive endearing way with the majority of Americans. We admire those presidents whose narratives not only touch our own, but who seem stronger, wiser, and smarter than we are. Presidents we admire are aspirational peers, even those whose politics don't align eactly with our own: Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Harry Truman, Ike, and Reagan.
But not this president. It's not so much that he's a phony, knows nothing about economics, and is historically illiterate and woefully small minded for the size of the task...all contributory of course. It's that he's not one of us. And whatever he is, his profile is fuzzy and devoid of content...like a cardboard cutout made from delaminated corrugated paper.
Moreover, he doesn't command our respect and is unable to appeal to our own common sense. His notions of right and wrong and how things work just don't add up. They are not existential. his descriptions of the world we live in don't make sense and don't correspond with our experience.
In the meantime, while we've been struggling to take a measurement of this man, he's dissed just about every one of us...financiers, energy producers, bankers, insurance executives, police officers, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, post office workers, and anybody else who has a non-green job. Expect Obama to lament at his last press conference in 2012:
"For those of you I offended, I apologize. For those of you who were not offended, you just didn't give me enough time; if only I'd had a second term, I could have offended you too."
Mercifully, the Founders at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 devised a useful remedy for such a desperate state...staggered terms for both houses of the legislature and the executive. An equally abominable Congress can get voted out next year. With a new Congress, there's always hope of legislative gridlock until we vote for president again two short years after that.
Yes, small presidents do fail, Barack Obama among them. The coyotes howl but the wagon train keeps rolling along.
Dr. Geoffrey P. Hunt
Another Failed Presidency
Barack Obama is on track to have the most spectacularly failed presidency since Woodrow Wilson. In the modern era, we've seen several failed presidencies...led by Jimmy Carter and LBJ. Failed presidents have one strong common trait...they are repudiated, in the vernacular...spat out.
Of course, LBJ wisely took the exit ramp early, avoiding a shove into oncoming traffic by his own party. Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace, yet his reputation as a statesman has been partially restored by his triumphant overture to China.
But Barack Obama is failing...failing big...failing fast. And failing everywhere: foreign policy, domestic initiatives, and most importantly, in forging connections with the American people. The incomparable Dorothy Rabinowitz in the Wall Street Journal put her finger on it: He is failing because he has no understanding of the American people, and may indeed loathe them.
Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard says he is failing because he has lost control of his message and is overexposed. Clarice Feldman of American Thinker produced a dispositive commentary showing that Obama is failing because fundamentally he is neither smart nor articulate; his intellectual dishonesty is conspicuous by its audacity and lack of shame.
But there is something more seriously wrong: How could a new president riding in on a wave of unprecedented promise and goodwill have forfeited his tenure and become a lame duck in mere months? His poll ratings are in free fall. In generic balloting the Republicans have now seized a five point advantage. This is truly unbelievable. What's going on?
Obama doesn't have a narrative...no, not a narrative about himself. He has a self-narrative, much of if fabricated, cleverly disguised, or written by someone else. But this self-narrative is isolated and doesn't connect with us. He doesn't have an American narrative that draws upon the rest of us. All successful presidents have a narrative about the American character that intersects with their own where they display a command of history and reveal an authenticity at the core of their personality that resonates in a positive endearing way with the majority of Americans. We admire those presidents whose narratives not only touch our own, but who seem stronger, wiser, and smarter than we are. Presidents we admire are aspirational peers, even those whose politics don't align eactly with our own: Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Harry Truman, Ike, and Reagan.
But not this president. It's not so much that he's a phony, knows nothing about economics, and is historically illiterate and woefully small minded for the size of the task...all contributory of course. It's that he's not one of us. And whatever he is, his profile is fuzzy and devoid of content...like a cardboard cutout made from delaminated corrugated paper.
Moreover, he doesn't command our respect and is unable to appeal to our own common sense. His notions of right and wrong and how things work just don't add up. They are not existential. his descriptions of the world we live in don't make sense and don't correspond with our experience.
In the meantime, while we've been struggling to take a measurement of this man, he's dissed just about every one of us...financiers, energy producers, bankers, insurance executives, police officers, doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, post office workers, and anybody else who has a non-green job. Expect Obama to lament at his last press conference in 2012:
"For those of you I offended, I apologize. For those of you who were not offended, you just didn't give me enough time; if only I'd had a second term, I could have offended you too."
Mercifully, the Founders at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 devised a useful remedy for such a desperate state...staggered terms for both houses of the legislature and the executive. An equally abominable Congress can get voted out next year. With a new Congress, there's always hope of legislative gridlock until we vote for president again two short years after that.
Yes, small presidents do fail, Barack Obama among them. The coyotes howl but the wagon train keeps rolling along.
Dr. Geoffrey P. Hunt
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