The Dangers of the Left

Posted on December 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

Over at The Progressive Pulse Chris is talking about Medicare and how Medicare is playing a role in the Health Care debate.

One of the Republican talking points about the latest health care reform proposal is that it slashes Medicare benefits. It’s not true of course, but that doesn’t matter when you are trying to scare seniors.

I find the irony rich.  The whole point of Chris’ post is how hard it is to keep up with the right and how hard it is to separate truth from fiction.  I think Chris is both right and wrong.  I think he is right when he correctly points out a flaw in the Right’s tactics:

…Tea Party activists shouting “keep government’s hands off my Medicare,”…

However, he is completely wrong when he claims no shenanigans surrounding Medicare.

One of the tricks employed by the Democrats during this whole debate was that one which brought the Heal Care bill in under $1 trillion.  See, the Dems wrote the bill to include reduced Medicare spending.  A reduction such that the entirely of the bill would come in less than the politically unattractive trillion dollar mark.  The way around this?  They then would submit a SEPARATE bill that would delay such spending for 10 years.

So take your pick Chris.  Either the bill is a pig well over what the Dems are advertising or Medicare spending will be slashed.

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Posted in Health Care, Politics: North Carolina

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Getting it Done the Right Way

Posted on December 10, 2009 | 4 comments

I am a firm believer that education dramatically shapes the adult life of a child.  Take two children from similar backgrounds and have one graduate high school and the other drop out–the graduate will see dramatic social and economic benefits.  Further, the society around him will be better off as well.  High school drop-outs cost us, all of us, millions of dollars a year in physical damage and management.

And so, of course, it makes sense to have a system of public education.  What I find interesting is how each side of the political spectrum would explain such an entitlement program.  For example:

  1. The Left.  This one is easy.  The Left clearly feels that wealth and accumulation is something that springs up from the ground and is obtained by the “lucky” or “greedy” by muscling and elbowing out the less fortune or the week.  The Left would gladly take from the rich and distribute to the poor so that everyone had an equal chance.  Predictably, this typically make me lose my belly whenever I think about it.
  2. The Right.  This one is harder.  The Right, you see, is against entitlement programs almost all of the time.  No government provided health insurance.  No government provided mass transit.  No government provided welfare.  All of it.  “Man is free; let him obtain that which he needs” is their mantra.  While acknowledging that the Right could use a marketing approach that vastly improves the tone of their message, I emphatically agree with this take.  It is one of Individual Liberty that necessarily acknowledges Individual Responsibility.  The subtle and yet critical distinction is that in almost ALL cases, children in our society are incapable of expressing their Individual Liberty.  They either are lacking the intellectual capacity to express that Liberty [they are children after all, incapable of crossing the street in many cases] or they lack the legal status to exert that Liberty.  As such, it becomes incumbent upon us to restore to that child a reasonable course of action, which, through no fault of their own, they have been prevented from following.  In other words, just because Johnny’s mommy and daddy are fools who don’t take care of their child by sending him to school, does not make it Johnny’s fault.

And so it is that I agree with both the Left and the Right.  But I feel that the path each takes to their respective positions is wrong and illogical.  Further, because I believe as I do as expressed in #2 above, I do NOT agree with the right that we Ought take public monies meant for Public Education and dispense it in the form of vouchers for private education.  The monies collected and spent is for the general public, not for the individual child or family.

The way to make sure that kids get the education they need?  By doing it the right way:

Durham, N.C. — Family income should not determine a child’s destiny. That’s the premise behind Union Independent School, a new private school that opened this year in Durham.

…

Thanks to private donations and contributions, including $2 million from Union Baptist Church, the school has 74 students in kindergarten through second grade. The students are chosen by lottery and attend for free.

…

Thanks to private donations and contributions, including $2 million from Union Baptist Church, the school has 74 students in kindergarten through second grade. The students are chosen by lottery and attend for free.

This, ladies and gentlegerms, is how things get done in the real world!

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Posted in Education, Politics: National, Politics: North Carolina

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Maybe Capitalism Isn't ALL Good

Posted on December 10, 2009 | Leave a comment

But then again, it sure sounds good.

Hat Tip: Kids Prefer Cheese

UPDATE:

This is beyond “sounds good”; it’s hilarious.

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Posted in Fun

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Finally

Posted on December 9, 2009 | Leave a comment

This I can understand.  I may not agree as to the degree, but I can understand it.

Thomas L. Friedman has an op-ed article in the NY Times.

When I see a problem that has even a 1 percent probability of occurring and is “irreversible” and potentially “catastrophic,” I buy insurance. That is what taking climate change seriously is all about.

…

But if we don’t prepare, and climate change turns out to be real, life on this planet could become a living hell. And that’s why I’m for doing the Cheney-thing on climate — preparing for 1 percent.

This I can understand.  This I can accept.

See, there is a chance that I am going to get into a car accident and perhaps die.  Maybe just become paralyzed.  I get that.  And to that extent, I do –I really DO–  buy insurance against that.  To protect against my car and my health.  Heck, I even protect against my income; even my death.  ALL of this is understandable to every one of us.

Well, NOT every one of us.  I mean, there are still people out there who refuse to buy even the most basic health insurance and then, when they DO become sick, expect me to go to work for them in order that I pay their bills.

But I digress. Each of us can understand the concept of insurance.  And we innately have a sense of the chances of bad things happening to us and then of how much we are willing to sacrifice in order to protect against that.

With that said, I am not aware of a SINGLE person who wouldn’t acknowledge that the world is warming right now.  And that, further, it could be caused by or contributed to by humans.  Key word could.  The question now is, how much are you willing to pay for that insurance policy.

Me?  Well, let’s just say that I continue to get in my car, with my kids, at LEAST twice a day.

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Posted in Economics, Global Warming

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One and Done

Posted on December 9, 2009 | Leave a comment

Using this graphing tool we are seeing that “The ONE” can’t even beat Carter.  This may be the ONLY good news concerning Obama.

Here is a graph showing Obama’s approval rating so far:

Obama's Approval Rating to Date

This graph shows Obama AND Carter for the same time periods:

Obama vs. Carter Approval Rating to Date

Let’s only hope for change.

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Posted in Politics: National

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California: Part IV

Posted on December 9, 2009 | Leave a comment

I just got done posting on some crazy talk coming out of California.  Not 10 lines down the page and I saw this gem:

Tenant advocates got a win at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Tuesday with initial approval of a plan to extend eviction protections to rental housing built within the past 30 years…

…

Supervisor John Avalos, chief sponsor of the legislation, said the change is needed “to assure equal protections for tenants in all rental units, in San Francisco. This legislation’s really about fairness.”

Avalos – responding to concerns raised by tenant advocacy groups – said he drafted the legislation after seeing the growing number of evictions of tenants living in properties foreclosed on by banks. Foreclosure is not considered a just cause for eviction.

Look, whenEVER a politician says anything related to “This legislation’s really about fairness” run.  Run far far away.

But there is hope; albeit ‘prolly pretty small:

Colin Gallagher, who owns a condo with his husband in the city’s South of Market, said they would not have purchased their home had they known the rules would be changed after the fact. Their plan is to rent out their condo some day and they don’t want to be restricted with eviction controls. “We certainly feel this would negatively impact our investment,” said Gallagher.

Strange that, huh?  Rules implemented that affect the ability to realize return on investment might reduce said investments?

But hey, don’t let economics get in the way:

Proponents’ message: “In a city with 60 percent renters, a severe housing shortage and an economic crisis, this fix in the law should be a no-brainer,” said Sara Shortt, executive director of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco.

Gentle Miss Sara.  “No brainer”  You have NO idea.

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Posted in Economics, States Behaving Badly

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They Say This With a Straight Face

Posted on December 9, 2009 | 3 comments

Turns out about 22.1% of households in the 10 county Bay area are struggling to make ends meet:

Whereas the federal poverty level would be $17,170 a year for a family fitting that description – no matter where they lived in the United States – the self-sufficiency standard estimates that it would take $54,590 for such a family to live comfortably but without frills in San Francisco County, $49,823 in Contra Costa County and $63,871 in San Mateo County.

Are you kuckin’ fidding me!?!

Now granted, this is for a family of two parents with an infant child.  BUT STILL!  We are talking about an income north of 63 large.  $63,000!  And they are struggling to make ends meet?  I read the article twice.  I regret to inform you, gentle reader, that these people are DEAD serious.

Okay, okay.  So…so what?  So, like, what is the conclusion?

“This report raises important questions about how we can better serve the thousands of low-wage workers and families who were already struggling before the recession, whose situations are undoubtedly more precarious now,” said Anne Wilson, chief executive of the United Way of the Bay Area.

How we can better serve people who make about 55k?  Un-be-liev-able!

Check this out:

Annual Salary to be Considered Below Standard

Two things:

  1. Anyone making about $55,000 has the ability to move.
  2. Anyone else think these numbers are just made up so that about 20% of the population will fit?

No wonder California is broke.

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Posted in Economics, States Behaving Badly

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Risk Gain

Posted on December 9, 2009 | Leave a comment

I’m not sure that Government understands risk:

State officials said they believe Dell also should give back about $6 million in tax breaks the company received between 2005 and 2007, but a Dell spokesman said the company is entitled to keep the money since it was operating at the time.

…

“Our belief and our understanding is that we met the performance thresholds required for those incentives during those years, and are not obliged to repay those,” spokesman Jess Blackburn said.

The state of North Carolina negotiated with Dell to open a plant here.  To incent the company to do so, we offered them tax breaks and grants, both locally and at the State level.  It was understood that if Dell left or closed, that money would have to be returned.

Well, Dell did leave, the plant did close and:

…the company agreed to repay more than $26 million in local grants and $1.5 million in state grants, acknowledging that it didn’t live up to its end of the deal by not keeping a specified number of jobs in Forsyth County.

So.  What is all the hullabaloo about?

Turns out that the State of North Carolina is in a bit of trouble financially.  And they could use any money they can wrangle out of the evil capitalists.  And why not, the Feds are doing the same thing with great success.  So our good Govna is going out, bad mouthing Dell and demanding that they pay money back:

“I will fight them if they want to fight about this,” Perdue said. “They made some agreements. We offered some incentives. The locals offered some incentives, and they need to live up to their side of the bargain. If that means going to court, I guess we will.”

Turns out, however, that the money she wants to get back is money that Dell “saved” while they were in business and operating.  This isn’t money that we paid to Dell, it was simply money that they didn’t pay to us while they employed our people.

House Minority Leader Paul Stam issued a statement Tuesday saying the dispute could have been resolved long ago. Lawmakers defeated an attempt to include language in the state incentives package that would have required Dell to forfeit all credits it received from the state if it didn’t have at least 1,200 employees at the computer plant within five years, said Stam, R-Wake.

So not only is Purdue going after money that Dell doesn’t really owe us, she is poisoning the well in doing so.   Who in the world is going to wanna open a business here when they get treated like this?

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Posted in Politics: North Carolina

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And I Will Name Him — Success

Posted on December 9, 2009 | 6 comments

I can’t prove it, of course.  And, in fact, it may not even happen.  But I swear to you that I won’t be surprised if the recent reports of H1N1 vaccine being available is reported as reducing the number of cases of H1N1.

Back in late November, experts were calling the H1N1 peak:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the Northern Hemisphere, global health officials said on Friday, but they cautioned it was far from over.

Not sure that a lot of people caught that.  And for those that did, they may have responded like I did:

Big “effin” deal.  My family already got it.

But, when you combine the news that the outbreak has peaked with this bit of good news:

Raleigh, N.C. — About 200 people showed up Tuesday morning at the Wake County Public Health Center in Raleigh to get the H1N1 flu vaccine.

…

Tuesday was the first day the county opened the vaccine up to anyone over 6 months old.

Traffic was slow and steady at the Sunnybrook Road location, as well as three other health department sites in Fuquay-Varina, Wake Forest and Zebulon.

Ray Martin, 71, said he was in and out of the Raleigh site in 15 minutes – a stark contrast to earlier this year, in which hundreds lined up and were turned away due to a limited supply of the vaccine.

Now look, I for one am very pleased to see that those folks who need a shot are getting one.  But really.  Providing a shot to people older than 6 months of age fully 2 weeks AFTER the peak is not really A-Okay in my book.  Especially considering that the vaccine takes nearly 2 weeks to fully “bake-in”.

Sadly, I am afraid that this is what we have to look forward to in the Government sponsored health care.  See, in the world of government, a vaccine is an expense that needs to be minimized.  In the private world, the vaccine is a product that needs to be available, marketed and sold.

‘Nuff said.

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Posted in Economics, Health Care

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Could This Turn Out Any Other Way?

Posted on December 8, 2009 | 2 comments

Look, there are over paid people in this world.  Athletes.  Movie stars.  Middle managers at large corporations.  Sure.  I get it.  And to a l ot of people, people who really work and work physically, the money that some of the people make is gross.  That being said, the market adjusts pretty well and compensates those people fairly well.

Is shoveling horse manure more physically demanding than running a large Fortune 50 account?  Yup.  Are more people suited to shoveling manure than managing said account?  Just as sure.  Hence, the value of the skill is different and the compensation changes.

Which just makes this news predictable:

Anastasia Kelly, general counsel of AIG , Rodney Martin, head of one of AIG’s international life insurance businesses; William Dooley, who runs the financial-services division including AIG Financial Products; Nicholas Walsh, vice chairman and head of the international property and casualty unit; and John Doyle, who runs the U.S. property and casualty division, said in written notices Dec. 1 that they’re willing to leave by the end of 2009…

…

In October, Feinberg cut 2009 compensation for AIG’s top 13 employees by 57%, including limiting most base salaries to no more than $500,000. Another 12 top employees had already left before the review began, according to the WSJ.

Now, you can argue that execs are overpaid.  And you might even be able to convince some people of that fact.  But what you CAN’T prove is that THESE execs are overpaid in relation to their peers.  These people, in theory, are among the best in the world at what they do.  There might be only a few hundred who have the ability to rise to the positions these people have.  And that is among billions of people.  They SHOULD be paid well.

Now they will, just not at AIG.

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Posted in Economics, Liberty, Politics: National

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