Another "tail wags dog" story?

 

In the recent news I've heard many say that Republican Senators John McCain, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski "betrayed their party" by voting against the recent Republican healthcare replacement bill. I find that statement shocking and disappointing. 

Should you vote for your congressman or Senator to go to Washington and vote how Paul Ryan or Mitch McConnell (if they are a Republican) or Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer (if they are a Democrat) tells them to, or should you vote to send them to Washington to represent YOU and YOUR interests? And if your interest sometimes differs with whatever their party leader wants, who should they owe their allegiance to?

WTF just happened?

I've been around a long time.  I've seen some really crazy things.  I've done some really crazy things.  But I've never seen anything like what is going on in the world right now.  We've seen things spin out of control before....a couple of world wars and some crazy-assed terrorists blowing things up come to mind....but we've always had some sane leaders, usually led by the President of the United States, who stepped forward and righted things. 

Today, instead of putting out the fires, President Donald Trump is throwing gasoline on them.  Around the world he's giving mixed signals to our friends and foes alike.  Our NATO allies don't know whether they can count on us or not.  Everybody from our VEEP on down tells them we're rock-solid, but the POTUS finds it hard to even grudgingly say it out loud.  (Commitment issues?)  Meanwhile Russia keeps sucker punching us, and everyone but President Trump sees it.  I'm sure Vladimir Putin is laughing his ass off!  WTH?

Inside our Executive Branch President Trump, who should be thoughtfully leading us, is tweeting all night, leaving his subordinates to try and figure out what he wants them to do the next day.  And about the time they begin to get a handle on it, he tweets something that completely countermands his earlier tweet.  DOH!

Yesterday he tweeted that transgender people cannot serve in our military, completely blindsiding his Secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff, THE VERY PEOPLE HE SHOULD BE CONSULTING WITH ON SUCH MATTERS.  They say they had zero input.  Agree or disagree with President Trump's position, this is just ass backward.

Trump is pissed upset that his Attorney General recused himself from an investigation as he was legally required to, and is now threatening to fire him.  Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, are saying "there will be hell to pay if he does." 

Ditto his desire to fire Special Counselor Mueller, who is looking into collusion between Trump's campaign staff and Russian election interference.  The bipartisan word is that if he does, it will be "the beginning of the end of the Trump Presidency" (per Republican Senator Lindsey Graham). 

Trump's Chief of Staff and Communications Director are openly feuding, and his Ethics Chief and Press Secretary have both quit.

The Mideast oil sheiks are fighting among themselves, and while the capable Sec State Rex Tillerson is trying to calm tensions, Trump comes riding through popping caps.  Now rumors are flying Tillerson has had enough and is considering moving on to something less stressful, too, like maybe defusing IED's in Afghanistan.

Nice team building President Trump!

Trump even went before 40,000 Boy Scouts at their annual National Jamboree and, instead of giving them the customary inspirational talk about doing good and helping little old ladies across the street, launched into a mildly profane rant on Hillary and her emails, or some such.  Why would he think a bunch of 12-year-old boys would give a shit about Hillary's emails?  It was so embarrassing the Boy Scouts of America had to issue an apology for Trump's improper address.

Let's just be honest for once and say it out loud:  President Donald Trump is having an epic mental meltdown.  His insecurity and paranoia are eating him alive.  Trump is the personification of the Peter Principle....he has risen to his "level of incompetence".  It's actually painful to watch, and with him still in control of our nuclear codes, more than a little....uncomfortable. 

That said, let's all go have a "beverage" or two.  Cheers!

S

Beware the new snake oil salesmen....

Snake oil salesmen....you can find them walking around the halls of Congress hawking their Republican agenda.

Now don't get upset Republican friends.  I'm not saying YOU are a snake oil salesman.  I'm saying you're being SOLD snake oil by the Republican congressmen and Senators who you trusted.  You're being played.  Consider this:

Their #1 agenda item (they say) is to repeal and replace ObamaCare.  They say to you that by stripping out $800,000,000,000 it will bring down the cost of your health insurance, which is now sky-high and has deductibles so steep many of you can't even afford to use it.  Their version will be better they say.  What it will do that they conveniently play down is push up the price of insurance for those over about 55 years old who are now beginning to have some health issues.  Their premiums will go up dramatically after any new Republican plan now being considered is adapted.  

And if you or a family member have a disease or are otherwise handicapped and have effectively been pushed down into the Medicaid-eligible category, you're screwed.  Kids already living in poverty will see their healthcare cut back too, as will the 45% of all seniors (maybe one of your parents, or you one day?) living in nursing homes who depend on Medicaid to survive (and that's no exaggeration).

It isn't just liberal Democrats who believe this.  Read THIS to see why the American Medical Association, hardly a bunch of wild-eyed Bernie supporters, opposes The Republican plan(s).  The American Hospital Association, and not surprisingly the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), feels the same.  

My Republican friends, you're being sold snake oil.  If your guys in Congress prevail, what you will actually get is NOT what they're selling you.  Reform, definitely, but this isn't it.  This is just the first step towards what they really want, which is a tax cut overwhelmingly benefiting the wealthy.  And if they can't save $800 BILLION on healthcare, they can't get their tax cut.  "Healthcare" is just a pawn in their bigger game.

Tax reform....that's what the Republican leadership calls it.  They want you to believe tax rates will be simplified, loopholes will be closed, and when the dust settles your tax system will be more equitable.  It will still be progressive (the more you make, the more you pay), but the middle class will be better off.  That's all a smoke screen.  What the middle class might save will be negligible if anything.  A tax cut for the rich, the benefactors who fund their political careers, is what it really is.

The Republican leadership will tell you that, yes, their tax reform windfall will go primarily to the rich, but the rich will in turn invest it back into the economy and create jobs.  They'll say it over and over again...JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!  That's straight out of Economics 101.  It's a valid economic theory, but doesn't fit the economic reality we have today.

This is important to understand: 

As of July 24th (yesterday) the 10 year Treasury yield was a very low 2.30%.  A low yield means there is already lots of money out there chasing very little demand.

WE'RE SWIMMING IN MONEY RIGHT NOW, LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO INVEST IT!

American corporations alone (not including individuals) already have $1.9 TRILLION dollars just sitting around.  (Check THIS for more interesting info.)  Giving the wealthy another few hundred BILLION dollars, when they can't even find a place to invest what they already have, WON'T CREATE JOBS!  We'll still see monthly job increases due to the fact that our population/economy is slowly growing and maturing.  But a massive transfer of wealth to the already wealthy won't result in a massive explosion of new jobs.

My Republican friends, you're being sold snake oil.  Your leaders have an agenda they aren't being truthful with you about.  Please stop them, and think this through.

S

To be, or not to be? *sorry Will*

So are we in for a soft or hard landing?  President Trump seems to be telegraphing he's pacing a rut in the Oval Office carpet, wondering why his cavalry isn't already there to save him.  I think it's safe to say Mr. Trump hasn't made the mental transition to the public sector.

Back at Trump, Inc The Donald ruled supreme, which was entirely proper as his was a privately held corporation.  He had no stockholders to satisfy, just himself.  He had subordinates who did what he told them to.  They kept the heat off him, they did his dirty work, and in return he probably paid them very well....he signed their paychecks.

He apparently hasn't made the adjustment to Washington, where the Republicans he's looking to for "protection" don't work for him.  They aren't paid to keep the heat off him, or to do his dirty work.  In fact he doesn't even pay them.  They work for the people, not for him, and in the public sector he does have to satisfy someone besides himself....you and me!  

And "we" aren't all that happy.  In a recent USA Today poll 1300 respondents were split 42%-42% for/against impeaching President Trump.  I understand polls can often be wrong, but just the fact that it's even this close suggests the natives are restless.  I did my own small poll on Facebook last week and it, too, was about evenly divided between those who thought he would successfully complete his 4-year term and those who didn't.

And my opinion, which I know you've all passed the hat and collected 35 cents to hear, is....I don't think he'll make it.  He's under assault from all sides, and as his tweet suggests, he needs a lot of Republicans to come to his rescue.  His foes are like a hungry dog with a big 'ol juicy steak bone, and they're not letting go.  Trouble is, congressional Republicans will be more interested in saving their necks than the President's as the 2018 election nears.  The last thing they'll want is even the talk of an impeachment while they're back home kissing babies, greasing palms, and asking for votes.  

Those in safe states, like my Texas, might still vigorously defend him, but most will not want their name associated with the beleaguered President.  Party elders, under pressure from their members who desperately want cover, will pull the President off to the side and make him an offer he can't refuse.  The deal:  if he turns over the presidency to Mike Pence, who will grant the entire clan a pardon, he can take himself and his family back into safe refuge in Trump Tower to count their money.  Otherwise he's on his own.

OK, there it is.  Now gimme my 35 cents.

Agree?  Disagree?  Please jump in.

S

Label snobs

We are obsessed with labels.  Sometimes labels can serve a very useful purpose, but at other times they just get in the way.  How...why have we become like this?

When I was a kid in the last century I remember there were Ford guys and there were Chevy guys, and the two would never mix.  Each felt they were always right, and the other side was always wrong.  Fast forward and today we have rock-solid Lexus guys and Mercedes guys.

Wine:  Aristocrats (wannabe or actual) always chose French wines.  California wines were unthinkable.  Labels rule!

Style:  Neiman Marcus vs Saks Fifth Avenue has now deteriorated to Walmart vs Target.  Labels rule!

And of course, philosophy.  We Americans seem hopelessly wed to our labels of either Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, capitalist or socialist.  Labels rule!

Today there are a few new caveats, however.  A new subset of voters is based on race or gender or sexual preference.  A female candidate will pull in many more than the usual number of female voters.  A black candidate will get the black vote.  An LGBT candidate will likely get the LGBT vote.  Labels rule!

As President Nixon was boarding his helicopter to leave Washington back in 1974, there were still 24% of the American people (mostly hard-core Republicans) who supported him.  Labels rule!

Currently a vast majority of Republicans (but only 35% +/- of the population) feels President Trump is doing a great job.  Labels rule!

Listen up knuckleheads:  LABELS ARE STUPID!  We're being played.  It's a public relations game.  The PR guys can regurgitate on demand all the "facts" that support their point of view, and just conveniently omit those pesky facts that don't.  And if they don't have any facts to support their position, they just make some up.  Why do you think Snopes exists?

Democrats need to understand that Republicans CAN have some good ideas, and vice versa.  Capitalism is great, except when it's hijacked by greed.  Socialism is IMO generally flawed, but can also give us some incredibly useful programs, like public financing of schools, and (some would argue) Social Security and Medicare.

Learn to think for yourself, because if you let someone else think for you, they will own you.  And there's a label for that, too.

S

The world's toughest job?

 

...Being President Donald Trump's lawyer(s).

Exactly how would you go about trying to keep Donald Trump quiet?  Break all his fingers?  Put him in a straight jacket and duct tape his mouth shut?  I really have no idea, and apparently neither do any of his high profile attorneys, as evidenced by the fact that their client got loose yesterday and gave an interview to the New York Times.  After what the President said, I'm sure his legal team headed straight to the nearest bar to get seriously liquored up.

Specifically, President Trump said...on the record no less...that his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, should never have recused himself from the investigation of any Trump campaign/Russia collaboration.  He went on to say "if I had known he was going to do that, I would have nominated someone else.  I needed someone I could count on."

Uhh..."count on"?  Count on to do what?  Someone he could count on to call off the dogs, to stifle the investigation that was already underway?  Someone to fire the FBI Director if necessary and keep him out of it?  He said that out loud?  I can't imagine how else you could finish that sentence.  

To be so smart, that man says some really dumb things.  I don't think Donald Trump could have a worse enemy than his own mouth.

S

An overview of German healthcare you might find interesting

If you're news savvy at all you've no doubt heard that the Republicans have been unable to get a new healthcare plan through Congress, and everyone is freaking out because ObamaCare is failing fast and there is no replacement on the horizon.  What I've never heard discussed is whether anyone has bothered to look outside the US to see if there is a model elsewhere we might could adopt and tweak to fit our circumstances.  Just for kicks I did, and for my subject I chose Germany.  I picked Germany for no particular reason....just the luck of the draw.  Here's what I found:

Unlike Great Britain which has a single payer system (aka Socialized medicine), Germany's is a multi-payer health care system paid for by a combination of statutory health insurance, officially called "sickness funds", and private health insurance, called "private sickness funds".   A 2015 survey found Germany had the most restriction-free and consumer-oriented healthcare system in Europe. Patients are allowed to seek almost any type of care they wish whenever they want it.  Germany has nothing similar to our HMO's.

All doctors in Germany are in private practice and are not employees of the government, and hospitals are "non-profit".  Health insurance is mandatory for the entire population in Germany.  Salaried workers and employees below the income threshold of almost 50,000 Euros ($57,700 US) per year are automatically enrolled into one of the 130+/- public non-profit "sickness funds" at common rates (no surcharge for older members, no pre-existing condition limitations), which is paid for with joint employer-employee contributions.  The fact that these funds are "non-profit" suggests to me they are run like regulated utilities are here....they're guaranteed to be able to cover costs, but no windfall.

These (private but no doubt regulated) "sickness funds" negotiate with doctors and hospitals for favorable rates, just as insurance companies do here.  The majority of Germans (89%) are covered by one of these funds.  Apparently these insurance funds just process claims, then forward them to the government for actual payment to the providers.  This is all funded by a combination of employee contributions, employer contributions and government subsidies on a scale determined by income level....15.5%, 7.3% of which is covered by the employer.  The indigent are also covered by something similar to our Medicaid.

This might at first glance seem high, but regardless of how you slice/dice it, after figuring in all employer/employee premiums, deductibles, and cash-out-of-pocket expenses, the average total healthcare expenditure per American per year is $9451, vs $5267 per German per year.  Total healthcare costs are 16.4% of GDP in the US, and 11% of GDP in Germany.  Germans do pay a small co-pay per doctor visit in order to discourage them from clogging up the system by going in for every sneeze and splinter.

For those making over the 50,000 Euro threshold, they can opt out of the public sickness funds and enroll in one of the 900 +/- private sickness funds.  11% of Germans prefer this private system.  These are competitively priced depending on the amount of services chosen (for example, some include dental and vision) and the person's risk and age.  Young, healthy people can likely save money by enrolling in one of the private plans, BUT, will pay much higher rates later as they age and need more medical attention.  The killer is, when that time comes, they can't just opt back in to the public system. 

The care received is NOT bargain basement, either.  For example, wait times:  83% of Germans can get an appointment with a specialist within 4 weeks, whereas 80% of Americans can get an appointment with a specialist within 4 weeks.  Wait times are slightly shorter for those with private plans.  The average hospital stay in Germany is 9 days, where in the US it is 5-6 days.  (The most common complaint here is they "sew you up and roll you out the door".)  Private hospital rooms there are not the norm, unlike here, and doctor's offices and hospital lobbies are not as lavishly furnished as they are here.  By most (?) metrics I could find (life expectancy, infant mortality, etc) Germans fared slightly better than Americans.  FYI....there are 2.554 doctors per 1000 residents in the US, and 4.125 doctors per 1000 residents in Germany.

I'll stop there.  My point is there are other countries (at least one) who have insurance coverage (vs universal single payer coverage) that we might look to for ideas.  Considering the German penchant for over-engineering everything they do, I'm sure there are many other details that I'm not aware of, but this seems like a fair overview.

Our hang-up is that many of us (ie: the Tea Party) say it's un-American to force someone buy insurance if they don't want to.  I find this to be a highly hypocritical argument as the same Tea Party-types all seem to like the Medicare and Social Security benefits they receive that they were forced to contribute to for their entire working lives.  And aren't we forced to pay school taxes, even if our kids are long since past school age?  Isn't that textbook socialism?  If we receive SS and Medicare and pay school taxes are we required to have a picture of Marx or Lenin hanging on our wall at home? *snort!*  IMO we need to get over it!

I say let's open our minds and find something better than what we have now.

S