Tag: Elevated

Posts to cross post at Politics Elevated

Government Can’t Do Charity

Post author By David
Post date July 30, 2009
12 Comments on Government Can’t Do Charity

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Those pushing the need for health care reform spend a lot of time talking about the uninsured and the many unfortunate people who cannot or will not afford to pay for health care. (Mostly they talk about the “cannot pay” people except when they are proposing to have individual mandates, then they start talking about “freeloaders” who don’t get insurance even though they can afford it.) These people claim that health care is a right and (although they don’t use the word) they are proposing that the government can and should provide charity care for those in the “cannot pay” camp. The only problem is that government has been trying to do that for a long time through medicaid and medicare. The fact is that government cannot provide charity care – government can only take from those it chooses to burden and give to those it chooses to help. This warps the system even when it is meant to level the playing field.

Tags Elevated, government, health care, ideal, liberty, money, religion, thoughts

National

Honest Democrats in Congress

Post author By David
Post date July 24, 2009
1 Comment on Honest Democrats in Congress

If we are ever to achieve any health care reform that will actually have a positive impact on our society it will require that we have honest Democrats in Congress. Not just any honest Democrats, but enough of them and in the right places that they can use their honesty to guide the debate. The way that you will be able to recognize a Democrat with the honesty to help the process is that he will reject the assertion of President Obama that Republicans only want to maintain the status quo.

An honest Democrat would have to recognize and admit that Republicans have been publicly acknowledging for years that we need health care reform. An honest Democrat would work from a position that understands that believing that the proposals they currently don’t have time to read are actually worse than the status quo (as Republicans generally do) is not the same as believing that the status quo is acceptable (as Republicans generally don’t). Using the scare tactic that doing nothing will make the cost of health care double within ten years without acknowledging that a poor solution could be crafted in a way that makes the cost triple within nine years is not honest. Such honest Democrats would be willing and able to actually have a dialog with Republicans and see if they have anything of value to offer on this issue.

Tags Democrat, discourse, Elevated, health care, insights, issues, parties, questions, Republican

National

The Cost Issue is MIA

Matthew Piccolo has a good summary of some of the major issues that are attached to the current health care proposal. That seemed like a good complementary article to what I wanted to point out about the Health Care Reform Freight Train™ speeding through the halls of Congress – there is a major issue that has failed to be attached to the current discussion – cost reduction.

Back in ancient history (2007 through mid 2008), while the presidential election was in full swing but before the economy and the urgent need to bail out anyone with pockets deep enough to hold quantities of money starting with “$” and ending in “Billion”, health care was seen as the most important domestic issue on the campaign trail – does anyone remember that time? If you do you should remember that one of the few points of consensus on the issue between all parties was that health care was too expensive and that any attempt at a solution would have to include measures to cut the overall amount that we spend on health care. Here is a clip from Obama’s campaign website on the issue of healthcare:

we want to make health insurance work for people and businesses, not just insurance and drug companies.

Reform the health care system:
We will take steps to reform our system by expanding coverage, improving quality, lowering costs, honoring patient choice and holding insurance companies accountable.

Improve preventative care:
In order to keep our people healthy and provide more efficient treatment we need to promote smart preventative care, like cancer screenings and better nutrition, and make critical investments in electronic health records, technology that can reduce errors while ensuring privacy and saving lives.

(emphasis added)

Tags change congress, Elevated, health care, issues, liberty, money, Obama

National

The Opposite of Progress

I was just thinking today that there are two bills currently introduced in the House that clearly demonstrate how Congress acts in opposition to real progress. One is H.R. 1207 (text) and the other is H.R. 3200 (Table of Contents). Let’s have a look at some facts related to these two bills and what those facts illustrate.

H.R. 1207 was introduced just under 5 months ago. The full text of the bill easily fits on one page so every member of Congress could read the bill anytime they have two minuets to spare (admittedly members of Congress are not long on spare time). The bill currently has well over half of all members of the House listed as co-sponsors and yet there is no indication of when it will be voted on in the House Committee on Financial Services (more than half the committee members are co-sponsors but the committee chair is not among them). The Senate version of the bill now has co-sponsors and might well exceed 50 co-sponsors before it comes up for a vote.

H.R. 3200 was introduced two days ago. The table of contents for this bill is longer than the text of H.R. 1207. The bill is more than 1000 pages long (does anyone have that kind of spare time?) and there is every indication that the bill will come to a vote within the three weeks before the August recess (possibly within one week) – well before the vast majority of the members of Congress will have been able to do more than scan it briefly.

If history is any guide (which it generally is) this massive bill being rushed through Congress without adequate deliberation (just like the Patriot Act and TARP) will very soon be the cause of new government intervention (by 2016 at the latest) as we try to clean up the mess that it will leave in its wake.

Tags change congress, Elevated, legislation

culture National

An Affordable Health Care System

Post author By David
Post date July 8, 2009
7 Comments on An Affordable Health Care System

On Sunday, July 5, Paul Krugamn laid out his argument that affordable health care for everyone was an achievable goal.[quote] Many people would be surprised to learn that I agree with him on that. He correctly argues that we already cover the bulk of the most expensive health care patients by covering the elderly under Medicare. He also argues that the uninsured already receive much care that we are already paying for so we are already paying much of the costs for their care. Finally he argues (as a corollary to the first point) that many of the uninsured are generally young and healthy so that insuring them would cost less per person than our current per-person cost of public insurance (bringing down the average cost per person and increasing the overall cost only slightly).

His conclusion is that “extending coverage to most or all of the 45 million people in America without health insurance — should, in the end, add only a few percent to our overall national health bill.” He would be right at the beginning but eventually the nightmare spiral of skyrocketing costs would take over because the fundamental problem in our health care system would not be addressed – overuse and the disconnect between the source of payment and the subject of care.

Tags Elevated, government, health care, money, New York Times, Paul Krugman

National

The Paradox of Government

Today I read Paul Krugman writing about t he paradox of thrift. As is often the case, I found it interesting to read and to notice the assumptions that Krugman bases his positions on. While anyone can go read what he wrote I’ll give a quick overview of the paradox of thrift – increases in personal savings can have an adverse effect on the economy causing a net decrease in actual savings overall.

The first assumption made by Krugman is that savings come in the form of currency with an assigned value but with no real intrinsic value – paper money. If savings come in the form of debt reduction or in acquiring real goods for future use then a bad economy increases the value of the savings rather than decreasing that value.

The second assumption made by Krugman is that government should be a significant force and substantial contributor to the economy. This is a man who argued that the government was doing the wrong thing and not enough of it when Obama got his stimulus bill passed (ARRA). While I often disagree with his assumptions I absolutely trust Krugman to be able to read the numbers and do his math so I won’t attempt to do my own numbers. I will link to the source of his numbers and then play with his graph to show how things look under new assumptions.

Tags economics, Elevated, government, national debt, Paul Krugman, reactions, savings

General

George Washington’s Farewell Address

Post author By David
Post date June 16, 2009
4 Comments on George Washington’s Farewell Address

I have always had great respect for George Washington, but in the cannon of political doctrine his Farewell Address should be considered equal to the doctrine of the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament and the prophecy in the book of Revelation in the New Testament. Washington himself boils down the topics of his address as follows:

In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, . . . I may even flatter myself that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; (emphasis added)

This was Washington’s final effort to publicly influence the future direction of his beloved country before he could finally retire as he had privately wanted to do for years. He starts by reminding the nation – then and now – of the nature of its birth:

I shall carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing vows that heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free Constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it. (emphasis added)

Notice that he does not recommend or propose that we should establish similar constitutions for others, but that we should preserve our own constitution so that others would desire to adopt such a constitution for themselves.

Tags change congress, documents, Elevated, foreign policy, history, parties

General

It’s About Us

While posting about Cheney’s Worldview, Tim Lynch captures the perspective that drives my thinking on subjects such as torture and indefinite detention:

So we shouldn’t let the terrorists see us get “caught up in arguments” about the wisdom of our foreign policy, about whether our country should go to war, about our country’s treaty obligations, about the parameters of government power under our Constitution? What is this former vice president thinking?

Does it matter if Charles Manson appreciates the fact that he got a trial instead of a summary execution? No. It does not matter what’s in that twisted head of his. Same thing with bin Laden. The American military should make every effort to avoid civilian casualties even if bin Laden targets civilians. Similarly, it does not matter if bin Laden scoffs at the Geneva Convention as a sign of ”weakness.” The former VP does not get it. It is about us, not the terrorists.

An obsession with the mentality of the enemy (what they see; what they hope for, etc.) can distort our military and counterterrorism strategy as well. (bold emphasis added, italics original)

If we are to act and not simply react it must always be about us. We must make our decisions based on what is right, not based simply on what others are doing or how they might interpret what we choose to do. I think it is important to have discussions about these issues and I appreciate that mine is not the only perspective.

At times I will learn that I was wrong, and that there are things I had not considered. More often than that I am likely to learn that I have not been clear in stating my position. But I am confident that we will go wrong every time if we decide that the discussion itself is dangerous or without merit. If we stop discussing the issues we stop deciding what to do and begin following blindly wherever we are lead. No matter how honorable our intentions, blindly following will always ultimately lead to actions that are destructive not only to others, but more importantly to ourselves and our standing in the world.

Tags connections, discourse, Elevated, principles

National

Constitutional Amendment VIII

Post author By David
Post date May 28, 2009
8 Comments on Constitutional Amendment VIII

Like the second amendment, the eighth Amendment leaves no room for exceptions.

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

There are those who would argue that not all the rights in the Constitution and Bill of Rights apply to non-citizens. Depending on your definition of “rights” there may be room to make such an argument, but no definition of rights could be used to argue that this right does not apply to every person on earth and that our government should honor this right in all its actions.

This brings up the question of torture as a tool employed by our government. The amendment does not allow any room for any form of torture regardless of the existence of any Geneva convention or rules of war because torture is, by definition, cruel. The only argument that could be made is that, although cruel, torture is not used as punishment because it is administered not in retribution for crimes, but in search of information. I think it is obvious how flimsy such an argument would be.

On a related note, our current administration claims to forbid the use of torture (no way to verify those claims) but proclaims their intention to use indefinite detention on those they deem as threats but who cannot be convicted of any crime. This absolutely violates the fifth amendment right that “No person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” While the relevant laws may vary between citizens and non-citizens, indefinite detention does not allow for that due process. If a person cannot be charged and convicted of a crime they should be released. If they are not a citizen they should be released to their country of citizenship.

Tags amendments, Bill of Rights, Constitution, documents, Elevated, history, torture

culture

Use the Proper Tool

I have written before about our national propensity to use government when it is not the proper tool for the job. Scott summed my point up very succinctly in a recent post:

There is a proper tool for every job. Use of the wrong tool often produces substandard results. Sometimes it is necessary to make do with what you have. That’s called innovation. But regularly using the wrong tool when the right tool is available is just plain stupid.

One of the basic tenets of classical liberalism is to regard government as a tool to be used only where it is most appropriate; the chief role of government being to safeguard and expand liberty. Many people (from all over the political spectrum) view government as a big stick to be employed in forcing others to conform to their particular view of good.

Government is not the only tool that we often use inappropriately, and sometimes the wrong tool is employed not because it is the tool of choice, but because we refuse to use the proper tool. Such is the often the case with regard to schools disciplining children.

A large number of schools use potentially dangerous methods to discipline children, particularly those with disabilities in special education classes, a report from Congress’ investigative arm finds.

In some cases, the Government Accountability Office report notes, children have died or been injured when they have been tied, taped, handcuffed or pinned down by adults or locked in secluded rooms, often to be left for hours at a time.

Some people would be quick to blame the authoritarian, impersonal schools for their outrageous methods of discipline and while I am far from a believer in the infallibility of schools I think that such blame is misplaced in the vast majority of cases.

The real blame lies in the fact that many parents fail to enforce discipline in their homes and even among those who do enforce discipline in their homes all too many make themselves unavailable to take on that responsibility when their children require more discipline than can reasonably be applied by a teacher in charge of more than a dozen students. What’s worse, is that we cannot even safely place the blame fully on the shoulders of the individual parents. Too many of them are forced into situations where they cannot devote themselves to parenting full-time. (Sometimes they just feel forced into those situations.)

As a society we have set too low a value on the role of parenting – placing it completely secondary to economic productivity. We have set expectations too high for our material and economic standard of living – where the luxuries of yesterday must necessarily be necessities today. Consider cell phones for every family member over the age of 10, cars for everyone over 16, cable TV, computers, game consoles, television sets in every room, dance-lessons, sports, and hobbies for each day of the week.

None of these things is intrinsically bad, but together they form unreasonable and unsustainable expectations and they destroy the possibility for most stable families to keep at least one parent available to take care of their children when needs arise.

Not only that, but we expect the schools to provide many of those hobbies through requiring gym, art, and music classes as well as extracurricular sports. The result is that even where there are parents at home and available the children often spend too many hours under the care of their teachers and not enough under the influence of their parents. This serves to lessen the parental influence and offers incentive for parents who would otherwise be available to commit themselves to other activities lest they feel they are wasting their time.

The problems are complex and interwoven so that any hope of identifying the solutions is dependent on our recognition of how and when any given tool can be used and insisting on using each tool in its proper place rather than finding favorite tools and trying to make this reduced tool set suitable for all our needs.

Tags children, connections, Education, Elevated, family, government, ideal, NPR