Category: Values

“Fix Obamacare! Stop Wasting Time and Money Tearing It Down.”

The Republicans have burned a lot of time and money trying to dismantle Obamacare. Instead, they and the Democrats should be collaborating to fix it.

For more than 20 million previously uninsured Americans, health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (the “ACA” or “Obamacare”) has been a boost in ways that cannot be measured in dollars and cents:  better health, lower stress, more productivity, making life better for everyone.

“Instead of collaboration to make Obamacare better, Congress spent $87 million of taxpayer dollars on 60 efforts to repeal it.”

The efforts to “repeal and replace” appear to give priority to cutting taxes for the wealthy, and assuring big profits for health insurers, rather than bringing health care to more Americans.  (By the way, can you imagine how great it would be if everyone here was healthy–or at least healthier?)

What is most upsetting is that these same conservatives, through their politics, have done their best to cripple Obamacare and now use the damage they have wrought as a cover for their efforts to repeal and replace it.

I am not saying Obamacare is perfect.  Even President Obama called for improvements. But instead of collaboration to fix the current law, Congress spent $87 million of taxpayer dollars on 60 unsuccessful attempts to repeal it.

Those who sponsored those efforts knew full well that President Obama’s veto pen was always ready.  The only explanation for their bullheaded behavior is that it was a craven, partisan effort to manipulate public opinion and weaken Obamacare.

“Conservatives, through their politics, have done their best to cripple Obamacare and now use the damage they have wrought as a cover for their efforts to repeal and replace.”

They have now turned up the volume on words and phrases, like “disaster,” “imploding,” “death spirals,” and other highly-charged rhetoric that exaggerates and misleads.  (Remember “Death Panels”?)

Of course, this has been calculated to further undermine confidence in the current law and drive away demand from the individual insurance markets.

In addition, on the very day of his inauguration, President Trump’s first order of business to call for “repeal and replacement” of Obamacare and non-enforcement of its mandate and penalties.  For the continued viability of Obamacare, this was like draining the air from your tires and putting sugar in your gas tank.

The new American Health Care Act (the “AHCA” or “Ryancare”) has problems that become more apparent every day.  It is based on false economics, false hope and deserves to fail.  Then, attention should turn to fixing Obamacare, to make it work better, more fairly and for more people.

It’s time to fix Obamacare and to stop the waste of time and money tearing it down. “Collaboration” is NOT a dirty word.

Nor, by the way, is “Public Option.”

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Obamacare vs. Trumpcare: My Boat or Yours?

There’s nothing wrong with healthcare providers and insurance companies making a profit. Right?

rettungsboot_07You feel a sharp pain in your chest.  A spouse or friend rushes you to the hospital. You are having a heart attack and need immediate attention.

“Wait!” you cry from the gurney as the IV is being placed. You blurt out last-minute instructions as the sedatives begin to take effect: “Make sure to get a bid from at least three doctors. Negotiate the operating room expenses and the room rate.  If St. Luke’s is less expensive, pull me out of here. . . . and don’t . . . .”

When this moment occurs, if it hasn’t already, I’m sure you will demand this kind of price check.  We want our healthcare providers and insurers to make a profit; however, we must keep them honest, with competition and tough negotiation.

“Free markets and profit incentive are essential to the American system, even with healthcare.”

Free markets and profit incentive are essential to the American system, even with healthcare.  Government involvement, like Obamacare, hampers the markets and hinders the effects of profitability.  Look at what’s happened to health insurance companies, for example.

Take Aetna and Humana. They are two of the largest health insurers and agreed to participate on the Obamacare individual exchanges. Last year they reported losing money and threatened to withdraw from the exchanges unless their proposed merger was approved by Obama’s Justice Department.  Of course, It wasn’t.

Since 2010, when Obamacare went into effect, these two companies have distributed to shareholders a total of $2.6 billion in dividends and $19.4 billion in stock buybacks.  This represents a total of about $22.0 billion of distributions to shareholders between 2010 and 2016, an amount that could have been much higher if not for the effects of Obamacare and a blocked merger.

Under the new healthcare proposal from the Republicans, Aetna, Humana and the other health insurance providers will be freed of the anti-market, unprofitable restrictions of Obamacare and able to better serve their shareholders.

Better stock performance and removal of the Obamacare tax burden on the wealthy will be a big boost for those who really drive our economy.

Luxury Yacht.

Take super yachts, for example, those luxury boats longer than 79 feet.  Super-yacht sales have been down under Obamacare.

In 2010, the year Obamacare was enacted, combined reported sales of super yachts were over $3.0 billion.  In 2016, they had dropped to around $2.8 billion.  In 2010, the average price of a super yacht was $15.0 million and by 2016 it was less than $8.0 million.

Once the Republican healthcare proposal is in place, fewer people may have health insurance, but yacht budgets should increase, creating good jobs for yacht builders, brokers, crew members and others.

Hang in there yacht people.  Relief is on the way.

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!”

Here was the fear described by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first inaugural address, “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

From the other side of the coffee shop, close to the door, came shouted words of accusation.

A man was yelling at the shop’s young manager.  He accused her of being responsible for the theft of his lap top computer.  Apparently, hours before, he had left it unattended at one of the shop’s several tables and, he claimed, it had been stolen.

As he turned to shout at customers, I jumped from my seat and rushed to see if I could help.

The manager and I coaxed the man out the door, and I stood with him in the cold while the manager went to call the police.  The poor guy was wild-eyed, disheveled and smelled of alcohol.

I tried to calm him down and help him understand his own responsibility for the loss of the computer. But he challenged my involvement.

“What makes you think you can tell ME what to do?” he spluttered. “Who are YOU?”

“I’m just a regular guy,” I said. “Standing up for what is right.”

Thankfully, the police arrived quickly and I stepped away, back into the shop.

The manager, in tears, came to thank me for my intervention and to fill out an incident report.

Later, at home, I told my wife about the episode.

“What if he had a gun?” she cried.

Had not thought of that.

The next day I read about another wild-eyed drunk who menaced two Indian men in a Kansas bar.  The man had been ejected from the bar but came back with a gun, killed one of the Indian men, wounded the other and shot a young American who had tried to wrestle the gun away.

I marveled at the heroism of the young American, but trembled as I remembered the coffee shop incident of the day before and Idaho’s new “permitless” concealed carry law.

Here was the fear described by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first inaugural address, “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

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Fear is again doing its best to take hold, competing with our better instincts to help others by causing indecision, hesitation and moral uncertainty.

Because of fear, belligerence is on the rise. Immigrants are being rounded up and roughed up by those with new authority.  Refugees, who desperately seek sanctuary, are being turned away by baseless travel bans.  Senseless acts of vandalism and violence against innocent Jews, Muslims and people of color have multiplied.

Do we have the courage to resist?  To confront verbal and physical violence?  To oppose politicians and policies that fuel fear with falsehoods and conspiracy theories?

For my part, I certainly hope so.  The costs of cowardice are too high.

“Get out there and fight for what you know is right!”

Our foundational values are now at risk of being overrun by a growing mob mentality of anger and fear.

As we left the house for school or to “hang” with friends, Mom would look piercingly into our eyes and say, “Remember who you are and what you represent!”  She said it louder and more often during our stupid, hormone-soaked teenage years.

She always reminded us of being part of something bigger than ourselves—family, community, country—and she reinforced principles taught at home, school and church.

40211223 - giving a helping hand to another

Among them, the “Golden Rule”—to treat others as we would want to be treated—a universal moral compass to point us toward the values of acceptance, respect and compassion.

This ancient wisdom has nourished the roots of civilization and united communities.  Sadly, it is now threatened by an angry and fearful mob mentality whipped to a frenzy by divisive and hateful political rhetoric.

Presidential palaver and policies, with the cowering silence of congressional leaders, have given official license to racism and xenophobia and consequent vandalism and violence.

The dark vision painted in the election and since has causal connection to the shocking desecrations of Jewish cemeteries; to multiplied vandalism and bomb threats at mosques, synagogues and community centers; and to the shooting of two innocent Indian men in Kansas by a drunken xenophobe, who believed they were Iranian and yelled “Get out of my country!” before he pulled the trigger.

This darkness will be hard to erase.  Belated, scripted words delivered to a crowd of genuflecting congressional cowards will not by themselves call back the hounds of fear and anger already unleased.  It will require much more—even from us.

Today, Mom would not just urgently whisper, “Remember who you are and what you represent.” She would push us out the door and shout: “Get out there and fight for what you know is right!”

“OK, Mom.  We’re on it!”