“The worst of capitalism and socialism”
July 25, 2020 – Health insurance companies have centralized control of how, when, and where a patient will receive medical services. Hospitals charge whatever they consider to be reasonable, regardless of the outcome. Drug companies maintain a virtual monopoly on prescription drug prices and exercise undue power over lawmakers through lobbying. Even Medicare, the largest buyer of health-care services, cannot negotiate better drug prices. The American public has been conditioned to delegate their personal healthcare decisions to insurance and drug companies, hospitals, and the rest of the health-care providers. Therefore, the health-care discussion is always around access to health insurance rather than the cost of medical care, which makes it anything but affordable.
The bottom line is that members of the MI generation are expected to foot the bill. They are required to pay 1.45 percent in taxes from their wages to cover Medicare costs for senior citizens. However, they may not get quality care when they become old and will really need it. As the father of a cancer-surviving son who is paralyzed, I have seen the best and the worst of the American health-care system. The fundamental issue with the American health-care system lies in the health-care narrative and public discourse.
The American health-care system has morphed into a beast that empowers health insurance companies, drug companies, hospitals, doctors, and everyone but the patients. Having health insurance coverage is defined as having access to health care. In the same vein, affordability of health care is translated as having lower-premium health insurance. However, there is no public discourse on the ever-rising cost of medical care that makes health care inaccessible and unaffordable. Medical care costs include hospitals, prescription drugs, doctors, diagnostic tests, and medical malpractice expenses. (more…)
“We cannot survive our way out of climate change denial”
June 27, 2020 – The rhetoric of climate change claiming that reducing greenhouse gases is detrimental to job creation and economic growth in the United States negates the fact that there will be no jobs if there is no planet. The Beltway Beast mind-set of having a binary choice of either pollution or jobs ignores the fact that more than 155,000 deaths in 2015 were related to pollution in America. Pollution alone could create lifelong health problems for the MI Generation and their children since it is associated with respiratory conditions and weaker immune system. The Trump administration blames China and India as the world’s leading polluters, which is true, but the United States is also one of the top three polluters.
The argument that China and India are big polluters and, therefore, America should also be one of the main polluters is self-defeating and suicidal. America does not need to compete with China and India in killing its people by producing more greenhouse gases from the use of fossil fuels. China and India are both paying a heavy price in reduced productivity and the mortality of their people. In 2015, China had 1.8 million deaths linked to pollution, and India had 2.5 million. That translates to about five thousand Chinese and seven thousand Indian deaths per day. Beijing is one of the top-ten cities with the highest levels of air pollution in the world. The city government, in December 2016, ordered twelve hundred factories to shut down because of the dangerous level of smog.
The Trump administration and a majority of Republican congressional leaders continue to deny that there is global warming. Therefore, they do not see any need to reduce carbon emissions, be part of international protocols, or solve the environmental problems facing the nation. Climate change is a long-term phenomenon, and its detrimental impact may not materialize for decades. Th e Trump administration will be long gone before that occurs. Therefore, the administration does not have to bear the responsibility of denying global warming while leaving the MI generation to live with the consequences. (more…)
Excerpts from Confessions of an Old Man
“There’s nothing like doing things with other people’s money.” President Donald Trump
March 22, 2020 – Every US president since Reagan has added hundreds of billions to the national debt compared to his predecessor. President Trump may top all the previous presidents by having an estimated annual deficit of $1 trillion by 2020 or even sooner. Congress and the White House have been living on the backs of the younger generation since 1980 by continuing to spend more than they collect in taxes. They have no plans to balance the budget, nor do they have any plans to pay back the principal on the debt. Having no intention or plans to pay the national debt is nothing less than stealing from the MI generation.
In May 2016 candidate Trump proudly claimed, “I’m the king of debt. I love debt.” As president, he has made it clear that he does not mind if deep tax cuts result in a ballooning of the national debt. He proved that by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017. During the 2016 campaign, candidate Trump bragged about using other people’s money. He said:
“It’s called OPM. I do that all the time in business. It’s called other people’s money. There’s nothing like doing things with other people’s money.” However, in this case, OPM is coming from the MI generation. The reason Congress and the White House don’t care and continue to add to the national debt is because it is not their problem. Congress’s own self-interest trumps any concerns it may have for high national debt’s detrimental impact on future generations. They will be long gone before any of the serious problems from uncontrolled national debt surface. (more…)
Excerpts from Confessions of an Old Man
“Washington borrows at 2 percent and charges students 7 percent in interest”
February 22, 2020 – The federal government has been profiting from student debt earning $66 billion on loans originated from 2007 to 2012, according to Senator Elizabeth Warren. The profits could be as high as $185 billion on new student loans made over the next ten years. According to the US Department of Education, the federal government charged interest rates from 4.45 to 7 percent on student loans in fiscal year 2017–18. At the same time, SoFi, a private company, offers student loans as low as 3.25 percent. The federal government uses a ten-year bond issued by the US Treasury as a benchmark for its cost, which was about 2.4 percent in 2017. It appears that Uncle Sam is even worse than the Wall Street banks when it comes to making profits from student loans.
To help students attend college, Congress passed the Higher Education Act of 1965. It guaranteed student loans against defaults, promised certain interest rates to the banks, and paid fees to banks for the administration and collection of student loans. Later on, the federal government decided to provide student loans directly instead of going through financial institutions. The Direct Loan (DL) Program began its operation in the academic year 1994–95. Under this program, the federal government provides the capital and loan servicing, and the loans are originated by colleges and universities. By July 2010, the program accounted for 100 percent of new student loans—a government-controlled student loan program. One of the shortcomings of student loans through the federal government is having virtually no option to refinance the high interest rates. This option has been commonly available for other types of loans in the private sector but not for student loans from the government. Lowering student loan rates to match the cost to the federal government could put its profits into students’ pockets and help grow the economy. (more…)
Excerpts from Confessions of an Old Man
“Take a look at yourself, and then make a change.” Late Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson’s song, “Man in the Mirror” can be taken as a challenge by members of the MI generation to take a look at themselves, take charge of their destiny, and make a change. And they have the power and tools in their hands to do so. They can also make their parents and grandparents help them accomplish that goal. For the first time in American history, millennials will represent the largest segment of eligible voters: 32 percent in 2018 and 34 percent in 2020. Democrats and Republicans, both parties being gravitated toward extreme positions, offer a great opportunity to make a change starting in 2018 and beyond. One can see the frustration of many Americans with the daily grind of working hard and getting nowhere, going through security checks at every high-rise building and airport, waiting in lines at every government office, and forever being on hold when calling a government agency or credit card company. The choice is to make a change or have the federal government take more control over our life.
The United States has fought communism and socialism since World War II to promote democracy, freedom, and human rights. However, it now finds itself working toward a socialist order and building a wall. It has a centralized health-care system controlled by the health insurance industry and the government (Medicare and Medicaid). The government decides how Americans behave financially by printing money and dictates how we spend money through the tax code. It is monitoring our emails, phone calls, and physical activities by placing video cameras at virtually every street crossing and in every building. Furthermore, American politicians pick their voters through the gerrymandering process instead of voters getting to pick their leaders.
The major impediment to a change and improving the future for the MI generation and the middle class are the two major political parties: Democrats and Republicans. Both parties believe they are the best for the country and that the country will not function without them. There is no room for a third mainstream political party or independent leader in their eyes. Both parties have done and will continue to do everything possible to keep third-party or independent candidates from even running for election. They have total control over who gets nominated for any public office at the state and federal levels.
A majority of Americans consider themselves as independent. However, they have no voice in the governing of the country. The bottom line is that both parties are the same when it comes to governing and living off the backs of the MI generation. Both parties’ leaders behave like children and blame one another and everyone but themselves for their failures to govern. Their only interest seems to be getting reelected, instead of serving the people.
“So the trillion-dollar question is how do you go about making a change, and what is the road map toward accomplishing that?” ….More
