Charlie's Chatter

It’s nice to know that our federal and state governments not only have the means to protect us citizens from harm, but also use them to protect us. Witness our federal government’s military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, as examples. Of course here at home things are a little bit different.
    The primary purpose of government is supposed to be the protection of its citizens, mostly from physical harm by bad guys, but also from economic and financial harm also caused by “bad” guys. These latter include thieves, financial crooks, con men, and, let’s face it, a few million illegal aliens. Of course for the most part the illegal aliens are “honest”, but most do put added financial pressure on us via a welfare system, “free” medical care at hospital emergency rooms and “free” education in our schools. Strange that only a very few of these illegal aliens are deported; it is even stranger that many of those who actually commit crimes do wind up being released from jail, whereupon they go back into our streets and into our society instead of being deported. I guess that is because the crime of entering our country illegally is usually only a misdemeanor and not a felony. And let’s face it, these people are not really “illegal aliens”; instead they are “undocumented workers”.
    No doubt some citizens are also wondering at this time why nobody has apparently been charged with any kind of financial crime, where this latter contributed to the current financial crisis. Surely some accountants have committed fraud, having been encouraged to do so by their bosses. Of course I realize that some of the bad actions that led to our financial crisis, such as those taken by congressman Barney Frank, are probably not legally crimes, although they should be.   Well, we can’t have everything.
    In any case, we can take comfort from the fact that at least our government has taken good and active steps to protect the bald eagle, and continues to do so. After all, our national bird requires the highest protection. I think that our government continues to actively search for criminals who kill bald eagles, although unfortunately some have been killed without anyone every knowing about it. That is a shame. It is also a shame that one of these killers, a guy who killed two bald eagles, has recently been pardoned by president Bush! Sure, this killer did not intend to kill the two eagles; it was only an unintended consequence of the killer’s attempt to kill some coyotes. But still, we must protect our national bird at almost any cost. I note from the news article referenced that this guy who killed the eagles, which is a felony crime, had received two year’s probation instead of a jail sentence. That’s a darn shame. He should have actually spent at least two years in jail. And of course this recent pardon is inexcusable.

Americans strongly support reforming the nation’s health care system, according to a recent survey. The highest priorities identified by the survey’s respondents were having high quality care (93%), making health care more affordable (90%), allowing people to select a doctor or hospital of their choice (84%) and providing health insurance coverage to all Americans (79%). In addition, representatives of the insurance industry told Congress last week that they support an overhaul of the healthcare system that would call for them to accept any customer who applies for coverage, regardless of health status. (Obviously that would cause health insurance premiums to increase.) Of course most of us should know by now that president-elect Obama, during his presidential campaign, has promised us a health care plan which will provide accessible, affordable coverage for all, and which will reduce health care costs for families.
    Well, this is all just great. All this serious talk about reforming health care, providing medical insurance for all, reducing health care costs, and so on has increased almost to a fever pitch during the year. However, we are making a serious mistake here. We are forgetting something very important.
    We are forgetting and/or ignoring the people who actually provide us with health care. And to those of you who are ignorant, these people are not politicians; they are not lawyers; they are not government workers; and they are not those who work for insurance companies. Those who actually provide us with health care are doctors, nurses, and almost all of those who work in doctor’s offices, clinics, hospitals, drug companies and medical supply companies. The only exception to the latter are those employees in hospitals, clinics and so on whose job it is to deal with the paperwork burden required for dealing with government agencies and insurance companies. (And in the case of drug and medical supply companies, those employees whose job it is to market their products to average consumers via television and radio commercials.)
    So okay, what about those people who actually provide us with health care? Well, they are being forgotten, and they do not like it. Well, what do you expect? Do you not understand that they want to be paid for their services? Do you not understand that they want to provide services with less control mandated by governments and insurance companies? Do you not understand that to the extent the government and insurance companies hold back their pay, and exercise control over them, that they will not only be unhappy, but eventually provide us with even less health care? Or with health care not as effective? A recent survey found that primary care doctors in the United States feel overworked and nearly half plan to either cut back on how many patients they see or quit medicine entirely. More than 90 percent of the doctors said the time they devote to non-clinical paperwork has increased in the last three years and 63 percent said this has caused them to spend less time with each patient. Well, what do you expect? Nearly half of the doctors in this survey said that they would seriously consider getting out of the medical business within the next three years if they had an alternative. A U.S. shortage of 35,000 to 40,000 primary care physicians by 2025 was predicted at a recent American Medical Association meeting. Why? Because they spend more time on non-clinical paperwork. Because increasing pressure is put on them to accept less money for their services, or at least not to increase the money they charge for their services. Well, what do you expect?
    I was going to say that the low-wage guy or gal who mops the floors at a hospital does more for my health care than any politician, lawyer, government worker or health insurance employee. But that is not true. That’s because that statement implies that politicians, lawyers, government workers and health insurance employees do do something for my health care. Wrong. They only detract from it, mostly by making it more expensive and less effective.
      (More information on health insurance and the cost of health care can be found on this page on my web site.)

What is it with this guy, the Dalai Lama? I find it strange that so many people seem to be obsessed with this smiling man. See this page on my web site for more of my comments on the Dalai Lama.

It is well known that Mother Nature is not always good to us. As the mayor of Los Angeles said recently, “We’re at the mercy of the wind. Mother Nature’s not been too good to us for the last 15 hours.” His words were in response to the damaging wildfires in southern California. I must also note that Mother Nature has not been good to the human body. She lets us get old and sick, and these assaults on our bodies by Mother Nature lead to pain, suffering, and eventually death. Some temporary relief for these assaults on our bodies can often be provided by medical care, but medical care costs money.
    Well, now that Barack Obama has been elected, we need no longer worry so much. He has promised us a Universal Health-Care System, so that “affordable” health care will be available to everybody. In El Paso, Texas, a woman named Nora Arzate said that she understands health insurance is necessary but that her family can’t afford to pay hundreds of dollars out of their monthly earnings to cover her, her husband and their five children. “Insurance is very necessary, indispensable in life,” she said. She likes Obama’s plan for Universal Health-Care “because it’s what we need – for those that don’t earn a high income.” I find Nora Arzate’s comments troubling for several reasons. First of all, if she believes that health care really is necessary, but she has trouble paying for it, why then does she have five children? Would not two or even three be more than enough, and thus less of a burden for her? Secondly, why is she so much in favor of any proposed increase in health-care welfare for her family when her children already have health coverage through Medicaid?   I note that the news article just referenced also says that more than 6 million children were uninsured in Texas in 2004 and 2005, and that one way to provide coverage for those children would be to expand eligibility for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. Concerning the latter program “CHIP”, the proposed expansions for the existing program are almost an abomination, for which I previously provided comments and details on my blog and web site. Finally, it is clear to me that Nora Arzate most probably voted for Obama as president because of the “goodies” that he promised to provide when he was campaigning for president; in other words, he bribed her. (Although of course he did not bribe her with his own money, but rather with taxpayers’ money, which might include some of mine.)
    Yes, with Obama as president we need not worry much anymore. The government will provide, or, at least the government will provide enough so that we need not suffer as much. Especially if we are poor. Only the rich will have more money taken from them, but heck, they can afford it.
    A small tip here to help the poor: In the article previously referenced, a “Salvador Balcorta” said some people pay more than $2 for a loaf of bread when they only earn $5 an hour. Although I am not poor, I am not rich either, and I do not like to pay more than two dollars for a loaf of bread. Where I live in Texas, I buy my bread at Wal-Mart stores which sell a house-brand bread for 88 cents for a one and a half pound loaf, and it is usually fresh. Previously I bought another house-brand bread at another supermarket for slightly less than that price, but it was not always as fresh as I would like it. So to those poor people in El Paso I suggest that you shop around. An Internet search shows me that there are at least ten Wal-Mart stores in the El Paso area, and I suspect that there are even other supermarkets which sell a house-brand bread for not much more than one dollar a loaf. (And in response to that suggestion of mine, no doubt some folks will say that the “nearest Wal-Mart” is too far away, and that they can not afford the cost of transportation. Well good gosh, just how much do you poor folks want? Ask Obama. Maybe he can help you with your transportation costs too.)