The more I ponder President Obama's words at yesterday's Health Care Summit regarding frivolous lawsuit legislation being handed over to the states, the more it makes less sense to me.
Truth be told, zero sense.
Especially if one of the driving forces behind effective national healthcare reform is to lower costs to Main Street USA.
The insurance business is one of the riskiest businesses around.
Think about it. A company takes what is, in reality, a small amount of money from each of many people and ends up paying out money to cover whatever is insured.
In the health field, that particular cost is incredibly compounded by frivolous lawsuits and tort awards that are way out of line.
In order to protect themselves, and stay in business, insurance companies charge higher premiums.
There are major flaws with trying to pawn this area off to the states.
In the first place, consider the fact that not every state may enact any legislation at all. And, because it is being left up to the states, the laws themselves will vary (probably greatly) and provide different levels of protection.
Unless, of course, it is mandated that all states enact legislation. And, if that ends up being the case, why not do it at the national level?
Possibly the biggest factor, however, is that if a plaintiff does not like the award received in their judgment, even if it was at the uppermost limit a state allowed, it would be appealed. First to the state Supreme Court and, ultimately, to the US Supreme Court, where a decision would be made.
And that decision would affect all states.
Thus, all that would be accomplished by pushing this particular area of responsibility and legislation to the states is clogging the courts with appeals that eventually end up in our highest court in the land for a decision.
As a note, that would, of course, be after each state spent countless hours, days, weeks - i.e., taxpayer dollars - in order to craft and pass legislation. Yet, another cost for Main Street USA to carry.
Therefore, all of this means, in the end, that there would be more burdensome costs for the good ole middle class. (And this is a hidden cost, not covered in either the House or Senate healthcare reform legislation.)
Another item to consider is that many elected (and appointed) representatives on Capitol Hill totally vilify the insurance companies as greedy, making too much money off of the middle class, etc., etc.
Think about this for a minute...how much money does an attorney make who wins a frivolous lawsuit or a suit that awards monetary damages in the hundreds of millions to someone?
A bundle, to be sure.
As an example, perhaps the attorney is working on a 30 or 40 percent retainer and the award comes in at $100 million. The plaintiff gets $60 or $70 million and the attorney walks away with a cool $30 or $40 million.
The lawyer will defend this and speak of all the time and costs involved that he/she must pay out of their portion of the settlement. But how many of those attorneys have to worry about health insurance, making their mortgage payment, putting food on the table? How many of them live in million-dollar-plus homes and drive cars that the vast majority of Main Street USA can only dream about?
It is still this Main Streeter's opinion that this issue is being relegated to the states because attorneys and law firms are some of the biggest contributors to campaigns and spend millions of dollars lobbying.
Thus, by not tackling Tort Reform at the Federal level our elected public servants are irresponsible in this area.
America does not need bigger, expanding government. America needs fair and equitable government representing the best interests of the People.
For Healthcare Reform, that starts with Tort Reform and putting an end to frivolous lawsuits and outlandish settlements at the Federal, not State, level. And not attempting to rid the country of insurance companies so that we end up with socialized medicine.
If that happens, what is next? Uncle Sam's Gas Stations?
Over For Now.
Main Street One
Showing posts with label Early Head Start. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Early Head Start. Show all posts
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Media Spins
Whenever I read an article that speaks of the unanimous (or near unanimous) Republican opposition to something that is proposed by President Obama I have to chuckle.
Why?
Because the media never mentions the unanimous (or near unanimous) Democrat support for the proposal.
And, to me, that is humorous.
Let's face it, when you are talking about one hundred or several hundred people discussing hot issues, it is very rare that there is 100% consensus on a given project, especially when one is dealing with a mix of conservatives, moderates and liberals.
Add to that the fact that the proposals are dealing with the economy, healthcare, and other major factors concerning Main Street USA and it is virtually guaranteed that there will be division amongst such a large group. Especially when the items under consideration are viewed as mostly liberal.
Do not forget that there was a group of moderate House Democrats who were not in favor of healthcare until earmarks were added (or whatever other secret deals transpired) and that the Senate only achieved their needed 60 votes with huge pork additions for a couple of holdout Democrats.
Thus, my chuckles whenever I see the phrase "near unanimous opposition" being voiced by the other party. Let us not forget the near unanimous support from the ruling party.
A final point...those that point the finger at the opposition are thus declaring that everything being proposed is the greatest good for America.
And, that may not always be the case.
Over For now.
Main Street One
Why?
Because the media never mentions the unanimous (or near unanimous) Democrat support for the proposal.
And, to me, that is humorous.
Let's face it, when you are talking about one hundred or several hundred people discussing hot issues, it is very rare that there is 100% consensus on a given project, especially when one is dealing with a mix of conservatives, moderates and liberals.
Add to that the fact that the proposals are dealing with the economy, healthcare, and other major factors concerning Main Street USA and it is virtually guaranteed that there will be division amongst such a large group. Especially when the items under consideration are viewed as mostly liberal.
Do not forget that there was a group of moderate House Democrats who were not in favor of healthcare until earmarks were added (or whatever other secret deals transpired) and that the Senate only achieved their needed 60 votes with huge pork additions for a couple of holdout Democrats.
Thus, my chuckles whenever I see the phrase "near unanimous opposition" being voiced by the other party. Let us not forget the near unanimous support from the ruling party.
A final point...those that point the finger at the opposition are thus declaring that everything being proposed is the greatest good for America.
And, that may not always be the case.
Over For now.
Main Street One
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Compromise or Bribery ? ? ?
As reported by CQPolitics:
"Reid and his aides have been relatively open about the deals he struck with individual Democrats.
"You will find a number of states are treated differently than other states, Reid said Dec. 19. That's what legislation is all about. It's compromise."
Interesting that the dictionary defines Legislation as "the act of making or enacting laws" and that Compromise is "a settlement of differences by mutual concessions."
I was not aware that "mutual concessions" included giving away billions of taxpayer dollars to buy the support and votes of a few.
Further to the point, the concession Mr. Reid gave up was . . . exactly what?
Sorry, sounds more like bribery to this taxpayer.
To set the record straight, a Bribe (that word used in the headline) is "anything given or serving to persuade or induce."
And Senator Harry Reid did just that, he persuaded some his party members with additional taxpayer dollars for their states that not all states will receive.
As a note, that is also not a mutual concession.
Perhaps Main Street USA should be glad that there were not more Senate Democrat hold-outs...who knows what the final pricetag would be on this earmarked piece of legislation.
More food for thought.
Over For Now.
Main Street One
"Reid and his aides have been relatively open about the deals he struck with individual Democrats.
"You will find a number of states are treated differently than other states, Reid said Dec. 19. That's what legislation is all about. It's compromise."
Interesting that the dictionary defines Legislation as "the act of making or enacting laws" and that Compromise is "a settlement of differences by mutual concessions."
I was not aware that "mutual concessions" included giving away billions of taxpayer dollars to buy the support and votes of a few.
Further to the point, the concession Mr. Reid gave up was . . . exactly what?
Sorry, sounds more like bribery to this taxpayer.
To set the record straight, a Bribe (that word used in the headline) is "anything given or serving to persuade or induce."
And Senator Harry Reid did just that, he persuaded some his party members with additional taxpayer dollars for their states that not all states will receive.
As a note, that is also not a mutual concession.
Perhaps Main Street USA should be glad that there were not more Senate Democrat hold-outs...who knows what the final pricetag would be on this earmarked piece of legislation.
More food for thought.
Over For Now.
Main Street One
Monday, July 13, 2009
Education: Pre-K through Higher Ed
"President Obama soon will be announcing a plan to substantially boost funding for the nation's community colleges, with an aim of helping more workers get the job-training they need in the coming decade," the Chicago Tribune reported on June 17, 2009.
Then President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers announced that jobs in both the healthcare industry and the environmental field have been growing at rates faster than others in the economy and reform would be necessary to ensure workers have the skills needed for these jobs.
While funding to better our community colleges may be warranted, there is still the underlying issue of current (and historical) student literacy and dropout rates.
A 2006 report by Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation states that the high school drop out rate is nearly 33% and closer to 50% for African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans. There are similar studies with nearly identical figures, including that of Time magazine, which ran a front cover proclaiming that the US is “Drop-Out Nation.”
In some areas, it is even far worse. The Manhattan Institute calculated that the drop out rate in Milwaukee was 66% while the Cleveland City School District hit an astonishing 71%.
Studies typically find that illiteracy and the inability to calculate basic math are primary reasons why students drop out of school.
There is also mention of increased funding for Early Head Start which, I believe, is much more needed than funding for higher education, at least proportionately, due to the fact that a) there are such high dropout rates and b) many students who do graduate still need remediation in order to do their college assignments.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy states that the national cost for remedial education is approximately $16.6 Billion annually. It would certainly be nice to put that money to use in another area of education (or save it).
So, while I agree that each of the various areas of education need to be addressed, it seems that Main Street USA must be primarily focused on students currently in K-12 and working to ensure that these students possess the reading and math skills needed for college, then setting sights on Early Head Start and community college reform.
Over For Now,
Main Street One
Then President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers announced that jobs in both the healthcare industry and the environmental field have been growing at rates faster than others in the economy and reform would be necessary to ensure workers have the skills needed for these jobs.
While funding to better our community colleges may be warranted, there is still the underlying issue of current (and historical) student literacy and dropout rates.
A 2006 report by Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation states that the high school drop out rate is nearly 33% and closer to 50% for African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans. There are similar studies with nearly identical figures, including that of Time magazine, which ran a front cover proclaiming that the US is “Drop-Out Nation.”
In some areas, it is even far worse. The Manhattan Institute calculated that the drop out rate in Milwaukee was 66% while the Cleveland City School District hit an astonishing 71%.
Studies typically find that illiteracy and the inability to calculate basic math are primary reasons why students drop out of school.
There is also mention of increased funding for Early Head Start which, I believe, is much more needed than funding for higher education, at least proportionately, due to the fact that a) there are such high dropout rates and b) many students who do graduate still need remediation in order to do their college assignments.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy states that the national cost for remedial education is approximately $16.6 Billion annually. It would certainly be nice to put that money to use in another area of education (or save it).
So, while I agree that each of the various areas of education need to be addressed, it seems that Main Street USA must be primarily focused on students currently in K-12 and working to ensure that these students possess the reading and math skills needed for college, then setting sights on Early Head Start and community college reform.
Over For Now,
Main Street One
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