Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
The Carrot On a Stick. How the Federal Government Leads Us Into Their Control.
You know the image of the horse that wont budge so the trainer ties a string to a carrot, hangs the string at the end of a stick and dangles it in front of the horses face to get him to move? That is exactly what the federal government does to us when they want control over a certain aspect of our lives. Except the carrot is money.
Government only has what it steals from its citzens. Up until 1913 there was no federal income tax, the country seemed to survive well without it up until that point, but with the power to tax comes to the power to control. It is evident in the fact that all of our public schools are federally funded and have to follow federal guidelines for lesson plans. Since when did a few elected officials or bureaucrats become smarter than our teachers? Since when did it become a good idea to allow our government to decide what should be taught to children? It became a good idea when the thought of the federal government withholding their funding would lead to the demise of our schools. The power of the federal government to control education is nowhere to be found in the U.S. Constitution. It is not news that the public school system in the U.S. is a complete failure, while privately funded schools who have to compete with each other offer a better option for kids.
The same argument can now be applied to the health care industry. If you cant afford health insurance, they'll give you a tax rebate so you can buy it. So now you feel the government has saved you from the evil greedy health care companies, but youve given away your right to decide what is best for you. The power to tell a person what to buy or be jailed is nowhere to be found in the U.S. Constitution. By the way, when you buy health care with your carrot on a stick, oops i mean tax rebate, you will be buying it from the same evil greedy health care companies that supposedly got us into this mess. If that isnt a sneaky handout from the government to those companies than I dont know what is....
Also, deciding to make it a law that companies have to cover people with pre-existing conditions does nothing to control costs. It actually does the exact opposite. If companies are forced to cover people known to be ill, how would that not directly effect the overall costs of insurance? It has to. The idea of insurance is that you pay for it and get to use it when an emergency HAPPENS. You cant drive a car around without insurance, get into an accident then go buy insurance the next day to cover that accident. It makes no sense. It will eventually lead to the failure of multiple health care companies, which will then lead to the government once again saying "only government can fix this". But what will the fix be then? A full out government operated health care system? If that doesnt scare you then you must already be dead.
I thought in the 20th century we learned that central planning by government eventually lead to the financial collapse and ruin of a nation? There are two ways to look at all these promises and handouts made by elected officials. One is that these people actually care about us. That they truly know, from their nice offices in Washington D.C. what is best for each and everyone of us. But how can that be when we keep learning of another corrupt politician striking deals for their friends? So the second way to look at it is that the government handouts are bribes to not only make us think they care about us, but a way to keep us in our place. We'll never have to work hard to live a better life because the government is there to take care of us. It is also a way to ensure votes from the middle and lower classes. Promise the people some sort of handout and of course they'll keep voting you in. The problem is that eventually a welfare state who is involved in never ending wars becomes too much of a financial burden on itself and the whole thing collapses. It would be very naive to think what has happened to great empires of the past cannot happen to the United States.
Government only has what it steals from its citzens. Up until 1913 there was no federal income tax, the country seemed to survive well without it up until that point, but with the power to tax comes to the power to control. It is evident in the fact that all of our public schools are federally funded and have to follow federal guidelines for lesson plans. Since when did a few elected officials or bureaucrats become smarter than our teachers? Since when did it become a good idea to allow our government to decide what should be taught to children? It became a good idea when the thought of the federal government withholding their funding would lead to the demise of our schools. The power of the federal government to control education is nowhere to be found in the U.S. Constitution. It is not news that the public school system in the U.S. is a complete failure, while privately funded schools who have to compete with each other offer a better option for kids.
The same argument can now be applied to the health care industry. If you cant afford health insurance, they'll give you a tax rebate so you can buy it. So now you feel the government has saved you from the evil greedy health care companies, but youve given away your right to decide what is best for you. The power to tell a person what to buy or be jailed is nowhere to be found in the U.S. Constitution. By the way, when you buy health care with your carrot on a stick, oops i mean tax rebate, you will be buying it from the same evil greedy health care companies that supposedly got us into this mess. If that isnt a sneaky handout from the government to those companies than I dont know what is....
Also, deciding to make it a law that companies have to cover people with pre-existing conditions does nothing to control costs. It actually does the exact opposite. If companies are forced to cover people known to be ill, how would that not directly effect the overall costs of insurance? It has to. The idea of insurance is that you pay for it and get to use it when an emergency HAPPENS. You cant drive a car around without insurance, get into an accident then go buy insurance the next day to cover that accident. It makes no sense. It will eventually lead to the failure of multiple health care companies, which will then lead to the government once again saying "only government can fix this". But what will the fix be then? A full out government operated health care system? If that doesnt scare you then you must already be dead.
I thought in the 20th century we learned that central planning by government eventually lead to the financial collapse and ruin of a nation? There are two ways to look at all these promises and handouts made by elected officials. One is that these people actually care about us. That they truly know, from their nice offices in Washington D.C. what is best for each and everyone of us. But how can that be when we keep learning of another corrupt politician striking deals for their friends? So the second way to look at it is that the government handouts are bribes to not only make us think they care about us, but a way to keep us in our place. We'll never have to work hard to live a better life because the government is there to take care of us. It is also a way to ensure votes from the middle and lower classes. Promise the people some sort of handout and of course they'll keep voting you in. The problem is that eventually a welfare state who is involved in never ending wars becomes too much of a financial burden on itself and the whole thing collapses. It would be very naive to think what has happened to great empires of the past cannot happen to the United States.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Three Ways to Fix Health Care Without Increasing the Size of Government
Dont allow yourselves to be lied to. The Federal government has had their hands in the health care industry for years. It is because of them that costs have skyrocketed. There are three main reasons that the costs have gone through the roof, but first I want to ask a question. Have you ever noticed that the price of a product gets cheaper as technology advances? Computers and cell phones are good examples of this. So why is the opposite happening for the health care industry? The key to cheaper AND better products is competition. When consumers have the power to choose which company provides the best product at a better price, other companies MUST adapt or risk going out of business. There are three federal policies which stifle competition, therefore driving up costs and deteriorating quality. Here are the big three.
1. The FDA
First of all, it is in a drug companies best interest to sell a product that is both effective and safe. So you know they would be testing their own products first. Second, there needs to be private drug testing companies. Companies that have to succeed or fail based on reputation.The FDA takes an average of about 8-15 years to approve a new drug and could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Those costs are handed directly to the consumers. Now lets talk about well known private testing company. Underwriters Laboratories or UL is a private company that tests electrical equipment. They have to compete with other private electrical testing companies so they need to maintain a good reputation with consumers. If UL approved a toaster oven that lead to 1000 homes burning down, UL's reputation would be horrible and they would punished in the market place. There is no reason we cant have similar companies testing drugs. There is the argument that you would have people dying because the private companies wouldnt be as efficient as the FDA, but what about drugs that are approved for one thing, but in other countries are known to be helpful for other diseases? How do you justify the people who die waiting for 10 years so that the FDA can approve the same drug for two different diseases? Without competition in drug and medical equipment testing, the FDA can do whatever they want, approve whatever the want, and NEVER be put out of business for being corrupt or failing to approve something quick enough, or even approving dangerous drugs.
2. Tax codes.
In the 1970s, the Federal government changed the tax codes to allow employers to buy group insurance plans TAX FREE to provide benefits packages to potential employees. When our employers are providing us with health insurance, who are the actual customers to the health care providers? Its not us, so why do the health care providers have to sell a good product? They dont have to because companies will continue to buy group plans for benefits packages. You dont get auto, homeowners or any other insurance from your employer, so why health insurance?? How about they change the tax code so that we the individuals can buy plans tax free? Food, clothes, health insurance tax free sounds fair to me
3. State Lines Laws
For some reason the Federal government prohibits individuals from buying insurance plans from companies outside of the state they live in. Some states only have one health care provider. Without another company to compete against, health care providers can charge whatever they want, at the same time not having to worry about the quality of their product. They have no one threatening to put them out of business. Remember, without competition there is no way for consumers to regulate an industry. It should be up to us, the consumers to regulate industry, NOT the government. If this law, along with the other two issues discuss above were gotten rid of, it would open the door to not only competition, but many new business' and jobs being created.
As you can see, the Federal government has caused the problems which we now face. Of course they swoop in and say "only government can fix this major crisis", but they are reason we are in this position in the first place! Remember what the idea of insurance is. It is there in case of emergencies. You do not use your auto insurance for an oil change right? So why do we need to use it for everyday doctors visits? We shouldnt have to. It should be cheap enough for us to pay cash. When the government steps in and decides to regulate an industry, it usually restricts competition and the result is a higher cost to us the consumer. Of course, the health insurance companies are just as guilty as the federal government because they are the ones who request federal regulations. It is well known and documented that big business seeks government regulations because the big corporations have the finances and power to meet stiff government guidelines. The regulations in turn make it harder for newcomers to enter the regulated industry. Big business and big government are not enemies. Its actually the exact opposite.
1. The FDA
First of all, it is in a drug companies best interest to sell a product that is both effective and safe. So you know they would be testing their own products first. Second, there needs to be private drug testing companies. Companies that have to succeed or fail based on reputation.The FDA takes an average of about 8-15 years to approve a new drug and could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Those costs are handed directly to the consumers. Now lets talk about well known private testing company. Underwriters Laboratories or UL is a private company that tests electrical equipment. They have to compete with other private electrical testing companies so they need to maintain a good reputation with consumers. If UL approved a toaster oven that lead to 1000 homes burning down, UL's reputation would be horrible and they would punished in the market place. There is no reason we cant have similar companies testing drugs. There is the argument that you would have people dying because the private companies wouldnt be as efficient as the FDA, but what about drugs that are approved for one thing, but in other countries are known to be helpful for other diseases? How do you justify the people who die waiting for 10 years so that the FDA can approve the same drug for two different diseases? Without competition in drug and medical equipment testing, the FDA can do whatever they want, approve whatever the want, and NEVER be put out of business for being corrupt or failing to approve something quick enough, or even approving dangerous drugs.
2. Tax codes.
In the 1970s, the Federal government changed the tax codes to allow employers to buy group insurance plans TAX FREE to provide benefits packages to potential employees. When our employers are providing us with health insurance, who are the actual customers to the health care providers? Its not us, so why do the health care providers have to sell a good product? They dont have to because companies will continue to buy group plans for benefits packages. You dont get auto, homeowners or any other insurance from your employer, so why health insurance?? How about they change the tax code so that we the individuals can buy plans tax free? Food, clothes, health insurance tax free sounds fair to me
3. State Lines Laws
For some reason the Federal government prohibits individuals from buying insurance plans from companies outside of the state they live in. Some states only have one health care provider. Without another company to compete against, health care providers can charge whatever they want, at the same time not having to worry about the quality of their product. They have no one threatening to put them out of business. Remember, without competition there is no way for consumers to regulate an industry. It should be up to us, the consumers to regulate industry, NOT the government. If this law, along with the other two issues discuss above were gotten rid of, it would open the door to not only competition, but many new business' and jobs being created.
As you can see, the Federal government has caused the problems which we now face. Of course they swoop in and say "only government can fix this major crisis", but they are reason we are in this position in the first place! Remember what the idea of insurance is. It is there in case of emergencies. You do not use your auto insurance for an oil change right? So why do we need to use it for everyday doctors visits? We shouldnt have to. It should be cheap enough for us to pay cash. When the government steps in and decides to regulate an industry, it usually restricts competition and the result is a higher cost to us the consumer. Of course, the health insurance companies are just as guilty as the federal government because they are the ones who request federal regulations. It is well known and documented that big business seeks government regulations because the big corporations have the finances and power to meet stiff government guidelines. The regulations in turn make it harder for newcomers to enter the regulated industry. Big business and big government are not enemies. Its actually the exact opposite.
Friday, March 19, 2010
The Free Market.
Let me start this by saying that there is no better and faster way to high quality products at cheaper prices than competition between companies. Unfortunately though, in the U.S. there is this idea that government is needed to regulate evil and greedy business' that take advantage of the poor unsuspecting consumers. I will not deny that there are evil and greedy corporations in this country, but what most people do not realize is that it is the big corporations who go to their government cronies and request regulation. This is where they show how truly evil they are. In reality, regulation is a tool used by powerful business' to stop competition by making it very difficult for small business' to start up. Think about how easy it is for a corporation to comply with government regulations when they have separate departments dealing with all the different aspects of keeping the business running. They have their own lawyers, accountants, and whoever else they need to file the paper work and meet the guidelines the government(or they themselves helped) set. Now think about a person deciding to gamble everything they have worked hard for to open a business of their own. All of the work to meet government regulations rests on one persons shoulders. All the legal paperwork has to be taken care of by hired lawyers who are not cheap, and all the set guidelines regarding construction have to be met. It is very expensive and makes it extremely difficult to start a business. Odds are many people are too afraid to risk everything and dont even attempt to start a business. The difficulty of opening small business' is what stops competition.
The idea of the Free Market is that there would be no government regulations. You might be saying "Oh my God, if the government doesnt set strict food handling regulations I might get sick if I go out to eat!" or something like that. Well, heres the beauty of the free market: the consumers are the regulators. If you went to a restaurant and you got food poisoning, I highly doubt you would ever eat at that restaurant again. That is you regulating the market. You took a stand and decided not to support that company, and possibly told everyone you know not to go there also. The free market would require consumers to educate themselves about the companies they support, and make good decisions on whether or not to continue supporting them. That is the heart of competition. It is the consumer dictating what product is best and at what price. Once again, there is no other way to have the best products at the cheapest price.
Not only does regulation not allow for competition, it opens the door to government bureaucracies that are usually inept and a waste of tax payers money. Who would you rather decide what is best for you? Yourself, or somebody hired by the government who doesnt really care?
The free market also has some wonderful side effects. It breaks down barriers between races, it forces all different kinds of people to interact and look past their differences because the common goal is either selling or buying the best quality product at the best price.
Here is a link dealing with the myth that big business and big government are enemies.
Big Business and Big Government
And here is a video feature Milton Friedman, recipient of Nobel Prize for Economics 1976
The idea of the Free Market is that there would be no government regulations. You might be saying "Oh my God, if the government doesnt set strict food handling regulations I might get sick if I go out to eat!" or something like that. Well, heres the beauty of the free market: the consumers are the regulators. If you went to a restaurant and you got food poisoning, I highly doubt you would ever eat at that restaurant again. That is you regulating the market. You took a stand and decided not to support that company, and possibly told everyone you know not to go there also. The free market would require consumers to educate themselves about the companies they support, and make good decisions on whether or not to continue supporting them. That is the heart of competition. It is the consumer dictating what product is best and at what price. Once again, there is no other way to have the best products at the cheapest price.
Not only does regulation not allow for competition, it opens the door to government bureaucracies that are usually inept and a waste of tax payers money. Who would you rather decide what is best for you? Yourself, or somebody hired by the government who doesnt really care?
The free market also has some wonderful side effects. It breaks down barriers between races, it forces all different kinds of people to interact and look past their differences because the common goal is either selling or buying the best quality product at the best price.
Here is a link dealing with the myth that big business and big government are enemies.
Big Business and Big Government
And here is a video feature Milton Friedman, recipient of Nobel Prize for Economics 1976
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