Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
Bookworm on Aug 19 2009 at 11:52 am | Filed under: Uncategorized
I’ve been gone 10 days from my blog (barring some drop-in blogging during vacation) and have returned to discover that nothing, but nothing, has changed in my absence. The laundry list of news is exactly as it was when I left: ObamaCare is dropping in the polls; Democrats are hurling insults at voters; the economy is in the tank; and Muslim groups are blowing up people (including fellow Muslims). If I have to be caught in a time warp, couldn’t I be caught in a nice time warp? That would be the time warp in which the economy is humming along; terrorist groups are cowed and inactive; and Congress is, if not Republican controlled, at least so balanced that neither party can do any harm.
Anyway, notwithstanding the complete stagnation that is the news, I am busy reading up on things and trying to kick my brain into gear - although I must say that reading about Obama Care is just kicking my brain into fear. I don’t want the IRS to be tied to my health care. I don’t want Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel to be issuing ukases regarding who lives and who dies. I do want the government to get out of the way and let the market take over. Health insurance should start being like other types of insurance (car, home, life), in that it originates with the consumer, who shops for bargains both in terms of buying the insurance itself and in terms of buying the product. Right now, our medical care is like a giant check kiting scheme.
I learned about check kiting (or credit card kiting) when I was in law school. In its purest form, you write a check or a charge on one account to pay off the funds due on the other. You keep volleying the two accounts back and forth, all the while adding external charges as well for exciting things such as cars and clothes. Eventually, you can’t keep all those dollars shuttling back and forth indefinitely. Something happens and the whole thing collapses. But while it’s in full swing, everything seems good: you’re out there buying your little heart out with other people’s money, and the banks think they’re getting paid.
Anyway, more when I have something more to say. As it is, I’m just glad to be back at my lovely ergonomic keyboard and shapely little mouse. It makes reading and writing so much easier.
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Book: is that “drop-in” blogging or “drive by” blogging?
Here’s something to be cheerful about: the number of Republican challengers swooping in and taking over the town hall meetings being blown off by Democratic incumbents.
Speaking of the health care debacle, I heard about the following on local radio here in St. Louis, and though it is not endorsed by any politician, I think it would be a good idea: This sounds good but I can’t tell if there is some hidden agenda or costs or control: “Under a voucher program, there is no government takeover, no price fixing, no rationing, no centralization of medical records, and no healthcare boards. Indeed, government involvement in the healthcare industry would be substantially reduced by eliminating Medicare and Medicaid”.:http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0810/p09s01-coop.html