Individual Mandate Exposed

One of the more controversial aspects of Obama's health care plan is the so called individual mandate. If such a mandate passed the federal government would basically make you buy health insurance or pay a fine of some sort. This would be one the greatest encroachments on individual liberty since prohibition. Interestingly enough pretty much all of Congresses power under the Constitution comes from either an amendment (like prohibition) or from article one where Congress is granted to power to regulate interstate commerce. This clause has been interpreted very differently over the years - with the trend toward an ever broader definition. As a recent Fox News article points out an individual mandate would be imposed simply for being on this Earth and not because of any commercial or economic activity - which may make such a law unconstitutional. I'll be reading more on this topic!

Iran Tests More Missiles

Iran is testing more missiles after news of a secret Uranium enrichment facility broke this week. You can read the story at The Wall Street Journal Online.

Health Care Maze

The diagram below is supposed to help you navigate through the government health care system:
Go to Diagram

Iran's Nuclear Aspirations

The cat is out of the bag and I must say I am unsurprised. Iran has a secret uranium enrichment facility - of course it's only for peaceful purposes. Which if that were true then one might ask: why was it secret?

Iran will likely be a nuclear power in short order if something is not done to stop them and the US, Britain, and France are not too happy about it - not to mention Israel. Israel has repeatedly warned that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons over the years and guess what they were right. I for one don't find this surprising at all I mean if I were Israel and was located close to a country ruled by a dictator who had publicly called for my annihilation I would make it business to know if that nation had or was trying to build nuclear weapons.

No surprise either that Israel is not ruling out the possibility of preemptive strikes against Iran perhaps all the more so since our President announced he doesn't support Israel fully. This is one international issue that could quickly become a military situation and I question the qualifications of our President on this one.

Health Care Update

There is so much going in the health care debate it is almost impossible to keep track of it all....

President Obama is facing strong headwinds for his vision of health care reform. Americans are overwhelmingly against a public option and in many other ways against other portions of Obama's proposal like an individual mandate. The President has been addressing Congress and the American people trying to sell his ideas. He has even signaled a willingness to consider other proposals as becomes clearer that the public option may lack the votes to pass. For more on Obama's willingness to deal click here.

Recently Representative Joe Wilson shouted out to President Obama "You lie!" during an address to a joint session of Congress. The remark has been decried by both sides of the aisle as unprofessional and inappropriate prompting Representative Wilson to apologize. While I admit it was somewhat rude I am glad that someone is willing to tell the truth in the open. I think it's high time we put some of the political etiquette away and just got down to business.

One of the biggest reasons the democrats claim we need a pubic health care option is to infuse competition into the health care system and drive down prices. If only it were that simple! Our current system is a hodgepodge of government regulation and private industry that will distort any free market policies or approaches. Also, health care is not a traditional type of service, as an economist would say it is not exactly a normal good. What this means in practice is that purchasing decisions and supply decisions are not as straightforward for health care as say for oil changes, hair cuts, clothes, and the like. Why because health care is complicated and most consumers have very limited information upon which to base their decisions because they are not - well doctors. This means that simply adding more competition doesn't always result in lower prices. Take the Dallas area as an example. The Dallas Morning News recently ran an article that shows how health care in Dallas is very expensive when compared to the rest of the country despite the fact that there is a lot of competition. The article touches on some of the reasons behind this. The simple fact of the matter is that we cannot solve a problem as complex as health care by simply adding more insurance options.

Here's a good one...Under one version of the health care package working its way through Congress all individuals would be required to buy health care or pay a fine through higher income taxes. If you don't well they'll just throw you in jail where the health care is free! Anyone see a flaw here?

Missile Defense Redirected

President Obama recently decided to change tactics on missile defense. The Bush administration had pushed for the placement of missile defense batteries in Eastern Europe to counter Iranian missile development efforts. The Obama administration seems to favor smaller, cheaper systems that utilize existing Aegis and Patriot systems.

Though the President denies it -some suggest that the change in policy was an effort to save money and gain political capital with Russia (who never liked the idea of American missile defense batteries in Eastern Europe - I think we should be asking why). Somehow when Obama was elected I just felt less secure and this change in policy doesn't make me feel much better. Saving taxpayer money is always a good thing and a system that is complex and expensive must always be carefully considered when there exist cheaper second best options.

There are a couple of things that I take issue with here. First, it is not clear to me that the decision really makes America just as safe as the option originally put in place by the Bush administration. Second, I find it extremely misguided that the current President would move to scrap a defense project to save some money when he is spending hand over fist elsewhere on arguably less important things. This also is not the first time he has done this though - remember the F-22?

You can read a little more about this at Fox News.

Obama Care Cont....

The debate over health care has not slowed down at all. The democrats are pushing to get something through Congress as fast as possible, so is the President, while the republicans are doing everything they can to slow down the process. I for one think that we should take some more time and think about what we are doing. The huge cost of the suggested programs should dictate careful consideration. Unfortunately what has happened is that the debate has shifted to the sharing of anecdotes, which often are not even accurate. Just ask Obama....

The Power of Trust

Trust is everything. Particularly in an economy built on credit - as we have come to find out. The current economic crisis started out with a bursting of the housing bubble that led to the near collapse of our financial markets. The lack of trust that froze our credit markets nearly paralyzed our economy. The question we must now answer is how to gain back that trust. The answer, at least according to Dov Seidman, is to trust others.

This is the theme of his piece entitled "Building Trust by Trusting." It ran in the September 7th edition of Business Week.

He takes an interesting approach to the concept of trust at all levels of business. From allowing employees to take as much vacation as they feel appropriate to providing severance to employees who lose their jobs. Definitely worth a read so check it out.

Health Care Reform Update

It appears that the efforts of Americans to get out to town hall meetings and tell their elected officials what they think of health care reform were not in vain. The article below is from Fox News, you can find the complete article here, and it shows some of the ways in which the public outcry might be changing the legislation. There is a chance that the public health care option may no longer be on the table! There are still lots of other terrible ideas in the proposed bill, but let's take a moment and celebrate this small (though still tenuous) victory. See below:

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's bottom line on a government health insurance option blurred Sunday as White House officials stressed support but stopped of short of calling it a must-have part of an overhaul.

As President Barack Obama prepares for a Wednesday night speech to Congress in a risky bid to salvage his top domestic priority, no other issue is so highly charged. Obama's liberal supporters consider the proposal for a public plan to compete with private insurers do-or-die.

Republicans say it's unacceptable. It's doubtful the public plan can pass the Senate.

White House political adviser David Axelrod said Obama is "not walking away" from a public plan. But asked if the president would veto a bill that came to him without the option, Axelrod declined to answer.

The president "believes it should be in the plan, and he expects to be in the plan, and that's our position," Axelrod told The Associated Press.

Asked if that means a public plan has to be in the bill for Obama to sign it, Axelrod responded: "I'm not going to deal in hypotheticals. ... He believes it's important."

The biggest challenge Obama faces in his prime-time address is to take ownership of health care legislation that until now has been shaped by political conflicts in Congress. Lawmakers return this week from a summer break that saw eroding public support for an overhaul and contentious town hall meetings in their districts.

The idea of a public plan has become a symbol for the reach of government in a revamped health care system. Supporters say it would give workers and their families similarly secure benefits as older people now get through Medicare, while leaving medical decisions up to doctors and patients. The plan would be offered alongside private coverage through a new kind of purchasing pool called an insurance exchange. At least initially, the exchange would be open to small employers and people buying coverage on their own.

Insurers say they could never compete against the price-setting power of government. Employer groups warn it would undermine the system of job-based coverage.

A public option -- or government plan -- has come to mean different things to different people. Some say it could be a public trust and independent of the government: nonprofit co-ops could serve as a check on insurance companies. In its original form, supporters envisioned a Medicare-like plan in which the government pays the bills. But it would be financed through premiums paid by beneficiaries, not taxpayer dollars.

While there's strong support for a public plan among House Democrats, the votes appear to be lacking in the Senate.

Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, a swing vote on health care legislation, said the only way a public plan should be included is as a last resort. The government option would only be rolled out if after a few years, private insurers have failed to increase competition and restrain costs.

"If somehow the private market doesn't respond the way it's supposed to, then it would trigger a public option, or a government-run option," Nelson said on "State of the Union" on CNN. "But only as a fail-safe backstop."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who joined Axelrod in a one-two administration punch on the Sunday talk shows, said the president believes a government plan would be "a valuable tool." But Gibbs danced around the question of whether it has to be in the final legislation.

"We're not going to prejudge what the process will be when we sign a bill, which the president expects to do this year," he said on ABC's "This Week."

The uncertainty over the administration's position isn't new. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said last month that a government alternative to private insurance is "not the essential element" in revamping the system to guarantee coverage for all and try to curb unsustainable costs.

On Friday, during a call with prominent liberal House members, Obama refused to be pinned down on the public plan, a participant told The Associated Press. "It was unclear as to whether the public option is on or off the table," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Independents who helped propel Obama to the presidency are increasingly skeptical about his direction on health care. Unsubstantiated allegations that the legislation would promote euthanasia grabbed headlines last month. But beneath such controversies, voters appear most concerned about the scope and costs of the bill -- around $1 trillion over 10 years. Obama has said he won't sign a bill unless it is fully paid for and doesn't add to the deficit.

Zo's Thoughts

The video below show's Zo's thoughts on torture. Enjoy!

The Rise of Obama

This excerpt is from The Lonely Conservative it gives a brief chronicle of how Obama ended up as Commander-in-Chief. See the whole post here.

Obama was being groomed for decades.

They helped him get into Columbia, and then into Harvard (according to Percy Sutton).

They got him his lawyering intern-job where he met Michelle – the daughter of a long-time Chicago machine member.

They got him his first “community organizer” job – also in Chicago.

They ran him on the New Party line – a socialist party backed by the SEIU.

They got him on the Democrat Party ballot for state senator (a stepping stone job if ever there was one) – and got his opponents off the ballot to guarantee a win in his state senate run.

(More on the ruthlessness with which Obama’s supporters cleared the path for him here).

(More here and here.)

While in the Illinois State Senate, Obama never took on the machine or achieved any important legislation.

He never did anything of import in the Illinois Senate – except for defending and voting for infanticide.

Obama’s suporters – including the SEIU and ACORN – did the same thing for his US Senate run as they did for his Illinois state senate run (and Obama won a SURPISE landlside… hmmm…) – and they even got rid of the GOP candidate who might’ve given Obama a run for the money.

THEN… then they got him an important time slot at the Kerry Convention. AND THIS IS WHERE THE TIMING GOT PUSHED WAY WAY UP:

His Kerry-speech won him enormous attention and extraordinary accolades they didn’t expect, and this is when they started to think they might be able to stage a run for the POTUS in 2008 – as a trial run, practice – never expecting to win.

Health Care News

Georgia is working on an amendment to their state Constitution to help mute the impact of any federal health care bill. I admire their creativity and determination - check out the video.

Fox News Sunday did a health care round table that is pretty interesting. You can catch the video below.

John Stossel on Health Care

This short video is an excerpt from 20/20. Just make sure you watch the whole video!