A brief rant on health care reform

I plan on discussing this issue in more detail, but until then, here's some of what has been rattling around in my brain the last few months.

Here's my basic take: true reform of health care will never happen until the insurance companies' grip on the system is broken.

It seems that in this country we have determined that "health care" and "health insurance" are the same thing, and that is just bullshit.

I am generally in favor of a public option. I don't even mind spending a ton of money on it--IF it can help reduce actual health care costs. And as I understand the CBO report of the current House bill, that bill does nothing of the sort. Indeed, the ultimate result is that our health care system will still be dominated and controlled by insurance companies--and as long as insurance is the dominating and determinative factor in the delivery of health care, costs will never go down.

And there are some other things that really piss me off about some of the current proposals, but that will have to wait. And I would say something about the Republican's proposal--except those craven cowards have not really made one. And I can tell you why...Anything they can come up with would not really be any different from what the Democrats have put forth.

And I'm so glad I can annoy people first thing on a Friday. :-)

Stan and Kyle on the economy

If, like me, you happen to be a "South Park" fan, you have probably seen the episode entitled "Margaritaville." If you either 1) are not a South Park fan, or 2) have not seen the episode, I recommend you watch it. You can do so by going to the South Park Studios website. Here is the link to the entire episode. Here's a summary of the plot. The people of South Park collectively have a rather odd reaction to current economic events, and they stop spending money, especially on frivolous items. Kyle, one of the kids who is a main character, sees this as a ridiculous overreaction. Meanwhile, Stan, another of the kids who is a main character, tries to return for a refund a Margaritaville margarita machine that his dad bought. In the process, Stan learns about some of the things that caused our current economic circumstances. And while that is going on, Kyle sums up economics in a speech to the citizens of South Park.

Now, I realize that some folks will find South Park generally and parts of this episode specifically offensive, particularly because of some language (4th graders cussing) and the fact that the Kyle arc of the episode is based on some of the Gospel stories about Jesus. So maybe some folks will not want to watch the whole episode. If that is the case, you can go to this link, which has clips from the episode. The key clips are as follows: Improbable, But Not Impossible; Yeah, No. Yeah.; Plastic Cards and Paper Money; 90 Trillion Dollars; and Bailout!; "Plastic Cards and Paper Money" is really the most important one for my purpose, but the others are also important.

My purpose is to follow up on my previous post and help explain some of what I will be writing in the near future regarding the economy. Kyle's speech in "Plastic Cards" is one way to explain my "can opener."

Setting the stage for some upcoming posts

For several months I have had many ideas for posts, and while I felt that I needed to write those posts, I instead did not do so. One reason for my silence is that all these ideas, while covering a variety of issues, have a common underlying theme, and I was having difficulty figuring out how to present all of them in a way that stayed focused on that theme. Another reason is that in order to state my case on all of these issues in the manner I generally require of myself, a lot of research and proper citation is needed, and for the last few months I have not had the time and energy needed to accomplish those tasks. However, I have decided that now is the time to start trying to posting again. I will apologize now for 1) what will be a slow (slower than usual) process, and 2) my initial lack of research. Sometimes in life you have no choice but to go with what you have at the moment, and at other times, even though there might be a choice to do otherwise, you just need to go ahead anyway.

So with that in mind...

I will explain my basic theme by reprinting a post from October 11, 2005, entitled "My favorite economist joke."

There is a tragedy at sea in the form of a shipwreck. As the ship sinks, three survivors manage to climb aboard a lifeboat. To their delight, they find that the boat is stocked with some fresh water and several crates of canned food. There is, however, a slight problem. They have no can opener (or any other tools). As two of the survivors ponder possible starvation, the third announces that he is an economist and he has come up with a solution. As the other two look on in amazement, they beg the economist to explain the solution.

The economist looks at them with total sincerity and says, "First, assume a can opener..."

One subject upon which I will be musing is the economy, and one point I will assert thereon is that no matter what economic theory one espouses, one must "assume a can opener." And speaking of economic theories and systems, I generally prefer a free market approach. However, I do not see eye-to-eye with my raging libertarian friends on this point. They feel that "the market" is a benign entity that naturally reaches a rational result--and I say that is not and never will be true. Why? The answer is very simple: "the market" depends almost entirely on the conduct and decisions of people, AND people are basically stupid, greedy, selfish, and shortsighted. And that is the basic theme of many posts to come.

I have been inspired by...Newt Gingrich.

I saw this story at Talking Points Memo, and it inspired me to start blogging again.

Newt Gingrich is the General Chairman of an organization called "American Solutions for Winning the Future." In actuality, this organization is a Gingrich 527 group, meaning it is a soapbox for Newt, a way for him to call more attention to himself, and a way to raise money (indirectly, of course) for Newt. And, to be fair, that description applies to most 527s, not just Newt's.

Anyhoo, American Solutions is big on private enterprise, and to show that, Newt's organization recently selected Allison Vivas to receive it's Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Here's the letter she received notifying her of this oh so prestigious award.

Just to refresh some memories and inform new additions to my vast reading audience, to say that I am not an admirer of Gingrich is a huge understatement. So why am I writing about this award? Well...

Allison Vivas is the president of a very successful company...and that company is...wait for it...

Pink Visual, a porn studio.

That's right--porn.

When I first saw this story I laughed 'til I stopped--and that took a while.

I am not going to link to the Pink Visual site because those who are able and allowed to do so can easily find it on their own. ;-) I will, however, tell you that Ms. Vivas has posted a story about the award on the site, and here it is:

In a truly unexpected move, the Washington, DC-based political action committee "American Solutions for Winning the Future" (ASWF) has named Allison Vivas, President of the adult entertainment studio Pink Visual, recipient of its Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2009.

The organization, which is headed by noted conservative politician Newt Gingrich, notified Vivas of the honor via fax on Wednesday, September 9.

"I'm honored, and more than a little surprised, to receive this prestigious award," Vivas said. "It never occurred to me that Newt Gingrich, one of the principal architects of the conservative 'Contract with America' in the 1990's, would be willing to brave criticism from the far right of his party in order to recognize good work done on the part of an adult entertainment professional."

According to the notice from ASWF, should Vivas attend a private dinner being held on October 7 at the historic Capitol Hill Club in Washington, she will "dine privately with Newt," who will then take the occasion to present Vivas with her "well deserved award" and pose for a photo with her.

The notice from ASWF also informed Vivas that Gingrich is "looking forward to finally meeting you (Vivas) face to face and get your thoughts on Cap and Trade and Obama's Tax Policy."

"Rest assured, I'll take the opportunity to inform Mr. Gingrich of some of the major challenges facing the adult entertainment industry in the current market," Vivas said. "From obscenity prosecutions to content piracy, I'll make sure he walks away from that dinner educated about the realities of the online porn market. While else would they have invited me but to hear such feedback, right?"

In addition to a certificate recognizing her as Entrepreneur of the Year, ASWF stated that Gingrich will also be presenting Vivas with a replica of the "gavel that changed America," whether she attends the dinner or not.

No word yet on whether the gavel will be put to use in a future video from Pink Visual, although Vivas acknowledged that it would "make for a pretty cool prop for a 'Milf Seeker' episode."

American Solutions quickly backtracked once this story broke. As reported by Washington City Paper, the award to Vivas was withdrawn because it was given "by mistake."

I could make some crack like "I guess politics really does make for strange bedfellows," but I am way too classy for that. Actually, I am not that classy, but I do have some sense of decorum, so I definitely will not state the veritable plethora of great jokes that could be made (and have been made by others). Instead, I will point out that Gingrich supporting porn is not really out of character.

And--aside from the obvious humor--that gets to the point of this post. Gingrich has in the recent past focused a lot on substantive issues, and that's generally a good thing (even though I disagree with him on many issues). However, Gingrich's activities are also, in my opinion, an attempt to set the stage for a run at the White House, and that is not a good thing. For further explanation, go to the Cosmic Wheel Index, scroll down to "Gingrich, Newt," and click on the links thereunder.