Category Archives: ELECTIONS

Health Care Debacle

by in ELECTIONS, health care, Illegal Immigration, ISSUES, Repeal, republican Party, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

 

 

Health Care Debacle Bottom

Are we there yet? It will be a tragedy if Law Makers cannot focus long enough to Repeal and Replace the current fiasco known as “Affordable Health Care”. Any legislation with the word Mandate will fail to deliver according to expectations. There seems to be a fixation on the word mandate to the extent that it continues to be a part of Legislation from the Clinton era to now. Will someone put the word back into the Dictionary. Equally relevant, any legislation which tries to give more than the necessary credence to Insurance companies will fail to deliver according to expectations.

Law Makers need to determine how much and what involvement should Insurance companies have in the development of the ultimate document. If Insurance companies are given a major role in the crafting of the ultimate document, it will fail to deliver consistent with the real need of the people. Do not expect Insurance companies to assist in the legislation of equitable and in some cases free Health Insurance for the people. Yes, in some cases based on a means test or affordability scale some of my fellow Americans will require free Health Insurance and Care. And why not. If you can go abroad and provide free Health Care, then why not do it for our citizens. Charity begins at Home.

No Insurance company is about to craft legislation that will take money out of their pockets willingly. That is just not good business practice. However, this matter is not about the business of Health Insurance. It is about the people and their need for affordable Health Insurance devoid of complicated verbiage. Insurance companies will not lose money. Sure, they may lose money on the Health Insurance line item but they will make it up on another line. Do not believe that the Health Insurance companies only sell Health Insurance. The current White House Administration should know that very well.

Now is the time to repeal the current fiasco known as “Affordable Health Care”. Timing is everything. The Republican Party and the newly elected Administration must seize the moment and act accordingly but with more forward thinking. Everyone seems to be consumed with the cost to Government. I agree that is important but we are not there yet. The current stage is the draft. The current stage is the Pro Forma. No plan is complete without revision. There will be time enough for counting, when the deal is done.

Millions of Americans are, or soon to be without Health Care because they cannot afford Health Insurance. I realize that Legislators feel the need to provide input and be part of the Legislation and that is awesome but let’s get on with the provision.

The question was and still is, how do we provide Health Insurance for millions of Americans who are uninsured and in some cases underinsured. The time is right for the Republican Administration to Repeal “Affordable Health Care “as is constituted and develop a constructive provision. Keep it simple, probably 20 pages.

Somewhere along the way Journalism and Law Schools determined that numerous pages of verbiage is the way to address and explain resolution to important issues. Fortunately, the opposite is true and has withstood the test of time. In essence, Keep It Simple.

Draining the swamp is still in order for Republicans and Democrats alike. The Administration needs to be cautious not to go down the path of the Republican establishment. The Administration needs to develop a path consistent with Conservative Republicans. The current Pro Forma needs work and revision. Yes, it would be terrific to gain the support of House Leadership but their Agenda is not that of Conservative Republicans on this issue. Their agenda has been to the market place and Conservative Republicans are not interested. The Administration needs to work on revision of Repeal and Replace so that it meets the expectations of Conservative Republicans. Current proposal is a mouth with missing teeth. Pardon the analogy.

We have a Health Insurance issue because most Americans have coverage which is connected to their employment. Some of the uninsured are no longer employed and Cobra is too expensive. Others are employed but their Health Insurance is too expensive and simply cannot afford it. A true provision must address how Self-employed or individuals will be able to acquire Health Care at an affordable price.

It is not Health Care that needs reform. It is the cost, access, and availability of Health Insurance that needs reform. Choosing Health Care is analogous to deciding which car to buy.  However, one must first have money or access to make that decision. In this case money or access inclusive of applicable discounts is Health Insurance.

Health Care, is the availability of Medical Goods and Services including buildings and equipment whose sole purpose is to preserve, maintain, prolong health, and ultimately life. Health Insurance is the free or affordable access to Health care.

Each time affordable access to Health care is discussed, cynics and the dis-ingenuous raise the subject of Entitlements. Leave entitlements alone. Such discussion only muddies the water, clutter the table, or create distraction.  Leave entitlements alone. People either paid for or earned their entitlements. Therefore, that subject is irrelevant. The bottom line is you can provide assistance regarding Health Care for your citizens or you cannot. If you cannot, then we should shut up.

Citizens are not the same as residents and certainly not the same as Illegal immigrants. You can be a resident and not a citizen. If you are an illegal immigrant, you do not qualify as a resident and definitely not a citizen. Seems to me that definition should be disclosed and made clear in the provision of “Affordable Health Care”. Perhaps, this why the Legislation or agreements thereon is taking this long. In one sentence, I just eliminated two groups of people. That should definitely reduce the projected cost. Census says there are 300 million people in country but not all are citizens.

Let’s get on with the “Affordable Health Care” provision. Quit talking and stalling. There is nothing to it but to do it. Are we there yet?

Health Care Debacle Top

The Way Forward (Black America)

by in Blacks, Democratic Party, ELECTIONS, Entrepreneurship, Neighborhood, POLITICS, republican Party, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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Years ago, I became a Registered Republican. Many in the Black community uttered dirty remarks. It is refreshing to see that some Black celebrities now realize the “Way Forward”. This is the change that should be embraced by the Black community. For too long the leadership held to the Civil Rights platform apparently not recognizing that Era is over. It is time to move forward and stop complaining, fighting, and marching.

To effect change and bring about your ideals you must be in the room. You must sit at the table. You must articulate the issues and needs. You must have a Road Map and be ready and able to implement plans and solutions.

The Democratic Party is not your conduit or path to solutions. The situations and conditions that ail the Neighborhood will not leave via the assistance of the Democratic Party. The only thing leaving the Hood from the assistance of the Democratic Party, are the “so called” Senators and Representatives. In fact, the Democratic Party added insult to injury with the installation of the previous Executive Branch of Government. The previous Administration was ineffective. What was accomplished was not meaningful and what would have been meaningful was not accomplished.

For too long the Black community placed their eggs in the basket of the Democratic Party. They waited decades for the chickens to hatch. Finally, there is an epiphany. Those who thought the ideology of the Democratic Party would bring forth progress and salvation have realized they were WRONG. In the past eight years, there was a Democratic Party administration in the White House and the Black Community received nothing. Chicago and other inner city neighborhoods are rapidly approaching war zone status. The President in office was  presumably from Chicago yet the community looks the same. In fact, I would argue that Chicago looks worse than it did in 2008.

Setting expectations, the Black Community should not count their chickens before they are hatched in interaction with the current Administration but anything is better than nothing. However, my bet is the Black community will get attention and assistance to begin moving forward.

The Democratic Party is all about Hand-outs, keeping you poor and in pursuit but never attaining. The Republican Party is about ideas and Puritan Work Ethic. Look around you, everything you see was once an idea.

If the current leaders of the “Way Forward” are looking for prominent Republican Party members to contribute, they should invite Alan Keyes and Colin Powell. There is work to be done and enough glory to go around. Here are keys to the success of the “Way Forward”:

  • Empower and encourage young Black people to become Entrepreneurs
  • Train them to be computer literate
  • Encourage them to focus on developing Industries missing from our infrastructure
  • Encourage them to “Think” and improve on existing Industries
  • Encourage them to look at Manufacturing and Farming and not relegate themselves to Services
  • Encourage them to utilize and promote their own talents and not be copycats
  • Instill in them that not everyone is Academically inclined. There are roads, buildings, bridges, and other important segments of our infrastructure that need attention.
  • Encourage them to research George Washington Carver, Uncle Ben, and persons of that Ilk so that they can aspire to creativity and ingenuity

The NAACP and Urban League is in need of an attitude and focus adjustment. The Way Forward is not about complaining, fighting, and marching. The “Way Forward” is not about Jobs, corporate sit-ins, or Internship. Jobs are initial but short-term solutions. Entrepreneurship is long-term solution and the “Way Forward”. If you need something done, be willing and able to do it yourself with the necessary business support.

You must be in the room where ideas are discussed and decisions made. You must sit at the table. You must articulate the needs and issues. You must have a Road Map and be ready and able to implement plans and solutions. I am excited. Are you?

entrepreneurship-lead

The Repeal (Health Care Reform)

by in ELECTIONS, health care, POLITICS, Repeal, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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Each time I think of the mandated Health Care Reform, it reminds me of a sign I saw in San Antonio, TX near the Alamo. The sign said:

BOOZE IS THE ANSWER.

I AM SORRY WHAT WAS THE QUESTION?

From the start the issue was misunderstood and therefore the submitted resolution was doomed to failure. The question was and still is, how do we provide Health Insurance for millions of Americans who are uninsured and in some cases underinsured.

The reason we have a Health Insurance issue is because most Americans have coverage which is connected to their employment. Some of the uninsured are no longer employed and Cobra is too expensive. Others are employed but their Health Insurance is too expensive and simply cannot afford it.

It is not Health Care that needs reform. It is the cost, access, and availability of Health Insurance that needs reform. Philosophically Health Care is no different than determining which car to buy. However, one must first have money or access to make that decision. In this case money or access inclusive of applicable discounts will enable my fellow Americans to purchase Health insurance.

Health Care, is the availability of Medical Goods and Services including buildings and equipment whose sole purpose is to preserve, maintain, and prolong good health and ultimately life. Health Insurance is the free or affordable access to Health care.

Health Care reform as currently constituted is an unproductive provision resulting from the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the real need. As in any examination in school or in the hospital operating room, if you answer the wrong question or diagnose the problem incorrectly, the result will be unproductive and you will fail to deliver according to expectations.

Americans who had perfectly good Health insurance are unhappy. Simply put they did not need any intervention or tampering with their choice. Americans who did not and still do not because they simply cannot afford it are outraged because Mandate is not the answer. For those who are having a problem with the word Mandate, the kindergarten definition is Order.

Millions of Americans are without Health Care because they cannot afford Health Insurance. Law Makers found it smart legislation to mandate or dictate that people buy Health Insurance and that if they do not purchase coverage they will be fined. Said fines will be collected via Annual Tax Returns. Seems to me that such logic is tantamount to going from the ridiculous to the sublime.

The logic of such legislation says that if John Brown cannot afford Health Insurance for a mere $20 then we should fine him $30 for not being able to afford coverage and we should keep checking and fine him $30 each time we discover that he has not purchased coverage. How interesting, I thought the Health Care debate was about providing coverage and not mandating action or levying fines on people who are already broke.

The last time I looked in the Random House, Heritage, or Oxford English Dictionaries the concepts of Mandate and Provision were very different. Perhaps, the Webster Dictionary has them as being the same. In essence we went to the table to talk about providing health insurance and left mandating health care. We went to discuss the circle and left talking about the Square.

Health Care Reform as currently constituted is a failed investment in time, 20,000 pages of unrequited remedy, and a demonstration of ineffective Governance 101. As a book the foreword would be, “How to go from the ridiculous to the sublime”. The summary would probably be, how to answer the wrong question and generate unproductive results.

The question was and still is, how do we provide Health Insurance for millions of Americans who are uninsured and in some cases underinsured. The time is right for the Republican Administration to Repeal Health Care Reform as is constituted and develop a constructive provision. Keep it simple, probably 20 pages.

Somewhere along the way Journalism and perhaps Law School determined that numerous pages of verbiage is the way to address and explain resolution to important issues. Fortunately, the opposite is true and has withstood the test of time. In essence, Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS).

In addition, you need to determine how much and what involvement should Insurance companies have in the development of the ultimate document. If Insurance companies are given a major role in the crafting of the ultimate document, it will fail to deliver consistent with the real need of the people. Do not expect Insurance companies to assist in the legislation of equitable and in some cases free Health Insurance for the people. Yes, in some cases based on a means test or affordability scale some of my fellow Americans will receive free Insurance and Health Care. And why not. If you can go abroad and provide free Health Care, then why not do it for our citizens. Charity begins at Home.

No Insurance company is about to craft legislation that will take money out of their pockets willingly. That is just not good business practice. However, this matter is not about the business of Health Insurance. It is about the people and their need for affordable Health Insurance devoid of complicated verbiage.

Now is the time to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Timing is everything. The Republican Party and the newly elected Administration must seize the moment and act accordingly.

Assault on Civility

by in ELECTIONS, POLITICS, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

ASSAULT RIFLE IMAGE.jpg

There should be a ban on the sale of assault weapons. Otherwise, we will continue to have incidents like the campus shooting at Virginia Tech, the Colorado Theater ambush, the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, and the Orlando Florida tragedy.

Purchasing an Assault Weapon is the equivalent of buying a car when you only need a Wagon. There is no point in purchasing an Assault Weapon if you are not planning to shoot it. Yes, you can go to the range but idiots buying Assault weapons are not interested silhouettes. Idiots buying Assault weapons are interested in shooting a pop up target, an animal, or another human being, and sometimes a spouse.

I am appalled that individuals can purchase Assault weapons in a civilized setting. How is it possible for it to be legal to sell Assault weapons in civilized Country? We need to stop selling Assault weapons. This is not a war Zone. Many of the idiots buying weapons would not serve a day in the military because they are physically or mentally incapable or just plain cowards. Unfortunately, those human beings commit heinous acts. Except in the unusual situation where someone snaps from imminent danger, there is no understanding use of an Assault weapon in a civilized setting. What happened in Virginia Tech, the Colorado Theater, Sandy Hook Elementary School, and Orlando Florida was Barbaric.

Sales of Assault weapons are not good for the civil health of our society. Gun shops are all about the money. Once again, greed rears its ugly head similar to those who took money to teach people how to fly airplanes and be blasé that said individuals had no interest in learning how to bring the equipment back to earth. Greed got us into a financial crisis. Our Society and way of Life is in danger of falling off the proverbial Cliff and our Authority elements are acting like Dim-Wits”. Greed from the sale of Assault Weapons will create mayhem in our society. We have to ban the sale of assault weapons.

Some of the reactions to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre included buffoons chatting about arming teachers. Arming teachers is a bad, ridiculous, and ludicrous idea. Arming teachers is an idea that has permanent residency in the preposterous.

The simple solution is to take some of that ridiculous money Superintendents of the schools make and install cameras at all corners. In addition, put a security detail together with qualified Guards and CCTV. Use common sense and security measures to ensure that unauthorized persons do not gain access to said premises. Have staffed and camera surveillance of all perimeter entrances and exits. Maintenance of such a system will require two shifts of Guards and the second shift is on duty until all school personnel leave each day.

Sales of Assault weapons are not good for the civil health of our society. School children massacred are not part of the Reproductive process. People being murdered on campus, Movie Theaters, and Night Clubs are uncivilized actions.